r/HIMYM • • Jul 07 '22

Hi, I'm Carter Bays, co-creator of HIMYM. I’m also the author of a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND. AMA!

3.7k Upvotes

Hello Reddit, it's been a while! I'm here ask-me-anything-ing because I’ve written a new novel called THE MUTUAL FRIEND, which I think you'll love. I’m happy to talk about that, or How I Met Your Mother, or anything else. Maybe the Loch Ness Monster? I was just in Scotland with my son and we have opinions. Have at it!

UPDATE: Wow, its been much fun talking to you all, and I see that I've only scratched the surface here and there's many more questions to get to, but if I don't get my son some dinner soon he might tie me up with a phone charger. I will try to come back to this over the next few days in order to get to as many of these as I can, but in the meantime, thank you all so much for being here. Your love for HIMYM is really touching and I'm so grateful for all of it.

And please if you get the chance check out my novel THE MUTUAL FRIEND -- I'm dreadfully proud of it. (Can you tell I've been in the UK for a week? I'm like Lily before the intervention at this point.) Anyway, cheerio!


r/HIMYM • • 2h ago

No show on earth will ever match the sheer commitment to a joke quite like this.

Post image
231 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 3h ago

As I've gotten older, this has slowly turned into the realest, most accurate line in the entire show.

Post image
35 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 3h ago

The first time I watched the show, I thought Ted was annoying. Re-watching it now , I just want him to be happy.

Post image
34 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 13h ago

Watching the Mentalist S3E16 and I spotted a familiar set (HIMYM S6E8)

Post image
69 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1h ago

Stella's Arc and the Ending of the Show

• Upvotes

There is something I noticed from Stella's arc as the potential mother in comparison to the ending of the show. In the later seasons of the show we see Ted trying to be with Robin again, breaking up with Victoria over her and getting her Something Old she had as a gift that he tried to convince Robin was from Barney.

All of this seems to suggest that Ted had feelings for Robin and made the resolution of the finale with the kids stronger.

However, about Stella's arc in the show. First of all, I don't think Ted and Stella had much chemistry. A lot of what they liked about each other seemed forced and the speed of the relationship was going too fast, even if it happened through two seasons. I will say that I feel like Stella could have never been the one Ted ends up with.

But, at the wedding, at the end of her relationship arc. Stella says she'll talk to Robin and he should talk to Tony about not being in the wedding. In response Ted says he'll go talk with Robin and she will talk to Tony. From this we find out two things.

(1) Ted moved on from Robin for good by saying that Stella was the one after she tells him to break it off and he tells her not to be in the wedding. But (2) we learn that Stella still had feelings for Tony and calls it off because she's still in love with him.

However, Ted is telling the entire story, starting from Robin and ending with Tracy, ultimately ending with how he met Tracy, and Ted's kids reply is, "you're totally, totally in love with Aunt Robin."

But the end of Stella's arc makes me wonder. If they were planning on the kids to say that since season two, why didn't they make Robin's attempt to force Ted to call off the wedding work instead of it going the other way around and Stella breaking it off instead?

I get the fact that they wanted Ted to look like the good guy in all of this, especially after he said that he would talk to Robin about it. But if the ending was planned like this since before we got to even know Stella, with the kids insisting that he's still in love with Robin, why would they intentionally set up an arc that proves that Stella meant more to him than Robin?

Looking forward to hearing some fan theories about why they decided to do it like this.


r/HIMYM • • 2h ago

There is no doubt that this was the only love story capable of changing Barney Stinson.

Post image
6 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Barney's opinion about Ted's love life

Post image
1.2k Upvotes

I feel out of the guys he's the one who mostly understood Ted and whatever he went through (female wise), though humorous he also suffered his share of rejections


r/HIMYM • • 15h ago

Hot take(I know show is too old for hot takes but I watched it recently)

30 Upvotes

Ted and Robin relationship in season 2 was so healthy. I mean they both kinda loved each other at that time and before the restaurant proposal scene it was actually not toxic,it became toxic after barney and Robin got together(and I genuinely never saw someone saying this)


r/HIMYM • • 15h ago

Just completed himym I'm crying and happy for him

19 Upvotes

After 9 seasons I think he deserves it ofc not forgiving them for killing tarcy she was perfect but ig that's life gosh im crying it's definitely My roman empire, my comfort show

Haha ig I'll believe in Fate a little more


r/HIMYM • • 7h ago

HIMYM Survivor! (Season 4 Edition) Round 20

Post image
1 Upvotes

The Three Days Rule is eliminated! Now at least we can avoid the confusion over the “three days” episodes. Only 5 episodes remaining…

How this works:

You select the episode you like the least

The episode with the most upvoted comment is eliminated from the list

Please either refrain from downvoting or upvote more episodes than you downvote

If there’s a tie, both episodes are eliminated

Only the best episode will win!

Episodes Eliminated:

Old King Clancy (31%)
Not a Father’s Day (80%)
Sorry, Bro (43%)
Mosbius Designs (46%)
Right Place, Right Time (68%)
As Fast as She Can (43%)
The Stinsons (50%)
Benefits (38%)
The Front Porch (36%)
I Heart NJ (67%)
Murtaugh (38%)
Woooo! (35%)
The Fight (58%)
Do I Know You? (33%)
The Possimpible (39%)
Little Minnesota (25%)
Happily Ever After (73%))
Shelter Island (71%)
The Three Days Rule (47%)


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Lily was a biased Slap Bet Commissioner

Thumbnail
gallery
616 Upvotes

In the end both were wrong, Robin was not married and did no porn either.

Yet here are Lily's rulings :
-Barney got 3 slaps : 1 because Marshall lied, 2 because he slapped Barney prematurely
-Marshall gets 10 slaps in a row or 5 anytime, because Barney slapped him prematurely


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Bad picture

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

162 Upvotes

Barney Stinson 2


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Whats the best way to break up with someone?

Post image
102 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

How I Met your mother cast kids versus adult version

Thumbnail gallery
140 Upvotes

Here are pictures of the cast members as kids and adults which one surprise you the most?


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Ted and Tracy

20 Upvotes

Man, they did Ted dirty, first they make him wait so long in the series to find his true love (someone who love him as much he love her) and then they killed her in last episode to reunite him with Robin.

The series would have ended more meaningfully if Barney and Robin had stayed married and Ted would have finally realized that he and Robin were never meant to be and he finally found his forever true home with Tracey and lived happily ever after!


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Maybe she's a fan?

Post image
23 Upvotes

Saw her in a dating app (why i blocked out her face) and the shirt made me think of himym. So if she's a fan yay. If now she will be very confused. But the winners are you cause you get it.


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

Ted's hair

Thumbnail
gallery
659 Upvotes

Idk if there's a theory about that, but why did Ted stop cutting his hair after the middle of season 2? He was looking great


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

HIMYM Survivor! (Season 4 Edition) Round 19

Post image
4 Upvotes

Shelter Island is eliminated!

How this works:

You select the episode you like the least

The episode with the most upvoted comment is eliminated from the list

Please either refrain from downvoting or upvote more episodes than you downvote

If there’s a tie, both episodes are eliminated

Only the best episode will win!

Episodes Eliminated:

Old King Clancy (31%)
Not a Father’s Day (80%)
Sorry, Bro (43%)
Mosbius Designs (46%)
Right Place, Right Time (68%)
As Fast as She Can (43%)
The Stinsons (50%)
Benefits (38%)
The Front Porch (36%)
I Heart NJ (67%)
Murtaugh (38%)
Woooo! (35%)
The Fight (58%)
Do I Know You? (33%)
The Possimpible (39%)
Little Minnesota (25%)
Happily Ever After (73%))
Shelter Island (71%)


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Barney: But you know… don’t

7 Upvotes

And then the gang runs to do whatever Barney told them not to do, and Ted spits “Why do you talk? Why do you talk??”

This line is stuck in my head. Does anyone know what episode it is from?


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Quinn Storyline should’ve been better written.

38 Upvotes

Still not over how they wrote her story she could’ve been in the show a little longer. Besides her and Barney personalities being similar, they could’ve had a real story line play out that could’ve developed their characters more beyond a stripper and playboy. Quinn was my favorite for Barney, but I also understand that an ending where they’re all married would make a whole lot of sense. But with Barney having a kid and a baby mama at the end of the story, that could’ve been with Quinn at least lol.


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Role reversal

2 Upvotes

If the roles were reversed, would it make a difference how people view the finale? Aside from the Mom dying, I think most people that hate the finale, do so because Robin and Ted weren’t fully compatible until Ted had children and Robin was never willing to compromise on that. If Ted had been the one to reject Robin for her wanting of a family, and then come back around when there was no longer the expectation to, would it change the Love/Hate?


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Lily scolds Marshall for being gross? Barney says something crass, Ted high fives, lily high fives, but when Marshall tries to get involved lily says don’t be gross!

1 Upvotes

I’m trying to remember the episode and or scene


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

The Belt

12 Upvotes

Ok so I have a major question. Hasn’t Barney already got the belt many times over? For example at Ted and Stella’s wedding Barney has the receptionist tied to his headboard and Stella’s sister comes to his room and joins them. This is just an example. Any thoughts?


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

Ted + Victoria + (un)pausing

17 Upvotes

A lot of people have discussed thoroughly the whole Robin and Ted and Victoria ultimatum stuff but I have to say, I don't get the time unpausing thing. People change a lot over six years (and a lot happens between the ages of 26 to 32)

There's bound to be a "getting to know you" period once again, especially if somebody, oohhh idk, goes to Germany and somehow winds up back in the US with a German fiance (who she wasn't marrying for his green card). Or, ooohhhhhh idk, gets left at the alter and beat up by a goat and gets a movie made about them plus the goat thing (Stella+Tony weren't even around for that!!!)​. They were together for 2 months in person + 2 weeks? long-distance​ (if the wedding is in Feb and its true they broke up in April), then back together for 5 months by the time their fight/proposal/ultimatum/breakup happens, indicating they're 7 months together total. 1st: yeah Ted moves fast but 2nd: would he really jump from "we're exactly where we should be" with toothbrush at each other's houses and no foreplay sex at 5 months to proposing at 7? Is Victoria really expecting a huge jump in commitment by 7 months from Ted?

I don't think those 6 years should count if they're not with each other for that time. I can see an argument being made for Ted and Robin having a history of however long they dated + time they're not together​-together only because they're physically together for like 10 years. Also that whole comment about how "when a girl jumps in your car in a wedding dress you can't be surprised she wants to get married" - yes I can??? If she's running away from a wedding was it commitment or was it the person? Why is she leaving that guy for me, really? Either way, I'd be terrified of getting left at the alter (especially if it's already happened once)