Viewers waited a very long time to find out how Ted Mosby met his wife on How I Met Your Mother - but how did she meet all of the other characters in the series?
The identity surrounding the “Mother” was the central mystery of the sitcom. As Future Ted (Josh Radnor) continued telling his kids the story of how he met their mom, the series revealed more details about the enigmatic character. After eight seasons, the Mother was revealed to be Tracy McConnell, a woman that Ted met at the train station after Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) wedding. The season 8 finale, “Something New,” was not only the first time Ted came face to face with his future wife, but it was also the first time the Mother directly appeared on the series.
Actress Cristin Milioti portrayed Tracy in the season 8 episode before she was promoted to a series regular for the ninth and final season of How I Met Your Mother. Season 9 unearthed a ton of details regarding Tracy and filled in a few blanks left by previous storylines. As Tracy took center stage for the first time, viewers were also given the chance to learn how she met the rest of the gang. It turned out, she actually met the others before she officially met Ted. Here’s a breakdown of how Tracy met Ted’s closest friends.
Barney: The story revealing how Tracy met Barney actually came from a flashback scene. During the season 9 episode, “Platonish,” it was shown that Tracy was the one who convinced Barney that he was still fully in love with Robin. Barney was challenged by Robin and Lily to complete a series of tasks and one of which was to pick up a woman while holding embarrassing objects. The woman he tried to win over was Tracy. She coincidentally became the bass player for the band at Barney and Robin’s wedding.
Lily: Tracy encountered Lily (Alyson Hannigan) on the train heading to Farhampton. Lily was clearly stressed from her fight with Ted, and Tracy took notice. She offered Lily cookies and took the seat next to her. While venting to Tracy, a complete stranger at the time, Lily realized that Ted might try to win Robin back, so she had to beat him to Farhampton. Lily was also missing her son Marvin, so Tracy tried to comfort her as they waited to arrive at their destination.
Marshall: Marshall (Jason Segel) and baby Marvin were on a bus headed for Farhampton Inn went they suffered a flat tire. He decided to walk the rest of the way since it was already less than 24 hours before Barney and Robin’s wedding. In the episode “Bass Player Wanted,” Tracy passed by them on the road and recognized Marvin after seeing his picture from Lily. She offered to give Marshall and his son a ride. Marshall agreed but got freaked out when Tracy knew so much about his life. After pretending to be a psychic, Tracy revealed that she sat with Lily on the train and that was how she knew who Marshall was.
Robin: Shortly before the wedding, Robin began having serious panic attacks. She started to question her choices and wondered if she should be with Ted, a conundrum she faced multiple times on How I Met Your Mother. Robin decided to run away but as she was leaving the building, she crashed into Tracy and knocked her over. Tracy realized what Robin was doing so instead of talking her out of it, she convinced the runaway bride to take three deep breaths. While doing so, Barney appeared and calmed her doing by assuring her that he will always be honest. If it wasn’t for Tracy, Robin may have left before Barney found her.
Next: How I Met Your Mother Almost Ended After Season 8 - Here’s Why
