In truth, this was the probably the weakest part of the episode, as we were shown one too many clips of Chris Kattan as TWB's "Jed Mosley" and Lily trying to get a rise out of Robin (to no avail, duh). It was actually the final scene here that delivered the real payoff, as Robin's mother (played by Tracey Ullman) made her on-screen debut -- an appearance that fans have been waiting to see since the season began. Other than that, though, this storyline wasn't very memorable, even with the return of Lucy Hale as Robin's sister Katie.
Meanwhile, Barney and Ted's mission to pick out Barney's wedding suit wasn't much better. The duo's walk down "suit memory lane" relied pretty heavily on corny sight gags and innuendos, and suffered as a result (the one exception being the capsule cutaway of Barney crying and Ted yelling, "SAY YES TO THIS SUIT!"). The silver lining here came at the end when Ted delivered another one of his classic romantic speeches, and we saw Barney's wedding suit go from "way oversized" to "perfectly tailored" right before our very eyes -- a nice visual touch, and definitely more subtle than Robin floating up into the sky a few episodes ago.Of course, the highlight of this week's episode was the frame story set in 2024, featuring Ted and the Mother, once again at Farhampton. First, it's important to note that "Vesuvius" is another one of very few episodes not to include the voice of Bob Saget as Future Ted. Instead, we got a brief glimpse at 2024 Ted evolving into the storyteller he's destined to become. Moreover, this episode hinted that Future Ted's penchant for spinning yarns may have a deeper, psychological meaning behind it.
Naturally, I'm referring to a couple of key lines from the Mother, the first of which came in the middle of the episode as she warned Ted, "I don't want you to be the guy who lives in his stories. Life only moves forward." What's kind of sad about that is Ted actually does become the guy who lives in his stories, and that lends to the idea that Future Ted, our narrator removed from this particular episode, has yet to piece that together.
But the Mother's second line was the more telling one: "What mother is going to miss her daughter's wedding?" -- this, followed by Ted's deeply sorrowful reaction, to which the Mother consoled him and, dotingly, changed the subject. Now, the obvious conclusion here is that the Mother is at this point terminally ill. In fact, I was personally so convinced of this, that I immediately welled up at Ted's reaction -- mind you, something that hasn't happened to me in years, watching this show. Suffice to say, this was a powerful moment, and one that caught me off guard (despite the many fan theories I'd read suggesting that possibility).
Of course, it's important to remember that How I Met Your Mother is the king of misdirects, and it's entirely possible that the creators are planning something entirely different. That said, I'll be a little disappointed if Bays and Thomas take it in any other direction. Regardless of what actually transpires, the dialogue and body language from both Ted and the Mother this week seemed to suggest that something was wrong with the Mother. Whether that's a terminal illness or just a health scare remains to be seen -- again, if that's the case at all. There's any number of reasons why Ted would react the way he did, but given the context, the most logical explanation is that the Mother is dying.
Either way, "Vesuvius," on its own merits, ultimately succeeded in delivering the emotional impact that it was clearly striving for, so with that in mind, I would call this episode a win.
But what are your thoughts on the matter? More specifically, where do you stand on the "Mother is dead/dying" theory? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below!