'How I Met Your Mother' season finale recap: The Mother revealed!

How I Met Your Mother Ted — Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS

WARNING: Do not read the following recap if you haven’t seen tonight’s episode of How I Met Your Mother.

A promo released last week promised the mother of all reveals — a giant moment that fans have been waiting for.

So…did we meet the mother in tonight’s season finale of How I Met Your Mother? Yes. Yes, we did.

Take a moment to let that sink in. We. Have. Met. The. Mother.

And the best part? We’d never seen her before.

After all the speculation, the wonder, the PopWatch casting sessions and the theories, The Mother turned out to be…some girl. Carrying a yellow umbrella. Buying a ticket to Farhampton, where…oh, you know.

Something about the seemingly out-of-the-blue casting decision fills me with joy. (In real life, she’s actually Cristin Milioti, of Once stage fame.) It speaks to the randomness of fate in a way that I think is just wonderful.

Also, can I be a nerd for a second? When we saw her walking, my heart was pounding. And after we saw her, I felt a weight lift. For us — and for Ted.

You’re so close, Ted. So close.

Ted’s in major need of this meeting. In this episode, he was the lowest we’ve ever seen him — heart still aching over Robin and Barney’s nuptials and planning a low-key move to Chicago, aka Cleveland-y New York. Lily was the only one who knew Ted’s plans.

Hold on, Ted. Hold on.

Speaking of Lily, she and Marshall had a bit of drama of their own. While visiting his mom with Marvin, Marshall got a phone call that basically changed his life: He was being appointed a judge. The problem was that they wanted him to start in one week — in person. (He couldn’t “be the crazy speaker phone judge” or appear via hologram.) By episode’s end, Marshall still hadn’t told Lily. We know Marshall eventually becomes a judge, but I really hope Lily doesn’t have to give up an opportunity of a lifetime to make it happen. So many cliffhangers!

The lightest moments of the episode came courtesy of Robin and Barney, who one week before getting legen-married, decided to go out to dinner but found themselves fighting a battle of wits against a pair of nightmare diners. (“Did those two just become our arch-enemies?” “No, Robin, they’ve always been our arch-enemies, they just only revealed themselves.”)

Last, I can’t part with you for the season without mentioning that we did solve last week’s locket mystery, thanks to Lily’s recount of one of Robin’s drunken nights. (Robin dug up the locket and took it back to Ted’s place, where it did not end up in her butt. I’ll make you watch the episode for an explanation on that one.) It turns out Ted had the locket all along. So he wrapped it up and planned to give it to Robin as a wedding gift. The most troubling moment of all, though? Lily’s final words to him regarding the matter: “Ted, be careful.”

My worst fear: Ted screws up the wedding, Robin and Barney break up, Ted meets the mother, and Robin is left alone. I would literally die of sadness if this happens. (Yes, I’m being dramatic, but I’m emotionally invested, okay?) Best case scenario: Someone ties Ted up before he can ruin anything and it turns out to be for his own good.

Someone go buy some rope and I’ll see y’all back here in the fall.

Sandra on Twitter: @EWSandraG

UPDATE: Click here to read our EXCLUSIVE chat with executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

‘How I Met Your Mother’ promo teases ‘mother of all secrets’ — VIDEO