'How I Met Your Mother' recap: For whom the wedding bells toll

“Kids, there are two big days in any love story: The day you meet the girl of your dreams and the day you marry her.”

That's how Monday night's “How I Met Your Mother” season premiere started. After a summer summer of telling TV reporters and critics that Season 6 would be a return to the show's early seasons, co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas delivered a solid episode that got things off to a promising start with a sweet Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) story and a classic “Mother” twist ending, but back to the beginning first.

The episode started with a flash forward to a wedding. Marshall brings a nervous Ted (Josh Radnor) a beer. Could this be Ted's wedding day? Back in the present day, a nervous Ted is trying to work up the nerve to approach a hot girl at the bar. When Cindy (Rachel Bilson) shows up and greets the girl, Ted realizes that she may be Cindy's perfect-for-Ted roommate, but getting to her will be even harder now since he and Cindy didn't end things on good terms. Cue flashback to Ted and Cindy having an awkward exchange on campus.

“Oh, hi, Cindy,” she says mockingly before sticking out her tongue at him. Bilson was so adorable in this quick scene that once again I was left wondering why she doesn't have her own TV show. Back at the bar, Cindy spots Ted and apologizes to him for her behavior. She realized he wasn't what she wanted, and she wasn't what he wanted. Believing he's got an in now, Ted goes for it and approaches Cindy and her friend, but Cindy beats him to it and plants a big kiss on her friend! Totally did not see that one coming! Turns out her date with Ted was so bad, it made her reevaluate her sexual orientation. So no, the friend's not the mother, although both she and Cindy become mothers to a girl in the future. I love these little future glimpses of the girls that Ted had crossed paths with. Now we know where Stella (Sarah Chalke), Maggie (Joanna Garcia) and Cindy end up. I'm sure some Victoria (Ashley Williams) lovers, who are holding out for her return, are curious what happened to her.

Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are trying to make a baby, but Marshall's father is getting in the way. Lily is upset that Marshall told his overly involved, no-boundaries dad about their baby-making attempts. I was siding with Marshall until he revealed that his dad and mother were going to come live with them for three months. Bad move, Marshall. Lily insists that he tell his father that they've decided not to have a baby.

“You want me to give my dad a stroke?!” Marshall exclaims.

“Only if you want to give this a stroke,” Lily replies, motioning at her body. Nice move, Lily. But after a brief heart to heart with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) – yes, Barney – who tells her he'd be on the phone with his dad all the time if he had his number, Lily realizes Marshall and his dad both just care too much. And Marshall reassures her that she could never let him down, even if she can't have a baby. This is the kind of emotional, touching and funny Marshall and Lily storyline I can get behind. More of this, less of the nagging twosome who attacked last season.

Robin (Cobie Smulders), however, seems to have progressed backward. Upset over her breakup with Don, which was months ago – was she really that into him? – she's looking like a homeless person and eating Cheetos found in her hair. To quote Bilson on another show, “Ew!” Still, it's pretty hard to make Smulders look terrible, even in dirty sweatpants and hair that looks like it hasn't been brushed in weeks. Robin gets her groove back when Barney insists that she's past her expiration date. To prove him wrong, she not only sundresses up, she white-sundresses up.

“Robin, you do look super hot,” Barney says, admiring her.

“Oh, do I?” she asks.

“Yeah, you do,” he replies, a little softer and more genuinely this time as she pops a Cheeto out of her purse. Also, notice the way Barney checks her out when she isn't looking. I think there's still a chance for these two.

The episode ends back at the wedding, where Lily comes and says the best man, Ted, is needed. In the voiceover, Ted tells his kids this is the day he met their mother, and then it begins to rain. The “I'm hoping it doesn't rain” at the beginning of the episode was great foreshadowing to the infamous yellow umbrella. So if this isn't Ted's wedding, then whose is it? There's only so many people who would make Ted their best man, I think. My mind immediately jumped to Barney's and possibly Robin's wedding. But then why is Cindy's roommate there? Did Cindy make Ted the best man at her wedding?

Readers, what do you think? Are you pleased with this new chapter in the mother mystery? I must admit I was expecting a bigger reveal about the mother. Cindy's surprise liplock upstaged the ending for me, but at least we now know when Ted meets the mother and, supposedly, it's not too far off.

— Vlada Gelman (follow my TV musings on Twitter at @stayingin)

Related:

'How I Met Your Mother': Maybe baby

Complete 'How I Met Your Mother' coverage on Showtracker

Photo: Ted (Josh Radnor) runs into Cindy (Rachel Bilson) at the bar. Credit: Eric McCandless / Fox.

Comments

[Jessica]

When I realized it wasn't Ted's wedding, my mind immediately jumped to Barney and Robin. Which of course is what the writers WANT us to think...especially with having Barney tell Robin she's hot, etc. The idea that they get married is really really exciting. But then again, why WOULD Cindy's roomate be at the wedding? The wedding is where he MEETS her...so maybe she's not a guest?

[Vlada]

Jessica -- Good point! Ted does say, "The day I met your mother was the day of a wedding," not "at a wedding."

[Neil]

marshall was also in a tux, so also in the wedding party. i guess that's another sign pointing at the barnacle, but you never know.

[Bryan]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I think the mother is going to be someone we've already met. Case in point: the best love story that we've seen thus far in Ted's life was Victoria's from season 1 (she was the cake decorator for a wedding and they had the anonymous fling during the reception). It fit in perfectly with Ted's idealistic view of love and the writers have admitted she was a "contingency mother", a.k.a. a woman that, in case the series hadn't been picked up past the initial 13 episode order, the series could have ended by saying "And that kids, is how I met your mother Victoria." Victoria's story was ended with Ted almost cheating on her with Robin, but we didn't hear anything else about her after that. Many of his other major flings we got a "Where are they now?" style recap solidifying that they are not the mother. She could have come back from Germany from her Dessert scholarship thing and moved in with Cindy. It would also fit in that she could be the maker of the wedding cake, so even if she wasn't invited to the wedding, it's still very possible she was at the wedding. I get into this rant every time that the writer's throw a bone our way, and maybe I'm just skewing the writer's hints to fit my theories and I am well aware that the odds are pretty slim, but that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

[Lucy]

I agree, Jessica and I remeber in the first episode when they mentioned the umbrella they show a scene of the umbrella on the street, so maybe she meets her after the wedding or something, and yes I really hope the wedding is for Barney and Robin

[Nicholas]

I also think that it is Barney and Robin's wedding, who else would make Ted their best man? I also think that it is unlikely that someone Ted just meets will make him his best man and invite Marshall and Lily. As for why the mother would be their, she could be the date of someone from GNB who Barney invited. She could then meet Ted, form a connection, realise she wasn't that into the guy from GNB and dump him for Ted. Again unlikely but that's what I think. I also think that Barney and Robin is too eluded to, and that Barney hates marriage too much for it to be his wedding. Who knows, we'll have to wait and see.

[Pixley]

Great recap, as always! But I'm calling it now: it's Robin's wedding (and not to Barney, just because the writers clearly hated that idea so much, IMHO, they're never going there again). Plus, it feels like the kind of "full circle" thing this show would like to do: Robin is not the mother, but he met their mother at (after? near? on the day of?) Robin's wedding.

We'd better not have a full season of baby-making hijinx. Just make Lily pregnant now, so she can deliver by the season finale. ;)

[Bryan]

Marshall was in an IDENTICAL tux to Ted so it's pretty obvious that he's in the wedding party too. It is also important to note that Lily came asking for the best man, which is a pretty good indicator that she is the maid of honor. It would be hard to argue that this ISN'T Barney and Robin's wedding. I went back and watched it online and they didn't give a specific timeline for WHEN this wedding was though. It just said "A little down the road" or something vague like that, so we can't assume this is going to take place at the end of the season.

The thing that makes me laugh about the whole "Mother mystery" is something Future Ted has said himself, the story of how he met his childrens' mother is so much more about the journey and not the mother herself. To be perfectly honest, this story is more about how Ted perceives the relationships of the people who are closest to him, much like the Stephen Sondheim musical Company, which you should definitely check out. The recent revival starring Raul Esparza is on DVD and it amazing. But I digress.

The HIMYM writing staff loves doing this to us. Making us ponder and question for hours and hours over a character who for all we know, hasn't even been introduced yet (even though my sneaking suspicion is that we have). They are definitely good at what we do and this first episode back definitely seems like a return to form for them after the slightly disappointing 5th season.

[Diane]

My first thought was "Why is Ted Cindy's best man?" but clearly that doesn't make any sense-unless Rachel Bilson becomes a big part of the show.

I hope Robin and Barney drift into a relationship they're both comfortable with--and I also hope that we meet her soon. While I love HIMYM it just can't continue for 10 years without ever coming to the point

[6Yr]

I have to disagree with a couple points. The main on being the umbrella. "I hope it doesn't rain." Come on, that wasn't great foreshadowing, that was lazy foreshadowing. We know about the umbrella for years now, years. And to think there was such a big setup for Bilson's roommate to even remotely have a relationship with Ted, seems pretty lazy again to just write her off without even saying one line and put us right back to the beginning of the show. Granted I don't watch the show to learn about the mother really. Adding another female to the cast, which will have to happen, isn't a good idea for the show, but no clues whatsoever is upsetting. Mystery wedding? Whatever happened to the mom being in the class he was mistakenly teaching? At least by season 6 even Lost was trying to wrap things up. You'd think small clues like a name, age, address, hell even race (though that could be the biggest twist of all) could be given but apparently not.

I would be more satisfied if we actually met the mom, give her a season, break 'em up, and just let it go until the show ends and they end up back together...just stop with these repetitive teases that don't go anywhere. The show is becoming more romantic comedy then situational comedy.

[Ann]

I think it's Robin and Don's wedding. They somehow get back together. He's the only guy she's been willing to settle down with and this show made it a point that meeting Don was important in her life. Maybe Don is related to Ted's wife...maybe it's his sister or cousin or friend or something. If so, then this would make the show come full circle. The show is How I Met Your Mother...and Future Ted isn't able to tell that story to his kids without telling him how he met Robin, who dated, broke up with and (perhaps) married Don, who introduced Ted to his future wife. I've always wondered why, if Ted was telling a story of how he met his mother to his children, why on earth would he begin the story by telling them how he met Aunt Robin?

[Ann]

Oh, and I also forgot to mention the umbrella. So...the at the wedding, it'll rain and Ted's wife will have her yellow umbrella...maybe they'll share it and strike up a conversation about how she lost her umbrella and one day it magically reappeared...

[J.B.]

It wasn't until I watched the show a second time I really began to believe the wedding is Barney and Robin's wedding. I didn't pay attention the first time, but the second time I noticed that the opening shot pans across the the church sign, which says something like "there is a time for every season" or something. We see Marshall and Ted in tuxes and given the red herring idea that it is Ted's wedding. Then we get Barney talking about the changing of seasons in the bar. I don't think this was unintentional or accidental for a moment.

I also clearly think both Ted and Marshall are groomsmen bc they are wearing the same tux and bouttoners (sp?).

I loved Marshall and Lily. As someone the same age as the characters I can tell that the show is similarly written by the same age group. Lily's concern about having a baby struck me as incredibly genuine. I think a lot of people focus on getting married and when to start a family, then you think - OMG, I am here, can I have a baby?

[Bryan]

@Ann

I really like your theory. I had never really considered her actually ending up with Don in the end. Now for your comment about why he started with the story about Robin. A few comments above I had mentioned something about "Contingency Mothers." These are women that, if the show was canceled unexpectedly, they could end the episode by saying "and that kids, is how I met your mother." So, if the series hadn't been renewed past the pilot episode, it would have ended with Robin being the mother. If the series hadn't been renewed past the initial 13 episode order, it would have ended with the wedding episode where Ted met Victoria, so on, so forth. Same goes with Stella. The writers have admitted to having used these just in case the series didn't continue. So yeah, the real reason they started telling the story with Robin is purely for the logistics of running the series, but in the end your idea could be a good explanation. Another explanation with them starting with Robin is that it Ted's longing to get married began with Lily and Marshall getting engaged and the whole story is about Ted's journey, not the mother itself.

[Jaq]

I like that theory. Yeah, it could be Robin's wedding but not to Barney. It will make sense that they're all in the wedding party.

And the Victoria angle, nice. I miss Victoria. She was really good for Ted. But they never mentioned Victoria possessing the qualities of his dream girl.

But I love this episode. It was definitely an homage to the first seasons which I really loved.

And yes, I did not see the Cindy-friend romance thing. Nice one.

[Janice]

I really do hope it's Barney and Robin's wedding! I think they are perfect for each other.

[Jonathan]

I don't believe this is Robyn's wedding. Remmeber the rule Ted made when Stella left him at the altar, "never invite your ex to your wedding"? I think Ted would be unconfortable attending Roby's wedding much less being best man.

[Max]

There's no doubt it's going to be Barney's and Robin's wedding. There's one reason which makes it quite obvious. It's goingt to be the finale of the ENTIRE show. There's got to be a happy ending for all the 5 main characters.

Plus: Barney and Robin marrying before Ted... would't that be perfect irony?

And trust me... there are hundreds of possible reasons why she could be at the wedding. I'm not quite sure, but isn't normaly everybody allowed to attend at least the service?
Moreover... maybe it's not exactly AT the wedding where Ted meets her. Maybe she's just passing by...remember..."it was the day of a wedding"

[Jonathan]

Actually, about 2 years ago I read an interview with one of the creators. He said it's possible the show will not end when the mother is revealed. Another clue it might be Victoria. Ted says he meets the mother at a wedding which is where he did meet Victoria. He didn't say it was that wedding in the episode. Also, Ted says the mother was in the economics class he mistakenly taught. It is possible Victoria is studying business so she can own a bakery or a chain of bakeries.

[Samantha]

It's def not Victoria. Ted got the teaching job after his relationship with Victoria, if she was in his class wouldn't there have been a story line about her coming back? It wouldn't make sense for her to be in his class.