‘HIMYM:’ the 45 Days monologue

Last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother presented Ted talking to a lot of future versions of himself and Barney, but in the end it was all a ploy to reveal how along Ted really was in April 2013. Future Ted begins a voiceover telling his kids that if he could go anywhere that night that he wouldn’t go to Robots vs. Wrestlers. They knew where he’d go. He’d go to 115^th Street to find his future wife. A fantasy sequence finds him there, talking to Future Wife. Here’s what he had to say:

“Hi. I’m Ted Mosby. In exactly 45 days from now, you and I are going to meet. And we’re going to fall in love. And we’re going to get married and we’re going to have two kids. And we’re going to love them and each other so much. All that is 45 days away. But I’m here now, I guess, because I want those extra 45 days. With you. I want each one of them. And if I can’t have them, I’ll take the 45 seconds before your boyfriend shows up and punches me in the face. Because I love you. I’m always going to love you. Until the end of my days. And beyond.”

This episode, and in particular this speech, has divided HIMYM fandom.

One camp says:

• This means Future Wife dies in the future.
• He wanted those 45 extra days and would love her “until the end of my days. And beyond” because she’s gone and he’ll never love again.
• The reason Future Ted is telling his children the How I Met Your Mother story is because he misses her.

I can see how that might be true. This episode was a rather subdued one and could very much have revealed the future of Ted Moesby’s life. However, I just don’t see it that way. Here’s why.

First and foremost, if Ted was telling his children how he met their mother, and she was dead, they’d be a little more sympathetic. Instead the daughter and son scoff at the story and wonder how long it’s going to take. This is especially true in the first two seasons when the actors were still filming new scenes and stock footage wasn’t used.

Secondly, there are a lot of flash forwards when Marshall and Lily ask Ted where his wife is. Or there’s jokes about her not being around. I don’t think HIMYM would be such a lighthearted and fun show if in the end it would turn into a tragedy.

Maybe I’m too much like Ted and am a hopeless romantic, but I want to believe this is the greatest love story ever and he’ll end up happily ever after with Future Wife.

It’s worth noting that the “Future Wife is Dead” theory has been floating around since at least March 2009. Again, it’s plausible, but I don’t think it’d happen. It’s not as strong of a theory as Future Wife being Barney’s step-sister Carly, which turned out not being true.

If one thing is certain, and regardless if the level of humor has gone down in recent seasons, HIMYM keeps fans on their toes and interested in the overall goal of the series.