"How I Met Your Mother" is, as some regular readers might know, one of my favorite shows. Not only does it hit home when it comes to comedy, but this sitcom has more bubbling beneath the surface than it might appear. After all, dramatic moments make the funny ones more poignant, and vice-versa.
1. Marshall getting left by Lily.
Let’s start with the finale of the first season. The episode spent much of its 22 minutes focusing on the inevitable joining of Ted and Robin, but it also looked at the crumbling relationship between the then-engaged Marshall and Lily. The final moment in the episode, when Ted comes across Marshall sitting alone in the rain... man, it just crushes your heart.
2. The incredibly aesthetic moment at the end of this clip.
"How I Met Your Mother" is incredibly artful about its scoring, and this moment is made so perfect by the background song’s lyric: “It’s always darkest before the dawn”. The image of Ted surrounded by yellow umbrellas, just like the one belonging to his future wife, is beautiful.
3. When Marshall hears the news about his dad’s death.
This one makes it on every list about "HIMYM". According to several sources, Jason Segel, the actor playing Marshall, didn’t know exactly what “bad news” would greet him. His reaction wasn’t scripted.
4. Lily’s heartbreaking secret.
Lily’s entire run on the show is defined, at least somewhat, by children. She’s a kindergarten teacher, who then tries to get pregnant. When she has her first child, Marvin, it seems like the perfect ending to her story. Or... maybe not.
Lily confesses to Ted that motherhood is hard, and when she tears up and says she doesn’t want to be a mom, I tear up, too.
5. Tracy's monologue.
Even though the viewers only know of “Max” through Tracy’s episode, her prayer to him is so sad and familiar to anyone who has lost a loved one. Little does she know that her husband will be in the same position in several years.
6. Ted and Tracy at the inn.
This one is a powerful moment of foreshadowing, as anyone who’s seen the show or read spoilers knows. Tracy, the titular Mother, ultimately dies in the season finale. So, in this flash forward, Ted’s hand on hers when she talks about a mom missing her daughter’s wedding...
7. Robin talking to her kids.
And, finally, the episode that crushed all of us. The polar opposite of Lily, it seemed pretty evident that Robin was never going to be a mother. But her pregnancy scare led to a doctor’s appointment, which revealed that she can’t have kids at all, even if she wanted to. Robin deals with this, at least partially, by talking to her future kids, who fade away before her eyes as she drinks alone on a park bench.
