About the Mother from How I Met Your Mother.
March 4, 2008
I feel that a big question for How I Met Your Mother fans has always been “Who is the mother?” And while we don’t have a definite answer, we can take what we do know so far and begin to formulate some ideas. This is a long one so go grab a drink and pull up a chair. By the way, HIMYM returns to us on March 17th! So hopefully soon there will be more to add to this list! Disclaimer: I love theories, but I have not posted anything here that cannot be backed up. Enjoy!
Who we know is NOT:
1. Robin is not the Mother. We learn this in the first episode and and it is reconfirmed countless times in all 3 seasons. No matter how much people “want it to happen, ” it just won’t. Get used to disappointment. In fact, for those still
letting the thought wonder in the empty space in your head let me share the best explanation / recap on the subject from tv.com forum user RUdaPs:
To explain the surprise of the “…and that’s how I met your Aunt Robin.” line in the pilot…
If you pay attention throughout the pilot, Future Ted always says things like “…and then I went to her apartment.” The assumption is that the kids are thinking the whole time that “she” and “her” are their mother because Future Ted says that he’s telling the story of how he met their mother. The only thing is, he doesn’t say a name. So at the end when he says “…and that’s how I met your Aunt Robin.” the kids are surprised.
It’s like watching “The Sixth Sense” for the first time. (If you haven’t seen it and would like to you should stop reading this and skip to the next paragraph.) You always assume that Bruce Willis is alive but it is never clearly stated. Then if you go back and watch it again, you realize that only the kid talks to him throughout the movie. Even though you thought it was obvious the story was about one thing it was clearly about another and you can go back and see what it was really about
2. The string of possible girls throughout Season 1. There was Natalie (Return of the Shirt), Ted’s old girlfriend, who knew Krav Maga. Coat Check Girl (OK Awesome), that Carter Bays even joked that if the writers strike ruined the show for good, she was the mother. Even though we never meet her (which would be a great idea for this season…hint, hint), the Slutty Pumpkin (from oddly enough the episode called the Slutty Pumpkin). Dr. Sara O’Brien (Matchmaker), the engaged 9.6 match found by love solutions. Trudy (the Pineapple Incident), who came back in the Third Wheel…let me side track here for a moment. Ted only says “I left Trudy a message, but she never called me back”…to me this implies he never saw her again, but I suppose that was the way around things for that episode (that and “Some stories you tell, some stories you don’t”…seriously, would would ever tell their kids they rode the tricycle)…anyhow moving on. There was Victoria from episodes 12-18, she was great, would have been nice, but she won’t be back (at least not as marriage material). Let’s not leave off Mary the Paralegal (and that is a shame…but when you don’t laugh it just seems mean). And I can sum all these up as “not the mama” because in the episode Lucky Penny from Season 2, Ted says:
“My destiny was to stay in New York. Because if I hadn’t, I never would have met your mother.”
Thus saying that up to this point, he has not met the mother yet, so we have not seen her. Take a moment and let that sink in if you need to.
3. Ted’s soul mate. Let’s camp on this one for a moment. Season 1 episode 21, Milk, the dating company finally comes through and finds Ted’s soul mate. Now if #2 is true then she could be included in that group. However, Ted never actually met her in person. Will this be a loophole? Will she ever play back in? I leave it to you…personally I feel, the “Soul Mate” is out of the picture or at very least not the mother…I just felt she needed to be mentioned.
4. The girls form Season 3 (so far). Well Season 2 was a wash as far as “the mother” because Ted was with Robin the whole time. And in Season 3 so far I don’t think we have seen any potential for a “mother character”. In some of the recent interviews with the creators of HIMYM they confirm this thought (more or less). In the Platinum Rule, Ted say something about that being all with Dr. Stella for now…but I seriously doubt she is the mom…and here is why….
WHAT WE DO KNOW SO FAR:
1. Her name. Now this is just a theory but it seems to be a pretty strong one. The mother’s name is Tracy…don’t believe me? Season 1 Episode 9, Belly Full of Turkey, at the end of the episode a “burlesque entertainment artist” approaches Ted and says what he did was sweet… She says “I’m Amber”…then says “Actually, I’m Tracy”… then future Ted’s (Bob Saget) voice pops in and says “And that kids is the true story of how I met your mother.”
The kids are blown away surprised. He does say he is kidding…however ponder this if you will…why would the kids even believe it for a moment if their mother’s name was not Tracy?
*Update: Here is some more info on the Tracy Theory.
2. They meet in New York. This is a slight assumption too, however in Lucky Penny he says if he wouldn’t have stayed in New York he would have never met her.
3. The Yellow Umbrella. Season 3 episode 1, Wait for It, Ted says, “Kids, there is more than one story of how I met your mother. You know the short version, the thing with your mom’s yellow umbrella…” So we don’t know much, but we do know there is a yellow umbrella involved (You can thank Captain Obvious for that one).
All in all this is just what I have picked up so far…If you find something I have missed then let us know. Also over at have-you-met-ted.com they had an interesting poll about who (assuming no casting has been done yet) should play “the mother”. Enjoy. Share. Comment. Be Awesome.
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March 4th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I’m a firm believer of the Tracy theory. I’ve been telling people that one since the first season aired.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I CAN’T WAIT for new episodes! I have to admit that I haven’t really kept track of the “mother” because I’m usually too busy laughing at something Barney says.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
remember the same lucky penny episode
where robin n ted discuss who was actually responsible that they missed their flight(s)
robin and ted figure out the person responsible for them not making to chicago was who dropped the penny on the subway and can be traced only if he knew her
and ted said” I WISH I DID”
so person who dropped the penny is the mother
so we can try to conclude some thing abt the mother
a) her name is tracy
b) fond of coins
c) yellow umbrella
May 19th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
@neeraj…
You could have something there but I honestly feel as if that may be a bit of a stretch…I will re-watch the episode and get back to you on that.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I have my doubts about the Tracy theory. Even though she claimed her “real” name was Tracy, no dancer would give out a real name, so it is quite possible that was another fake. As far as the kids reaction, I know personally that if my dad told me he met my mother while she was stripping, my reaction would be utter disbelief for a moment before actually processing the information and thinking logically about it. I seriously doubt the writers would have wrote themselves into a corner by nailing down the name of the mother that early in the show.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Jason,
I can respect your theory doubts…but consider this:
1. There have already been instances of the writers writing themselves into a corner. Consider Ted’s 30th birthday and the goat. Despite the eventual ending of the episode, the writers still had to explain the goat on the birthday.
2. The dancer gave her “fake name” first (Amber) then said she was actually Tracy…either way, that wouldn’t matter so much as…
3. The kids reaction. This proves it beyond a doubt…because while yes, it would be shocking like that however, unbelievable if the name didn’t match.
For more info read this post: The Name Tracy Theory, and thanks for visiting.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
One observation (also occurring in “lucky penny” was the comment that the person who got the job had to relocate to ORD “in 3 years” - this episode was set in 2006 - leading you to believe that if he had relocated (in 2009) he would not have met their mother…. So we can assume that he does not meet her until an episode that is set in 2009 or later.
I rarely find good TV but this show, two and a half men, rules of engagement and big bang are some of the absolute best on TV in a long long time.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Excellent observation Lee… I often wonder how much the writers mean to trap themselves into somethings (ex. the goat, Tracy, etc..) and how much the fans just pick up on and enforce as gospel?
Thanks for the visit!
June 21st, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Retraction time!!!!!!
Coincidentally, my TiVo recorded “lucky penny” sometime recently… My fiancee was watching it while I was reading the paper. I did however hone in on a couple of parts and noticed I was mistaken in my earlier post. And quite honestly the correct information is not near as interesting…
It was actually 2007 not 2006. and he said 3 MONTHS not 3 years. So that clearly makes it less of a revalation. Sorry for the confusion.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I think I MAY know what the mother looks like!
In season 3 episode 12 where ted goes to the saint patrick’s day party with barney, at the start of the episode ted says that the mother was at that party…. then later when he goes over to barney to tell him that ashlee is married he bumps into a girl says “oh im sorry” and she replies “thats ok”. Why would they put that bit in there if she was not the mother? Plus she kinda looks like the daughter!?
Thats my theory let me know what you think.
July 13th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Me again!
I saw somthing else in the episode that kinda points to that girl ted bumps into being the mother, its not huge but i think its something…
At the start of the episode (season 3 episode 12) where they show the mother with her yellow umbrella going into the club, you can see if you look closely that she is wearing blue jeans, and guess what the girl ted bumps into is wearing?…. thats right BLUE JEANS!
again let me know what you guys think
July 24th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Ok folks. At work today, I was watching the first episode of HIMYM on my new sweet, awesome iPod Classic 80gb. My job is quite lame, and I got a lot of time to spend.
Anyhow, about the Tracy-theory:
Robin is named several times, and even introduces herself. And yet at the end of the show, the kids are surprised that he talked about Robin.
Therefor, it leads me to the conclusion that future-Ted does not reveal the names of some of the people in the episodes.
Bam. Lawyered.
July 29th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Wow..How did I miss all there comments!
@ Lee - thanks for the retraction. I suppose I should follow up on these things more instead of taking them as Gospel.
@Steve - I have read and discussed this with quite a few people on some different sites, and while we know that “the Mother” was at that party, very few people think the girl Ted bumps into is “the Mother.” Mainly because we believe the writers like screwing with us but also because though intense HDTV analysis many have concluded that the shoes of the “party bump” girl and “the yellow umbrella were different”…I think the jeans look different too but I digress. Good thoughts either way.
@Ludde kic….I’m not typing all that…anyways. - First off, congrats on having an awesome 80gb ipod…also on having a job like that; However, you should probably use it to watch the episode once more because throughout the entire episode Robin’s name is NEVER mentioned. Not during the intro, not during the news cast, nada, nill, nothing…(so much for lawyered…but good use of the phrase)
Also, in the episode “How I Met Everyone Else” from Season 3 he tries to remember a name and says he can’t so calls her “Bla Bla”, this shows that the names are important enough to make mention of not remembering/ mentioning one.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is…oh hold on, I need to make a call..
Hello, Leg factory?
Yea Ludde needs something to stand on…
What?!? Nothing for him to stand on.
Well thanks…
August 8th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Hold on to your seats cuz ima about to drop some premium knowledge brau(bro)
It cant be the girl from the party because near the end of the episode ted says that their mother was at that party he just didn’t meet her, and hes lucky he didnt cuz she wouldn’t have liked him.
LAWYERED
August 8th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
@nahom…another good point to add to the “not the girl Ted bumps into” theory. I could get more technical but I’ll stand with just my original explanation earlier… This seems to keep coming up..Maybe time for an updated post.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Technically Ted did not meet the girl form the party, they just bumped into each other. The girl that he bumped into was wearing jeans and was carrying a burgandy pocketbook. I kept rewinding and viewing the beginning sequence that showed the girl with the yellow umbrella in line, the pants look close, though the girl in line appears to have baggy pants as opposed to the girl he bumps into. Also in the opening scene there is no clear view of the umbrella girl carrying a pocketbook.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
now in the 1st episode
ted says” and there she was”, then a break…….
then barney breaks in and directly introduces him to robin……….
and we all know that barney has crush for robin and it could have been possible that he thought ted saw robin first, so as a wingman he should give robin to ted…….
so guys its possible that the mother was there in the first episode but not introduced…..
Then in second episode he says he was seeing robin and also in bla bla episode, but those statements could be made to make ppl believe that he had seen robin…..
September 9th, 2008 at 1:42 am
Hey guys
What if those are not his kids?
Then Robin is not their mother and he marrys Robin.
Yepeee.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
guys
there are three episodes which gave me an idea of flaws and may be an idea who the mother could be, ofcourse it can be a stretch but i’ve been watching himym quiet a lot lately….
season 2 episode 4- ted moseby architect
1. ted talks to a random girl in a bar, but never introduces himself…..
2. barney steps in and impresses the girl in his own way taking ted’s name….
3. barney and the girl end up sleeping together and barney says her name was anna, and while writing her name on the letter he forgets her name, so was her name really anna???
4. anna was brunette….
season 3 episode 14 bracket
1. there is a girl who is sabotaging barney’s deal with girls
2. he has problem remembering name, alan aulda or something which reminds him…
3. the search begins, and there are some dreadful reasons why a girl wold hate barney, but anna reason is not one that could take her to top 4….
4. barney remembers her name(strange)!!!!!
season 3 how we met each other episode
1. there seemed to be a lie/manipulation which was told by characters during their first meeting, barring robin and ted
2. if there was a lie/manipulation in ted meeting the mother then barney taking his name could be one………..
and the whole theory that the children had done a bit with the mother in season 2…..
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
[…] my reason for disagreeing because of the name Tracy theory and the article on what we do know about the mother. Luckily for me (hooray), Sarah seemed to agree saying: “I don’t think I am, I have no idea, […]