Top 10 How I Met Your Mother Plot Holes You Never Noticed
#10: Future Ted’s Voice
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Fans of “How I Met Your Mother” know that throughout the series, actor Bob Saget serves as the narrator of Ted’s story and the voice of “Future Ted”. In fact, his voice can be heard in almost every episode of the show. But when we finally get to the end, Josh Radnor (who plays Ted throughout the series) is seen with graying hair and speaks with his own voice. This creates a confusing continuity and makes us wonder why they didn’t just have Radnor narrate the entire time rather than having someone else do it.
#9: When Ted’s Wedding Took Place
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HIMYM plays with complex interweaving timelines throughout the show’s run, giving us flashbacks and flashforwards that make it hard to keep track of when things took place. But there are some times when it seems like the creators just plain got it wrong. In the season seven episode "Trilogy Time", we see the guys getting together in 2015 to watch “Star Wars” and Ted - who’s wearing a wedding ring - brings his baby daughter. In this same episode, it seems as though Marshall doesn’t have kids yet, when we know he would have at this point in time. In the show’s finale though we learn that Ted and Tracy only got married AFTER Penny was born, as the pregnancy was what stalled the wedding in the first place. In fact, they don’t get married until after their second child Luke is born either! So the 2015 flash forward inaccurately portrays both Ted’s marital status and Marshall and Lily’s parental relationship.
#8: Lily & Marshall’s Toothbrush
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In a memorable scene from the season five episode "Perfect Week", Lily and Marshall blow it while hanging out with another couple when they reveal that they actually share a toothbrush. To make matters worse, this leads Ted and Robin to the realization that when Ted lived there they were bothusing it too. Lily and Marshall are unabashed about the fact that they’ve been doing this for years - and yet in a season one episode we see them brushing their teeth together using separate toothbrushes, you know, like normal people.
#7: Lily & Her Dad
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In the show’s fifth season, we learn that Lily has a difficult relationship with her father and that the two have long been estranged because of his poor parenting and selfish decisions over the years. It’s even mentioned that he wasn’t invited to Lily and Marshall’s wedding. But back in season two, when the wedding actually took place, Lily made an offhand remark about how her dad wouldn’t pay for her wedding. It’s also mentioned that the harp player was there because her dad owed someone a favor. Considering their reported estrangement, why would he have wanted to pay for the wedding at all? And even if he did, how would he have been able, since he's a failed wedding game designer?
#6: Marshall’s Fighting Experience
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Near the beginning of the first season, Lily tries to see if she can get picked up at a bar despite the fact that she’s engaged. When Marshall arrives and sees her talking to a guy, he gets jealous and threatens to fight him but demures when he finds out the man is actually gay. He confesses that he’s never actually been in a fight. But a few seasons later, we get some backstory on Marshall: not only do we find out that he’s actually quite the experienced fighter because he and his brothers would violently brawl on a regular basis, but he also actually demonstrates that he can throw a punch.
#5: Barney’s Ability to Drive
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In a memorable flashback from the season two episode “Arrivederci, Fiero”, we learn that in 2005, Barney didn’t know how to drive and Ted tried to teach him, prompting Barney to say he’d never drive again. Yet in 2006 it seems that he drove Ted’s mom to the airport. Did he get over his fear of driving that quickly and manage to learn? Not only that, but in season one, a woman mentions that she slept with Barney in his car. Honestly though, we wouldn’t put it past Barney to own a fancy car to seduce women but never actually drive it.
#4: Robin’s Fear of Guns
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In season one, the gang gets a limo for New Year’s Eve and end up having a wild night, picking up a man they initially think is the musician Moby. They soon realize he isn’t though when he whips out a gun and starts raving like a crazy person. Robin seems terrified of the gun, but not long after, in the premiere of season two, we find out that she’s actually a gun nut. She has actually been hiding her love of guns from Ted. So maybe it was just really good acting on her part when she acted scared of not-Moby? Or maybe even the biggest NRA supporter still doesn’t want a gun pulled on them.
#3: Tracy Leaving the Wedding Early
The two part finale of the show takes place in a series of flashbacks and flashforwards, though much of the action is in the present day at Robin and Barney’s wedding. Ted leaves the reception early and finds himself on the platform at the Farhampton train station where he finally speaks to Tracy, AKA The Mother. While Ted leaving the wedding early is a pretty crappy friend move, it really doesn’t make sense that Tracy, who was playing bass in the wedding band, would be able to leave before the end of the night.
#2: Who the Mother of Barney’s Baby Is
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In the series finale, we got to see all the characters complete their story arcs and even saw Barney getting some kind of redemption. Initially when he’s at the hospital for the birth of his child, he’s his usual flippant self, but when he finally meets her he falls in love at first sight. Throughout all this though, we are not told who the mother of his daughter, Ellie, is. We get that it was intentional for the producers of the show to keep this one a secret, but we have to wonder why they didn’t bother exploring this storyline and tying up this loose end. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Robin’s Female Friends Lily’s Supposed Dog Allergy Robin’s Athletic Abilities Marshall’s Use of Medication Gary Blauman’s Mortality
#1: The Pineapple Incident
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The people behind HIMYM are known for their ability to give us answers to unanswered questions episodes or even seasons later, and yet one of the show’s biggest mysteries was never officially solved. One of the most beloved episodes is season one’s “The Pineapple Incident”, where Ted had a crazy drunken night and woke up with a pineapple beside his bed. Fans waited forever to have this one wrapped up, but by the series finale it never was. Apparently the answer was supposed to be included in the show, but now is only available as a deleted scene. And honestly, it’s not all that satisfying.
