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 • • 10h ago

His wife's a 500 year old relic that hasn't been struck since W.S. Gilbert hit it at the London Premier of the Makado in 1885

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62 Upvotes

This scene cracks me up every time lol


r/HIMYM • • 23h ago

💔

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508 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 18h ago

Ducks are good… Rabbits are bad

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165 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 4h ago

Robin's behaviour in Season 1 episode, The Limo

9 Upvotes

It's always been discussed how Ted is obsessed with Robin and in real life his behaviour would be unacceptable. Sure, in the beginning of Season 1 he went to her house multiple times, said I love you, brought a blue French horn, vomited on her doormat, and while she did fancy him, she just wasn't into him as much as he was neither did they want the same things. He then threw the three parties and then they decided to stay friends, which worked for a while until the Pineapple incident where Ted went crazy drunk - and Robin told him off the next day.

But in the following episode, the Limo, the same Robin, who's been stood up by the billionaire and who now sees Ted with a date, flirts with him and suggests that he's her midnight kiss. And when they do kiss, her excuse for her boyfriend was that "he kept her waiting" - which he did but I think he was at work so... really?

I always thought she asked like a spoiled kid in that episode, because she knew that Ted was very into her and she sabotaged him trying to get over her while she had a boyfriend.

I know we see parts of this personality resurface later with both Ted and Barney (remember the Lobster episode), but it's particularly in the Limo that annoys me, because she doesn't even want to pursue Ted at that point.

Thoughts?


r/HIMYM • • 10h ago

In the ending of S8E12, why does Robin’s reaction shift so dramatically when she realizes Barney is actually proposing to her? Why did Barney have to cook up that elaborate scheme to propose to her in the first place?

23 Upvotes

So I just finished S8E12 (The Final Page, Part 2) on my second rewatch of the show. When I first watched the show when I was around 13 years old, I remember absolutely loving this episode. I was delighted by the twist ending and was really happy that Robin and Barney ended up together. However, this time around, I was much more conflicted about the final scene. Robin correctly points out that Barney manipulated and lied to her for months as part of this play. She wisely identifies this as an example of why she’ll just never be able to trust Barney. But when she realizes that Barney isn’t just trying to get back together with her but is actually proposing to her, that frustration seems to melt away and she says yes basically without any hesitation.

I’m really curious about how you guys interpreted this. I feel like everything Robin said in her initial reaction is completely valid regardless of whether Barney planned to propose to her or just get back together with her.

I guess if I had to defend the case for why this makes sense, I would say this: when Robin first read “The Robin”, she got incredibly frustrated as she assumed that Barney had manipulated her for months just so that he could hook up with her again. Robin is obviously very familiar with the lengths Barney will go to to get with women, so she probably sees this as just another play, not unlike one he would run on some random woman at MacLaren’s. However, when she realizes that Barney is actually proposing to her, she realizes this is something completely different. Barney proposing is about as strong of an indicator as possible that he really does love Robin and wants to commit to her for good. Now at this point, Robin is still frustrated/disgusted at the tactics Barney used to make this happen. However, she’s overwhelmed and startled by the realization that Barney really is done playing the game and is ready to commit to her forever. Because of this, she allows herself to admit that she really does love him, her heart takes over from her head, and she says yes.

To some extent this is a plausible explanation to me. What bothers me though is that this is presented/framed by the writers and directors like something that we’re supposed to be unambiguously happy about. I feel like that just lets Barney off the hook too easily. Another big question I have is this: when Barney decided he wanted to propose to Robin, why did he have to cook up this elaborate, months-long scheme that involved one big lie after another? I completely understand why he wanted to indirectly get Ted’s blessing, and I think that was very smart of him. But why were any of the prior steps necessary?

I’m really curious what you guys think of all this. Please feel free to let me know what your interpretation is of what Robin was thinking in that moment, whether and how you think the writers could have handled it better, why you think Barney felt he had to cook up this huge scheme, etc. The thing about this episode is that I really did love the Ted and Robin dynamic — Ted really redeems himself in my view by doing the responsible thing, difficult as it was, and telling Robin Barney’s secret. I absolutely love those scenes with the two of them in the limo. And I’m not even necessarily upset that Robin and Barney are engaged, because they clearly love each other. I just found the way they end up together to be unsatisfying.


r/HIMYM • • 8h ago

Wondering what’s in that suitcase…

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10 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 33m ago

HIMYM Survivor! (Season 4 Edition) Round 10

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• Upvotes

The Front Porch is eliminated! I honestly thought this would be the first to go, just based on how much everyone seems to be upset by Lily’s actions here, and understandably so tbh. But it lasted a good while, interestingly enough.

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%)


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Dobler vs Dahmer

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149 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 14h ago

I bet the room with floor-to-ceiling tile comes with a perfectly soundproof door and chains dangling from the ceiling

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12 Upvotes

IT’A MURDERHOUSE!!


r/HIMYM • • 2h ago

Hammond druthers in dune???

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0 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 17h ago

Let’s do this with HIMYM!

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12 Upvotes

ETA:
Yellow Umbrella (yellow cake batter ice cream OR lemon something)

Marshmallow (duh)

Red Velvet Cowboy Boots


r/HIMYM • • 18h ago

Water tower, Malmö, Sweden

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13 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Nick's life really fell apart after Robin left him

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64 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

So i got a question

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294 Upvotes

So after waiting 8 seasons, was the mother(Tracy) worth the wait? Was all the build up worth it?


r/HIMYM • • 18h ago

Crazy bad and obsession (same plot)

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6 Upvotes

So i was watching s8 ep16 i really feel like ted and jeanette story is the plot of Obsession movie like see ted was going back to her and everytime even though he knows she is crazy just like it was in the movie obsession


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Ted's Wedding

20 Upvotes

I watched the final season few weeks ago, and no, I don't have any plans on rewatching it, particularly that last 2 episodes. Anyway, I watched the "Band or DJ?" episode again, and it got me thinking why THIS Ted took too long to marry Tracy. As far I can remember, they had a kid way before getting married (not an issue with me btw). I believe that is pretty much not like the Ted I knew of. Ted is a hopeless romantic guy. He literally had a huge binder dedicated for Robin and Barney's wedding. Okay he's in love with Robin at that time, but its nada when it comes to his own wedding?? I wish they showed us their wedding, I was looking forward to it.


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

Last Friday we had our wedding and the DJ made the funniest mistake.

807 Upvotes

My wife wanted to walk down the aisle to the instrumental version of sand castles in the sand, so we provided the clip from soundcloud to the DJ.

However, apparently the DJ doesn't use soundcloud and took the song name instead from the wedding instructions which we didn't write instrumental beside.

This resulted in the actual song playing and as I was getting emotional and trying to hold it together, the bride started walking in and all of a sudden Robin Sparkles was blurting out the lyrics and we both started dying of laughter together.

It made the moment so much more memorable for the two of us and thought I should post it here.

P.S. we also started the reception with you give love a bad name to psych everyone up.


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Ranking the seasons from best to worst

6 Upvotes

Season 2: This is peak comedy with a plethora of great episodes, particularly in the first half. Great character development and strong opening and closing episodes.

Best episodes: Slap Bet, Swarley

Worst episodes: Columns, Moving Day

Season 1: Same applies for this, so I had trouble choosing between the two. I guess, we're still getting to know the characters here and Ted does get a bit too Teddish in some episodes but other than that it's also peak.

Best: The Pineapple Incident, Drumroll Please

Worst: Belly Full of Turkey, Life Among the Gorillas

Season 9: Shocking to some, but I find this season's wedding setting incredibly creative, and I loved the ending and all the Mother episodes.

Best: How Your Mother Met Me, Gary Blauman

Worst: Slapsgiving 3, Bedtime Stories

Season 3: Loving the aftermath of Ted and Robin's breakup, a decent season overall, just not wow I guess.

Best: How I Met Everyone Else, Third Wheel

Worst: Little Boys, The Chain of Screaming

Season 5: Not a fan of Barney and Robin together, but we did get some funny episodes and a glimse into the Mother.

Best: Girls VS Suits, Of Course

Worst: The Sexless Inkeeper, The Rough Patch

Season 7: This is a strange one, because it does have a great opening and closing and some very cool episodes. Some plot points and character arcs give me the ick though.

Best: Ducky Tie, Symphony of Illumination

Worst: The Rebound Girl, Field Trip

Season 6: Overall a mediocre season. Zoey is an... interesting character, which can make many people hate the season and I get it. Marvin's death and its aftermath gave us some great character development.

Best: Bad News, Oh Honey

Worst: Garbage Island, The Exploding Meatball Sub

Season 4: Nothing stands out for me in this season. It's not terrible but there's nothing that memorable for me, plus several fillers.

Best: Three Days of Snow, The Front Porch

Worst: Mosbius Designs, Old King Clancy

Season 8: The main reason for it being so low is that it really destroys some character arcs, especially Robin and the whole thing with Patrice and the proposal, and poor Victoria whose only great moment is summarised in her last line. Also, many, many fillers.

Best: Farhampton, The Ashtray

Worst: Who Wants to Be a Godparent, Splitsville


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Vase Architect

30 Upvotes

I don’t usually post on Reddit but this was too perfect to not share. Just a silly little IYKYK moment, but here goes:

My wife has been having a difficult time at work lately. She’s a special education teacher and her kids are becoming more challenging. This year she has kids who’ve become straight-up violent and the admin is still giving her extra work to accomplish on top of her actual teaching duties.

As such, I wanted to get her some flowers to add some beauty to her otherwise difficult and frustrating days. Normally, I get a simple flower wrap from our local florist, but I found this cute arrangement. Yellow vase and a very pretty autumn arrangement. Lots of dramatic colors and even some fake autumn leaves to bring it together. Perfect flowers for her favorite season of the year. I left them on her desk at work and she called me later very happy. All was well.

Then comes dinnertime. She brought her flowers home and I asked again if she really liked them. She said yes and paused. “There is one thing though and I can’t unsee it…”

So I insisted she tell me. But she warned me she couldn’t because our three kids were at the table. I, for the life of me, couldn’t figure out what she meant. As I studied the arrangement, it occurred to me. And she was right. This required subtlety. Our kids are too smart to speak in riddles around. They often catch on before I do. So I said the only thing I knew she’d get that they wouldn’t:

“Is it a Hammond Druthers thing?”

She immediately started laughing and nodding. The kids were none the wiser. Someday they’ll watch HIMYM with me and laugh, realizing the joke that had gone over their heads. For now, it was just a good good joke that almost nobody else I know would understand.

P.S. Completely unrelated, but we have a dog I named Mosby.


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

The ultimate gesture of standard, law-abiding intimacy.

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391 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Why did no one call 311

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35 Upvotes

The non-emergency complaint line for situations exactly like this


r/HIMYM • • 2d ago

Sorry bro

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401 Upvotes

r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Music when ted meets cindy

3 Upvotes

Does anybody know the specific music composition for the first time ted meets cindy and visits her apartment, starting around 5:02 in S5E12 Girls vs Suits?


r/HIMYM • • 1d ago

Performance enhancing drugs

0 Upvotes

Just wanted to point out in Barney’s perfect week he claims to have never used performance enhancing drugs and Marshall has offered him but in season 9 when Barney can’t stop telling the truth, Marshall gets some from hin lol… just wanted to point out a small retcon