By Vatsala Chhibber
Considering the series took up the better part of the noughties, the finale tonight should be, well, legendary. Here’s how we think it will play out:
The kids are adopted: And that’s why it took nine seasons and 208 episodes for Ted to get to the point. We know parents beat around the bush when it comes to awkward conversations but Ted took stalling to a whole other level. Discussing his sexual history with “Aunt Robin”, advocating violence (remember the Slap Bet episode?) and flimsily disguising his experiments with drugs (“I think that sandwich was laced with other stuff…like hard meats.”)
Barney – wait-for-it – comes out: Admit it, the Barney-Robin love story reminds you of the contrived Rachel-Joey affair. If Robin is Ted’s Rachel, Barney changing teams ensures the perfect resolution for the love triangle, with no messy heart-shattering. Plus, most of Barney’s sexual exploits are narrated (and exaggerated) by him. Not buying it.
Ted goes loco: He’s abandoned at the altar (yet again), which proves to be one runaway bride too many and sends him to a special care centre. He is actually narrating stories, conjured by the voices in his head, to his kids who dutifully visit him every week. If only he’d watched Queen.
They’re all extra-terrestrials: Not because every bizarre list must include aliens, but because there’s no other logical explanation for Ted’s suspiciously robust memory (can you remember two passwords at a time?) and the gang’s surreal encounters (all of them just chance upon their doppelgangers).
The series is just a teaser: For a Broadway show. What with the cast breaking into song and dance every other episode – Barney’s suit routine, Marshall’s robot dance, Robin’s teen-pop anthem. We smell an Andrew Lloyd Webber.
