In the two part finale, Barney convinces Marshall to give his son the middlename of "Waitforit" whilst Marshall is drunk at a casino as Lily goes into labor. The first half is their Homeric attempts to get the hospital, finally assisted by a bus full of elderly people. Ted finally makes amends with Robin to just remain friends, and Barney takes his stripper girlfriend to Hawaii. Before they can get aboard the plane, Barney's magic mystery box is scrutinized by security and he, Quinn, and the box are detained as terrorists. In a small room, Barney (NPH with the help of a fellow magician) executes the magic trick centered around the box which produces a ring, and he proposes to Quinn (important because Quinn would only stop stripping if she were to get married, something that irks Barney).

The newly engaged couple visit Marshall and Lily's apartment to see Marvin Waitforit Erikson, while Ted decides to call Victoria as she had been the closest match for him. She arrives at the bar in a wedding dress; she's ready to leave her fiancee for Ted. He opts to drive her back to the church because he knows how shitty it is to be left at the altar. As he arrives at the church he doesn't stop, and he and Victoria drive off in the sunset.

Flash forward to Barney's wedding, where Ted is summoned to talk to the bride. Lily ushers him into a room where the bride is revealed to be Robin.

I guess this has been 'disproven' already, but given the events of this last season finale my assumption is that Victoria is Ted's wife and the mother is a surrogate. Otherwise, the creators of the show are rather uncreatively dragging things out to maintain interest in a season 8 and beyond.

**** Ted for giving that speech about being left at the altar and how it tore him up, then he does it to someone else.

**** the writers of the show for dragging out this bullshit with Robin. I hope that Ted, Barney, and Robin die a horrific death on the show then Marshal and Lilly could get a spinoff series.

Good meta joke with Ted not wanting to explain what happened concerning the wedding to the old lady at the train station, Lily and Marshall's 'zombie-parent vision' was a nice bit of humor that stayed consistent with the rest of the show, along with the banter between Victoria/Ted and later with Robin, Quinn, and Barney at the bar with Starbuck's hus- errr Nick.

Another big positive is Ted's interaction with Victoria's fiancee... It seems like the writers aren't tone deaf to the absolute hate many fans have with the supposed protagonist of the show, and having Klaus leave Victoria as she's leaving him absolves Ted from any blame for 'stealing' someone else's love when it had happened to him with Stella. Also keeping in step with the show picking right back up with its usual sense of humor, is Klaus' monologue about finding the one as it leads up to the end of the episode with a full body (minus face) reveal of the Mother at the train station along with montage that underscores the point of being sure you've found 'the one'.

I guess the downside of the episode is the fact that this season starts off with plotlines we know aren't going anywhere in the grand scheme of things with Victoria and Quinn, which is a shame because both ladies (characters and actresses alike) are ones you think could put some steam into the storytelling, but that's not the case.

My personal observations / reading too much into things for the ep: 1) Why is Ted's hand wrapped up? 2) Is it just me or is Bob Saget's narration different in how he's delivering it..?

I'm already a "Mother" homer so I won't go into what I liked in her scenes with Lily, but I think her introduction to the cast won't be too much of an issue. I was wary of the idea of Ted and her interacting before "current day" Ted meets her but their scene at the end of the episode just works and doesn't seem forced as I figured it would be. Also, I want to call out foreshadowing in that front desk clerk referenced the Inn as being the site of "countless conceptions and one grisly murder" combined with the fact Ted and the Mother visit the place one year later.. Give or take 9 months and it will be February/March 2015 which is when Ted's daughter is an infant.

TED SCHTUPPED THE MOTHER IN FARHAMPTON BITCHES.

Ted's bandaged hand. It must pertain to Robin's locket and Ted's (ZOMFG JUST GIVE IT THE **** UP) feelings for her and the foreshadowing from when Barney told Ted to STFU about his behavior with the "I'm marrying Robin -not you- from the hot wedding planner episode and the "wild card who ruins the wedding" motif. Shit is going to be ****ed up and I don't see how it can be handled in the last half of the season without it being left unresolved or rushed to a resolution by the series finale.

Also, Ted's relocation to Chicago.. Dude listed his dream home and packed up his apartment in the city for an entirely new job. You mean to say he meets The Mother and just says '**** it; I'm staying here with you SugarTits!' ..? No. He's gotta move out of NYC but this again means it has to be resolved. Also the fact that they have a kid by February 2015 really constricts the amount of time for these two to meet, date, marry and furgle,

Similarly, Lily/Marshall's move to Rome. He's accepted his judgeship, Lily hasn't a ****ing clue about this fact and the fact she's been the most self-centered characters, this will be a problem. This little issue I feel will be the first to be resolved though not in the way I think makes sense.