25 Easter Eggs From 'How I Met Your Mother' We Had To Rewatch To Catch
How I Met Your Mother instills a lot of passion in its fans, and that is particularly true of the series finale. Yes, we finally found out how Ted Mosby met the mother of his kids, and it's not a spoiler alert to say that the ending was tragic since the finale aired quite a while ago. Okay, it's kind of an understatement to say that fans were passionate about the finale. They had a lot of opinions and not all of them were happy with the outcome.
Easter eggs, or hidden messages and symbolism, are super fun since they allow the biggest fans of a TV show or film to delve deeper into the storylines and characters and settings. They prove that there is always something else to think about and talk about, and since we never want to feel like our favorite TV show is over, that's a pretty awesome thing. Easter eggs aren't something that most people catch the first (or even second) time that they watch something.
HIMYM is a show with a ton of easter eggs, and it's time to take a look. Here are 25 easter eggs that even the biggest fans of How I Met Your Mother didn't catch!
25 Purple Is A Big Deal On This Show
Most fans might miss the fact that the color purple is a thing on How I Met Your Mother, but according to a story on Ranker that mentions a Reddit user, this is true: "Reddit user SpamFilterHatesMe shared "A Study in Violet”, a theory that points out the strange re-occurrence of purple in the show. For instance, the entire cast wore purple in season seven's 'No Pressure,' the episode where Ted and Robin end their pursuit of each other."
This person also pointed out that the yellow umbrella at the episode's end is a metaphor for the mom, and since purple and yellow are "opposites", Ted had to be finished with one color before moving onto the next. And as we can see from this photo, his girlfriend Victoria also wore purple. Basically, purple is a big deal on this show. Pretty cool, huh?!
24 This Big Moment
It's always sad when a character's parent passes away, especially when we've come to really care about this person. It feels like we're watching a good friend go through something tough.
Thanks to a story on Diply, we know that in the episode where Marshall's dad passed away, Jason Segel wasn't told about it. When Alyson Hannigan told him as Lily, that was when he found out. Interesting, huh?! This was such a big moment for his character. Maybe they wanted Marshall to really feel the impact of this moment since the actor playing him was feeling it, too. That definitely would make sense.
23 Robin Is Canadian IRL
If we've seen even a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, we know that the character of Robin is Canadian… and that the gang basically makes fun of her all the time for that fact. It's a thing. Of course, we're huge fans here and we've seen every episode, so this is definitely something that we noticed. Barney is the one that does the majority of the making fun, from saying that Canadian Thanksgiving isn't "the real Thanksgiving." Ted also says that Canadians say some things in a hilarious way.
Well, that's because of this fun Easter egg: Cobie Smulders, the actress who played Robin, is actually Canadian IRL. She lives in New York City now, but she was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.
22 Lily's Necklace Appears Again
According to Buzzfeed, Lily had a necklace on in the first season, and it appears again when the character, Zoey (who used to date Ted), wears it: "Zoey is seen with the same wishbone necklace Lily wore in Season 1. Perhaps she bought it at lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com, as she mentions having purchased Lily's paintings online."
This is definitely something that even the biggest fans wouldn't catch because it would need a lot of re-watching. But, hey, that's totally okay. We would be happy to embark on a re-watch of this entire series. It sounds like the greatest, most fun idea ever. Weekend plans, anyone?!
21 Robin And Kevin's Dates
Reddit is such a useful website, and in the case of Easter eggs on How I Met Your Mother, that's particularly true. As one Reddit user posted, "One of my favorites is when Robin first starts going on 'dates' with Kevin, the restaurant they always meet at serves a different Turkey based meal every day."
Of course, we all remember Kevin: Robin was told by the court to see a therapist and that was him… until they decided that they wanted to go out with each other and so she found someone else to be her therapist. It's pretty funny that they were always eating turkey, and we definitely love hearing this.
20 A Cool Celeb Appearance
It's always fun when we see a celebrity appearance on one of our favorite TV shows, especially when it's someone who isn't an actor. This actually happened on How I Met Your Mother and we just didn't realize it… or at least, it's pretty likely that we didn't realize it.
As one person posted on Quora, "In the season 7 episode 'No Pressure', Conan O'Brien can be seen in the background when Ted, Marshall, and Lily are all talking and sitting at the bar. He's just an extra. He wanted to have a bigger role but couldn't because his schedule was very busy or something like that."
19 Lily Eating Hot Dogs When Pregnant IRL
People like to joke about strange pregnancy cravings, and we always hear that someone wants to eat pickles with almond butter or something that's a crazy combination. Hot dogs might be another pregnancy craving, and hot dogs and pregnancy have something in common on How I Met Your Mother.
There is a scene where Lily eats a whole bunch of hot dogs… and as it turns out, there was a good reason for that: Alyson Hannigan was pregnant. While her stomach looked larger than normal and that was supposed to be because of the hot dogs, it was because she was expecting. Pretty cool and definitely a fun Easter egg.
18 Robin And Barney's Wedding Music
When Robin and Barney tied the knot, it was probably tough for Robin and Ted fans to watch (and that must be every fan… right?! Didn't we all ship this couple?).
It turns out that this wedding moment had an Easter egg, too, at least according to one Reddit user: "Robin walks down the aisle to 'Sandcastles in the Sand,' the music video to which she and Barney first hooked up." Even the biggest fans might not have noticed that, and now we for sure want to re-watch those two episodes so we can see this song (and since we love the show so much, too, of course).
17 The Gang's IRL Partners Were On The Show
According to Diply, "The spouses and significant others of three of the main characters appeared on the show several times. Alyson Hannigan's husband played Sandy Rivers, Cobie Smulders' husband played Blauman, and finally, Neil Patrick Harris' hubby plays Scooter."
That's not only a fun fact about this awesome show that we all love so much but it's also an Easter egg that even the biggest fans might not have noticed. Of course, this would be tough to notice since we wouldn't know what their spouses look like, so it's definitely something that we're glad that other people have let us in on.
16 A Whole Life In One Short Scene
Buzzfeed also pointed out that there's an episode that has a couple going through a lot in the background: "This couple in the background who went from talking to getting engaged, to making a baby, to celebrating their kid's graduation, to the husband passing away, all in one scene."
This is really cool storytelling and also not something that we might have noticed when we watched this episode since it was happening in the background. But now that we know, we can totally go back and re-watch it (and be amazed because, again, it's so cool, and it's something that is new and different).
15 Barney's Numbers
There are a lot of shows where numbers are super significant, and LOST is definitely one that comes to mind (and we probably all adored that show since it was so popular). It turns out that How I Met Your Mother is also a show with some meaningful numbers.
According to Diply, "In all of the fake statistics that Barney Stinson would spit out, the numbers 83, 8 or 3 were always involved." That's another fun fact and, again, not every huge fan would have noticed that since it's more of a subtle thing. Now that we know, it's easy to see that it's true.
14 This Countdown From 50 To 0
In the episode where Marshall learns that his dad has passed away, the show had a really interesting, unique way of doing that: they had a countdown from the number 50 to the number zero.
This is an easter egg that wasn't super obvious when we watched this episode the first time around, and it's something that even the biggest fans of How I Met Your Mother might not have caught. It makes sense now that we know about it and would make even more sense if we re-watched the episode. It's a cool way to tell the tale, that's for sure.
13 New Ads In Older Episodes
This is something that would have been impossible to notice the first time that we watched the show since it's something that has been happening later. Buzzfeed says that the show at times "injects current-day ads into the background of old episodes -- for example, this episode from December 2012 advertising the 2016 film Why Him?"
That's a really amazing idea, don't we think?! It would be cool if more shows did this since it gives fans another reason to watch the show all over again… but, hey, we don't need that many reasons since we already love the show so much.
12 The Doppelgangers Might Mean Something
The doppelgangers are a really fascinating part of the How I Met Your Mother universe. According to Ranker, they might mean something: "Throughout the series, each of the main characters spots their own lookalike out in the world. But none of the doppelgangers is quite like the original. Some fans speculate that each doppelganger actually represents the true desire of the character they resemble… Reddit user MiserableThinBelgain broke it down, describing the desire each doppelganger was depicting."
That Reddit user pointed out that, for example, Robin's doppelganger is more "masculine" and that might be the person that her dad wanted her to be.
11 Lily And Marshall See The Dreaded Cockamouse In The Series Finale
There are some things that come up time and time again in a TV show, and fans just love it since it makes us feel like we're in on a secret that only we know. One of those things is the "cockamouse" on How I Met Your Mother.
In the series finale, Lily and Marshall see this, um, a creature (yeah, let's go with creature) and it's just as scary as it was when they first came across it. Also, it's pretty hilarious that this thing exists and that they freak out so much, so it's very entertaining to see it again in the very last episode.
10 Ted's Red Cowboy Boots
According to a Reddit user, there's some meaning to the red cowboy boots that Ted wears: "In the episode where Lily tries to sell her painting to a G-CWOK, Ted goes to get their input on his red cowboy boots and they said he was 'Pulling. Them. Off'. Well, one of those guys was wearing the same exact shirt that Nick was wearing when Nick, Ted, and Robin were at that closeout sale (where Ted originally bought the red cowboy boots) but they didn't know who Nick was yet at the time."
We can say that he was absolutely "pulling them off" because, hey, if you have the guts to wear red cowboy boots, you're already there and that means that you're super stylish.
9 The Mother's Name
As soon as we watched the pilot, we were super curious about who the mother was, whether she and Ted were still together and happily in love, and also what her name was. We were in for a long wait, which we kind of understand since that's the whole point of the show.
On Quora, someone pointed out that we actually found out the mother's name before the series finale… actually, in the first season: "In Season 1 Episode 9 (Belly Full of Turkey) Ted while sharing the story with his children recounts a stripper who introduced herself as Tracy and says 'And that, kids, is the true story of how I met your mother', which shocked the kids. As it turned out the name of The Mother was actually Tracy."
8 Ted And The Mother's Song Appears In Several Episodes
The Huffington Post pointed out that Ted and the mother have a song and it actually appears in a few episodes. What's interesting is that it plays when he's with Robin.
The song is "La Vie En Rose" and someone on Reddit said, "Right when this moment starts and Ted and Robin kiss, the song 'La Vie en Rose' is playing in the background. This is the same song that the mother plays on the ukelele next to Ted's room."
No, we're not getting emotional… Promise… Even though we all shipped Ted and Robin, it's tough not to want him to be with the mother, too.
7 Barney Might Have Wanted That Baby
According to a story on Ranker about some fan theories about How I Met Your Mother, it's possible that when Barney learned that he had a baby, he might have actually wanted it: "Spoiler: In the show, Barney has a one night stand with a random woman, and ends up becoming a father. Seems pretty straightforward, but some fans don't think that's the whole story. In fact, according to one theory, Barney didn't have the baby by accident at all. Instead, he actively sought out an adoption so he could have kids. The theory assumes that Barney (like Robin) is infertile."
Hmmm. This could definitely be possible, and it's interesting to think about since it makes us think differently about Barney.
6 It's Always The Same Time
When Lily, Ted, and Marshall all live together, it's pretty cute and sweet. It just seems so cozy to live with your best friends and hang out together all the time. It's kind of like keeping the college experience to go all the time (even though you do have to wake up early for work and stuff like that).
Buzzfeed pointed out this interesting Easter egg: "The clock in Lily and Marshall's apartment always reads 4:20."
That's definitely not something that major fans of this show caught, and now it's going to be pretty cool to re-watch some episodes and see that this is true.
5 The Series Finale Has Ted And Robin's Classic Goodbye
The series finale was a sad moment for many fans… not just because it was time to let go of How I Met Your Mother after nine seasons, and not just because it was time to close the door on these characters and their stories, but because of what happened with the mother.
But there's something about the final episode that is a lot happier and is also an Easter egg: Ted and Robin have a classic way to say goodbye to each other and they do that here. As Popsugar pointed out, "Ted and Robin's goodbye is their usual joke with each other - anytime someone says 'major' or 'general,' they turn it into a salute." Okay, that is pretty sweet.
4 Barney Really Loves Ties
If we know one thing about Barney, it's that he's a fan of catchphrases (like, a really, really big fan) and that he loves a suit. He also loves ties, but we might not have noticed that this was an Easter egg, too.
Thanks to Buzzfeed, we know that Barney is such a big fan of ties that he wears one to a rave over his costume in one episode and he even has a Christmas tree of ties. That's definitely a tie-loving guy… and is totally a thing that Barney would do. Oh, Barney. He's such a beloved character.
3 Barney's Pretend Fam
Barney always makes us laugh, and that was especially true in the season four episode when we learned that he has a pretend family.
According to Quora, "In Season 4 Episode 15 (The Stinsons) we are introduced to Barney's fake family. Barney complains that the child acting as his son is a pathetic actor and child actors were way better in the 80's. This can be said to be referring to actor Neil Patrick Harris himself- who was a child actor in the show Doogie Howser, MD."
This is hilarious and amazing and makes us nostalgic for both Barney and this show. It's also a fun Easter egg that wasn't super obvious on the first watch.
2 Robin Has A Lot Of Dogs After The Finale
Popsugar pointed out that after the show ends, Robin has a lot of dogs, and that's meaningful and significant. It's also an Easter egg: "In the future, Robin has a ton of dogs - a reference to the fact that at the beginning of the series, she has five dogs, all given to her by different exes."
This is sweet and adorable, especially since it's something that makes us think of the early days of the show, and anything that gets us feeling nostalgic and looking back on the first few episodes is a good thing. Plus, it's just great that Robin has a lot of dogs. We like it.
1 The Pineapple
Some fans seem to have figured out that there's a pineapple on How I Met Your Mother that means something. Someone posted on Quora and said, "This was shown in the Extras, apparently this is a deleted scene from the final season. Remember,Ted and marshal went searching for Lilly to the captains place? Ted, saw a pineapple there… the captain says that it's a symbol of good luck and he keeps it here and one in his house in New York, after which Ted recalls flicking it."
That's super sweet since we've always wanted Ted to have luck in finding the love of his life. And we wanted to know who the mother is… and then we did… but that's another story.
References: Ranker.com, Diply.com, Eggabase.com, Buzzfeed.com, Reddit.com, Popsugar.com, Quora.com