How I Met Your Mother is a successful sitcom known for its insightful character development, clever storylines, and relatable situations. It isn’t surprising, then, that this TV series contains plenty of outstanding episodes that fully delve into a character’s background, motivations, and fears.
For example, while Robin is a woman who doesn’t often identify with feminine qualities, she used to be a stereotypical pop star in Canada. But on the flip side, while Barney has been shown as a wealthy playboy, he once had a softer side. In the end, in the show’s nine seasons, How I Met Your Mother has a select few that show the true colors of its characters, helping to define even their smallest aspects.
Updated on August 3, 2024, by Michael Colwander: It’s been ten years since How I Met Your Mother concluded, and its finale still brings to the surface an array of emotions. Even so, it’s tough to deny the work that was put into bringing each character, flaws in all, to life. More character revelations have been added.

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Ten years after it aired on CBS, does the How I Met Your Mother finale ‘Last Forever’ still put a damper on the entire series, or has it aged well?
15 Lily Flies to the West Coast
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1 |
22 |
“Come On” |
8.7 |
From the very beginning of How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Lily are the archetypical soulmates. They met each other in college, and since then, they have been inseparable. In the pilot, Marshall proposes to Lily, cementing what’s going to be the most stable couple of the series. However, in the Season 1 finale, Lily surprisingly breaks up with Marshall.
Even though Marshall and Lily eventually find their way back to each other, this episode shows how complex Lily truly is as a character. She calls off the engagement and goes to San Francisco, needing to explore her artistic career before being able to commit to Marshall forever. “Come On” lets viewers know that there is no such thing as a perfect couple. While people love Lily and Marshall, they’re not without their problems.
14 Marshall Accepts His Judge Appointment Without Telling Lily
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9 |
15 |
“Unpause” |
8.2 |
Lily’s decision to leave Marshall for San Francisco reared its ugly head in the final season. At the end of the eighth season, Marshall is finally confronted with his dream job of being a judge. However, he had just convinced Lily to take a job with The Captain in Rome, Italy, and was preparing to move. To make matters worse, Marshall needed to provide an immediate answer and couldn’t speak with Lily in time.
Marshall accepted the judgeship. After Lily finds out, Marshall admits that he still never fully forgave her for initially breaking up with him and leaving for San Francisco going as far as asking her if returning to him, the later birth of their son, Marvin, and any other children they may have were a “consolation prize.” Lily leaves the room and it’s later revealed that she went to get a pregnancy test to confirm her suspicions that she was pregnant again. This revelation compelled Marshall to turn down the judgeship and the family set out for Italy some time after Barney and Robin’s wedding.
13 Barney Was His Company’s Scapegoat
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9 |
15 |
“Unpause” |
8.2 |

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10 Darkest Storylines In How I Met Your Mother
Although HIMYM is a beloved sitcom, many of its main characters go through difficult phases of their lives.
Throughout How I Met Your Mother, neither viewers nor other characters in the show have any clue as to what Barney does for a living. It’s clear that he has a corporate job since he even invited Marshall to work with him, but Barney’s exact role in the company is a mystery — although he makes quite a lot of money. Whenever people ask Barney what his work is, he only dismissively replies with “please.”
Before finishing the series, How I Met Your Mother finally solved this question, not without shocking many viewers. Barney’s job was literally “P.L.E.A.S.E.,” which means Provide Legal Exculpation And Sign Everything. This means Barney was his company’s scapegoat, which goes against people’s expectations of the cunning Barney Stinson. However, this episode goes one step further in developing Barney as a character as Barney reveals he worked with the FBI to get his boss into jail, becoming the hero of his own story.
12 Ted Becomes a Cheater
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1 |
18 |
“Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM” |
8.3 |
The main character and narrator of the story, the audience genuinely cheers for Ted throughout the first season. A hopeless romantic in search of his soulmate, people can’t help but relate to Ted. Everyone believes that Ted’s story about how he met the mother of his children is going to be charming and heartwarming.
“Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM” challenges every expectation viewers already have about Ted Mosby. After he has been in a long-distance relationship with Victoria, he cheats on her to be with Robin, who also thinks Ted has already broken up with his girlfriend. This already showcases that Ted isn’t a true romantic but only desperate to finally get into a serious relationship.
11 Robin Thought Ted Was Proposing
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2 |
22 |
“Something Blue” |
8.7 |
Ted had his eyes set on Robin from the very first episode of How I Met Your Mother. By the end of the first season, Ted and Robin were together. Knowing that Robin wasn’t “The Mother,” fans were well aware that the two would have to break up at some point, which finally happened at the end of the second season of “Something Blue.”
Ted shares the breakup story with Barney at Marshall and Lily’s wedding. While on a date with Robin, the couple receives champagne. Robin’s glass had an engagement ring in it. The glasses and champagne were meant for a couple at a neighboring table, but before a mistake could be admitted, Robin reacted in horror. Robin repeated “no” numerous times before later feeling relief when she learned it was a mix-up. Robin didn’t want to marry, she wanted to travel the world. The two later speak of their views on having children, ultimately revealing that the two had an “expiration date.”
10 Barney Has A Playbook
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5 |
8 |
“The Playbook” |
9.3 |
Barney’s womanizing ways have long been a focal point of his character. It’s what made his development throughout the series so endearing and later his regression in the finale so heartbreaking. In the fifth season, fans got to see just how far Barney was willing to go to get laid.
In “The Playbook,” Barnery reveals that he has a, well, Playbook for seducing women. The Playbook, which was later published in real life, is full of exaggerated and over-the-top ways to con women into sex, which becomes a reoccurring gag throughout the remainder of the series. This does have a payoff with his play “The Robin,” which led to his engagement with her, despite the amount of emotional manipulation required for that play to succeed.
9 Barney & Robin Get Engaged
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Name: |
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8 |
12 |
“The Final Page: Part Two” |
9.3 |
Barney and Robin have a complicated relationship that starts when they sleep together in Season 3. From then on, they have an on-and-off love story. The couple seems to have terrible timing, as they’re never in the same place romantically. However, after many misunderstandings, Barney finally proposes to Robin in the eighth season, to which Robin accepts.
Barney had already been engaged to Quinn, so it wasn’t incredibly surprising that he was ready to settle down. Robin, on the other hand, always showed commitment issues. For Robin to say yes after a lifetime of avoiding marriage and serious relationships was truly a surprise and a clear sign of her character development.
8 Robin is a Former Canadian Pop Star
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2 |
9 |
“Slap Bet” |
9.4 |

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Despite Robin’s fun and quirky personality, her inconsiderate nature should’ve prompted her removal from the group.
Robin Sparkles is one of the most iconic and beloved running gags of How I Met Your Mother. In Season 2, episode 9, Barney finds a shady video of Robin. Believing it to be an adult film, Barney excitedly gets the whole gang to watch it. However, they discover something much better: Robin’s “Let’s Go to the Mall” music video. Robin explained that she used to be a famous Canadian pop star who went by the name Robin Sparkles.
The cheesy character inspired many laughs since Robin keeps a tough, sarcastic, and pretentious persona. The joke goes further throughout How I Met Your Mother, as the gang finds out about other music videos, such as “Sandcastles in the Sand,” her TV series Space Teens, and her grunge era, Robin Daggers. Even cool Robin Scherbatsky has a cringy past.
7 Marshall is a Nasty Street Fighter
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4 |
10 |
“The Fight” |
8.2 |
Even though Marshall is always sweet, affable, and charming, he has a violent streak that people don’t see coming. People learn about this in “The Fight,” when Marshall has to fight MacLaren’s bouncer, Doug, after Ted gets on his bad side. Ironically, most of the gang spends most of the episode making fun of Marshall for not wanting to fight.
However, they soon come to learn that Marshall spent many an afternoon as a teenager getting into the most vicious fights with his brothers. “The Fight” showcases how admirable Marshall truly is as a character. He understands that simply because he can beat up people doesn’t mean he has to do it. As always, Marshall only uses his powers for good — except, of course, slapping Barney during “Slapsgiving.”
6 Lily Has a Vengeful Side
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2 |
6 |
“Aldrin Justice” |
8.0 |
Much like Marshall, Lily is known for her sweet disposition. Even though she has a tougher temperament than her boyfriend, she’s also charming and kind. Still, in the second season, the audience starts to discover Lily’s darker side. Lily delivers something she calls “Aldrin Justice,” which is stealing things from people who, according to her, misbehave — much like she would do with her young students.
This side of Lily continues to unravel throughout the series, letting people know that there’s no such thing as a two-dimensional character in How I Met Your Mother. Lily is vengeful, petty, and resentful. For example, one of her go-to tactics is to pretend someone died when they wronged her.
5 Robin Mourns Her Inability to Have Children
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7 |
12 |
“Symphony of Illumination” |
8.7 |

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“Symphony of Illumination” is one of the most heartbreaking episodes in How I Met Your Mother. It begins with Robin telling her imaginary children with Barney the story of how she told their father she was pregnant, only to discover mid-story that Robin can’t, in fact, have children.
Robin spends the whole episode mourning the loss of something she didn’t even want to begin with. Robin’s not wanting children is the reason her relationship with Ted didn’t work out, for example. Still, losing the possibility of starting a family breaks Robin’s heart, showing the audience that nothing is as simple as it looks.
4 Barney Used to Be More Sympathetic
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1 |
15 |
“Game Night” |
9.0 |
Barney is a stereotypical playboy. He loves nothing more than to sleep with as many women as possible, wearing his expensive suits, and getting into ridiculous shenanigans with his best friends. Season 1, Episode 15, however, shows that Barney isn’t always the confident, rich, and evil mastermind that he pretends to be. In fact, he’s the opposite deep down.
When Barney was younger, he used to be more of a hippie. He was planning to join the Peace Corps with his then-girlfriend, Shannon. Barney used to wear more casual clothes, and he even had long hair. After a terrible experience where his girlfriend leaves him for a corporate bro, Barney completely changes his personality. This backstory explains Barney’s over-the-top personality and helps redeem the character in later seasons.
3 Ted Realizes His Loneliness
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8 |
20 |
“The Time Travelers” |
8.3 |
For most seasons, Ted remains a desperately optimistic and hopelessly romantic character. No matter what life sends his way, Ted is ready for it. He goes on several dates, always trying to find his true soulmate. Ted is relentless to the point where his friends constantly make fun of him.
However, by the end of How I Met Your Mother, it becomes clear that Ted is losing hope, which is the last thing the audience expects to happen. After several misfortunes, including being left at the altar, Ted is no longer the naive, cheerful man he was in the first season. In fact, he’s quite lonely. “The Time Travelers” follows Ted as he tells a story about the gang, only to later reveal that he was alone in the bar that night since his friends were doing their own things. How I Met Your Mother is one of the few sitcoms that aren’t afraid to show a more relatable and darker side of their characters. Funny enough, Ted needed to abandon his idealistic notion of love to finally find his soulmate.
2 Ted Goes Through Great Lengths To Retrieve Robin’s Locket
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9 |
17 |
“Sunrise” |
8.1 |

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How I Met Your Mother’s Ending Would’ve Worked With Ted and Victoria
While most agree the How I Met Your Mother finale went wrong, Ted still could have reunited with the one who got away – but it’s Victoria, not Robin.
The lead-up to the ending of How I Met Your Mother surrounds Barney and Robin’s wedding. However, Robin finds herself distraught because she can’t find her “something old” – a locket heirloom she buried when she was a child in hopes to one day dig it up for her wedding. Her inability to find it, Barney’s unwillingness to help her, and Ted’s willingness to do so, led her to wonder if this was a sign from the universe.
In truth, Ted and Robin had already dug up the locket while drunk prior to Ted’s planned wedding with Stella. Robin left the locket in a racecar pencil box, which appeared to be lost. Not willing to give up on it, and Robin, Ted tracks down the locket, which leads him to confront each of his biggest exes including Victoria who was in possession of it, and Jeanette who intercepted the package. Jeanette ironically points out to Ted how obsessed he is over the locket and Robin. The lengths Ted went to retrieve the locket, and his subsequent attempt to get Barney to return it to her instead, gave Robin cold feet at her wedding.
1 The Motive Of Ted’s Story Is Revealed
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9 |
24 |
“Last Forever: Part Two” |
5.5 |
For nine seasons, Ted has told this comically long story to his children of how he met their mother. This culminated in the reveal that the mother died when Penny and Luke were young. After concluding his story, Penny and Luke deduced that Ted didn’t tell this story to answer the pivotal question the series was based around, but rather that he still has a thing for Robin and that he was seeking their approval to ask her out.
After numerous episodes of Ted supposedly moving on from Robin, most fans believed that Ted had actually, finally, moved on for Robin in “Sunrise” a few episodes earlier. The whiplash of an ending where Ted and Robin get back together soured many of those fans who felt it was a betrayal to both Ted and Robin’s development and the series itself.