How I Met Your Mother: 10 Interesting Things Fans Noticed In The Background
Although most fans weren't satisfied with the ending of How I Met Your Mother, there's no denying that it was a well-planned series that paid significant attention to detail. Ever since the pilot, the show had been planting clues to give viewers hints on how everything would play out.
Viewers caught on to these signs and even discovered things that may not have been intentional. The show's props, background actors, and outfit choices usually served some kind of bigger purpose in the overall story. Because of the show's highly observant fans, a lot of these Easter Eggs have come to light.
10 An Entire Love Story Plays Out During A Single Conversation
Ted and Tracy's ending was technically revealed in a Season 9 episode. As the gang pokes fun at Robin, a couple in the background goes through different stages of life.
They have their first date, they get engaged, and they sit with their son who just graduated. In the end, the woman has grown old and is holding an urn, which is, presumably, her husband. An elderly man comes up to console her, and the two of them talk. Their roles were swapped, but it did foreshadow Tracy's death.
9 A News Article Implies That Marshall Caught The Loch Ness Monster
Marshall's obsession with the Loch Ness monster, or "Nessie," as he likes to call it, has been a running gag throughout the series. No one seemed to believe that any of Marshall's theories about the creature were correct, but fans discovered that Marshall was right all along.
In a flashforward, Marshall is sitting in his office with a news clipping framed on the shelf. The title of the article reads, "N.Y.C. Lawyer Captures 'Nessie.'" It's only logical to assume it's meant to be Marshall.
8 The Bar Ted Goes To At His Lowest Point Is Named "Low Point"
Ted has done a lot of good things in his life, but he's also made a lot of mistakes. One of the worst of them took place on St. Patrick's day. Ted acted like a jerk to everyone he came across, and it was a bit hard to watch at times.
When Ted finally realizes how horribly he treated everyone, he's at the lowest point in his life. Ted goes back to the bar, where he finds the mother's yellow umbrella, and "Low Point" is the name on the outside of the building.
7 The Clock In The Apartment Never Changes
Almost everyone in the gang has lived in Ted and Marshall's apartment at one point or another. Still, the clock on the wall never changes. It's always set to 4:20, which is undoubtedly a nod to how often Ted and Marshall smoked weed in college.
But, whenever weed comes up in the story Ted's telling to his kids, he omits the drugs and tells them they were eating sandwiches. It's a little odd because Ted has shared much worse than that with them.
6 The Wedding Pictures Are Cropped
At the opening of each episode, Ted and Tracy's kids are sitting on the couch while Ted tells them his story. There are a variety of things on the shelf behind them that connect to the mother, but one thing stuck out in particular.
There are wedding photos of Ted and Tracy, but they're cropped so viewers only see the middle of their bodies. It makes sense that the faces weren't shown because it would give away the ending, but who frames wedding photos of someone's waist?
5 The Taxi Barney Misses Went To The Hospital
When Ted ends up in the hospital after a car wreck, Barney rushes to go and see him. He tries to take a cab, but it's stolen by a man holding a bunch of different colored balloons. Barney decides to make the journey on foot, begging Ted not to go into the light.
Exhausted and out of breath, he finally reaches the hospital. At the same time he arrives, the man who took his cab is shown getting out with his balloons. If they had only thought to share, Barney never would've been hit by the bus.
4 The Characters' Outfit Colors Match Up With Their Cluedo Characters
With the help of his family, Marshall puts together an evidence board to try and get to the bottom of Ted and Zoey's relationship. Each person involved is represented by a different character from the game "Cluedo."
Ted is seen wearing purple the entire episode, and he was represented by Professor Plum. Zoey is Mrs. White, and she wears white every time she appears. Barney stood out the most as Mr. Green because Barney doesn't wear the color green all too often.
3 The Countdown To Marshall's Father's Death
For a sitcom, How I Met Your Mother was surprisingly heavy. The mother's death wasn't the only one in the show, as Marshall's dad passes unexpectedly. Before Marshall gets the news, throughout the episode, different numbers were displayed in the background, each one counting backward from the last.
On the day that Marvin dies, the countdown comes to an end. When Lily tells Marshall the heartbreaking news, the parking meter next to them reads, "expired."
2 A Background Character Doesn't Blink Or Move The Entire Scene
It's pretty easy to catch an extra doing something funny in the background, but this was an instance that stood out in particular. Marshall tries to prove to Robin that miracles happen by giving her an example. In a flashback, a pencil falls from the ceiling of MacLaren's, bounces off the table, and ends up directly in Barney's nose.
There's a man seated at the table behind Barney who stays as still as a statue for the entire scene. No matter how long the camera lingers, the man doesn't move a muscle or even bat an eye. He stares ahead with a smile on his face, completely devoted to staying frozen.
1 One Of The Graves In The Graveyard Reads "Mother"
This was, perhaps, the biggest hint of all in terms of the mother's fate. When Marshall goes to Wisconsin to visit his father's grave, one of the headstones says, "Mother," with no additional information.
However, it was hard to catch because the grave is shown at the edge of the screen in just a few shots. Only extremely observant fans who were actively looking for clues would have been able to catch it.