James Canellos ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Vesuvius.” Photo Credit: CBS.
While the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother offered only a handful of laughs, it has proven to be one of the most talked about episodes simply because of the one scene that didn’t tell a joke. “Vesuvius” begins in the year 2024, as Ted (Josh Radnor) and The Mother (Cristin Milioti) enjoy a romantic getaway at the Farhampton Inn as they acknowledge and celebrate that they’ve become an old married couple and now know each other’s stories. That is, until Ted thinks of a story about an argument that Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) had before the wedding.
Like Ted’s inability to tell a better story, this feels like a plot that’s at the bottom of an empty barrel of tales. Most of the episode is all about Lily trying to get Robin to act more like a ‘bridezilla’ instead of being laid back. This doesn’t make much sense…isn’t it supposed to be a good thing that Robin isn’t behaving irrationally over every little detail? Lily’s determination to get Robin to care felt forced and out of place.
Meanwhile, Ted tries to help Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) pick out a suit to wear to the wedding. This sub-plot remains much more interesting then the so-called Lily and Robin fight. It’s especially funny that Barney thinks that he’s going to be the center of attention instead of Robin when they get married. Lucy Hale and Cobie Smulders in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Vesuvius.” Photo Credit: CBS.
What makes this episode so talked about, however, is not the pre-wedding dilemma, but the conversation that Ted has with The Mother in the year 2024. Ted reveals that Robin’s mother actually showed up to the wedding, making the bride as happy as she could possibly be. The Mother then says that of course Robin’s mother is going to show up, asking, “What kind of mother would miss her daughter’s wedding?” After that question is asked, the 2024 version of Ted began to choke up a little bit, which makes viewers wonder why. The big theory now racing through the heads of fans is that The Mother will not live to the series finale and that’s why Ted is telling his children this story in the first place. His reaction to cry is the narrator (Bob Saget) tearing up at the thought that The Mother won’t be there for their daughter’s wedding. Another possibility is that Ted knows The Mother’s mother wasn’t able to attend their wedding.
While this was a rather dull episode, it has gotten the attention of die-hard fans of The Mother. The Mother has been somebody viewers have invested in personally even before she was revealed, and now this possible tease will be heartbreaking if it is correct. Here’s to hoping that this is just a theory and doesn’t end up being true! Overall Episode Grade: C+
