How I met your mother

I've seen maybe 1 and a half shows and have a question about the setup:

Do we know who the mother/wife is? OR is it part of the plot to wonder who.
I thought it was that anchor chick but he's banging other chicks.

Rob Jensen...

We don't know who the Mother is. It is the *entire* plot to wonder
who she is. And although Future!Ted identifies her as "Aunt Robin" to
the kids at the end of the pilot, Ted could be lying. And they've

David Levy...

Sure, but that would be a creepy and unsatisfying plot twist.

been slowly introducing the concept that he's a not-totally-reliable
narrator the past few episodes.

David Levy...

He's censored his stories somewhat, but he hasn't been portrayed as
dishonest about anything nearly as important as the identity of his
children's mother.

obveeus...

I'll offer up this scenario:

1. The children really do not know anything about their mother.

2. It will turn out that Robin was doing a news story on adoption and
how more and more women are choosing to artificially inseminate or
adopt rather than waiting for a man to settle down with.

3. Ted will see the story and realize that what he really wants in
life is family...kids...not neurotic/flighty women.

4. So, Ted just goes to the local college newspaper, puts in an ad
looking for a baby maker and that is how he gets the kids. This whole

David Levy...

And...his teenage daughter and son are unaware of this?

obveeus...

Why would the children have to be made aware, from birth, that they

David Levy...

"From birth" is a stretch, but "not until they're teenagers" is a
bigger one.

were 'purchased'? All they would need to know is 'mom is not around
and won't be around in the future'.

David Levy...

That's pretty messed up, and the idea that kids this age wouldn't be
the least bit curious as to the identity of their mother is rather
far-fetched. (Keep in mind that they frequently try to blow off their
father's attempts to tell his stories.)

story (series) is going to be his way of explaining to the kids why

David Levy...

And...he's taking years to do this?

obveeus...

You know...lots of adopted children aren't told that they are adopted
until they are older. Some parental figures think that is a discussion
for adults or teenagers rather than toddlers or young children.

Are there any theories that don't fall into the "Ted's a heartless
monster" category?

obveeus...

I don't particularly agree with not telling kids these things, but I
don't think that it is fair to classify adoptive parents and such that
wait until their kids are older to fill them in on their background as
'monsters'.

'mom' isn't around.

obveeus...

Any scenario where the 'mother' is already part of the cast doesn't
make much sense. As another poster said, this show is about 'the
journey', not about the payoff.

IMO, Robin could be the mother (and still IMO, *should* be). Lily

David Levy...

Why?

could be the mother (and she's never been referred to as "Aunt Lily"

David Levy...

Again, this isn't true. Why do you continue to claim that it is?

I wish that I'd noted the episode in which this occurred. I didn't,
but I can guarantee with 100% certainty that Bob Saget uttered the
phrase "Aunt Lily."

And of course, Lily (Ted's friend since college) was actively involved
in the plot of the pilot episode, which his children mistook for the
story of how he "met Mom." Quoth 2030 Ted: "Will you relax? I'm
getting to it. Like I said, it's a long story." If that implication
isn't good enough for you, he also explicitly indicated that the
events of the November 7 episode took place "before I met your
mother."

Unless one subscribes to your theory that the children don't know who
their mother is (and Ted is lying to them), neither Robin nor Lily
could possibly be the mother.

by Future!Ted. Victoria could be the mother (if Ashley Williams' new
pilot goes nowhere). Or the Mother could even be someone that hasn't
been introduced yet. Or maybe Future!Ted backtracks and the Mother
turns out to be his one-night-stand played by Danica McKellar.

*Whoever* the Mother turns out to be, since the show is essentially
one ginormous "Shaggy Dog" story (and I don't mean of the Tim Allen
kind), the show is going to have to have a payoff worth the eventual
howevermanyseasons-long build up. Which, IMO, means that she's gotta
be Robin, but still . . . the payoff's going to have to be worth the
time. Oooo, such pressure.

-- Rob

What's the story on it?

GarondoMarondo...

And WHY do they break so much for spots? None of the other CBS shows
seem to break as much.

Rob Jensen...

I think that was a special case due to the format of the most recent
episode, which was all about Ted going through several different
options in trying to figure out the right type of care package to send
to Victoria over in Germany and then going through every excuse to
avoid her phone call. It was a shaggy dog story within a shaggy dog
story.

-- Rob

..
Garondo Marondo!

Barry Margolin...

We don't know. The first episode starts out looking like it's going to
be her, but at the end of the episode the twist was that he referred to
her as "Aunt Robin". They agreed to be platonic friends, but they each
have romantic feelings for the other, and part of the ongoing story is
how they deal with this. There's lots of "will they or won't they".