The Mother (How I Met Your Mother)

During its first eight seasons, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother often hinted at the unseen character of The Mother. Well-known actresses often made guest appearances on the show. Many fans expected that another would play the role, but creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas wanted an unknown. Using Anne Hathaway and Amy Adams as examples, Thomas said that "We didn't want it to be a big famous star because we didn't want the wider audience to have associations with whatever actress this would be. The whole idea is that Ted's never seen this woman before, so it better feel that way to the audience", similar to how Cobie Smulders being cast as Robin Scherbatsky had "kept the show alive" when it began. They also did not want a large casting call. Bays and Thomas chose Cristin Milioti after seeing her on 30 Rock and Once; her musical ability was also helpful, as The Mother had been described as a band member. Milioti filmed her first scene for the last episode of season 8 having never watched How I Met Your Mother before. She only learned of the character's importance after binge watching the show during the summer. ==Character history==

The Mother was born on September 13, 1984. The Mother, joined by her roommate Kelly (Ahna O'Reilly), awaits the arrival of her boyfriend Max, only to receive a call informing her of his death. After the funeral service, she returns to the apartment to open Max's last gift to her—a ukulele. The Mother spends the next few years grieving the passing of the man she believes was her one true love. In "Wait for It", the short story of how they met involving her yellow umbrella is revealed. In "No Tomorrow", Ted finds the umbrella at a club and takes it home after attending a St. Patrick's Day party which she also attended, as it had been two and a half years since Max's death. She is still grieving, but Kelly encourages her to go out and date again, bringing her to the same bar where Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and Ted are celebrating. The two women run into Mitch (Adam Paul), her old orchestra instructor; The Mother offers to give Mitch her cello for his work at a school and they head to her apartment. Mitch tries to seduce her with a move called "The Naked Man", but she turns him down. Nevertheless, Mitch encourages her to pursue her dreams. The Mother expresses her desire to end poverty by taking up economics in college. which led some fans to correctly guess that the Mother's name is Tracy. ==Fate==

In the series finale, it is revealed that six years prior to Ted telling the story to his children, Tracy died in 2024 from an undisclosed illness. In the finale, the characters do not directly state that the Mother is dead. Ted says that she "became sick" and his children said that she has been "gone" for six years. Many fans expressed considerable disappointment with the Mother's death. Milioti cried when she learned her character was supposed to die, but came to accept the ending was what the writers had planned from the beginning. Bill Kuchman from Popculturology said that the Mother was "an amazing character" Kuchman said that "asking fans to drop all of that with a simple line about The Mother getting sick and passing away was a very difficult request", that the finale "advanced too quickly" and that "HIMYM was a victim of its own success on this issue". On April 5, 2014, Carter Bays announced on Twitter that an alternate ending would be included on the season 9 DVD. No new material was shot for this scene. In the alternate ending, The Mother is still living when Ted is telling the story in 2030. Future Ted is heard saying, "...When I think how lucky I am to wake up next to your mom every morning, I can't help but be amazed how easy it all really was...", indirectly stating that The Mother is alive. The video ends right after the train passes at Farhampton station and credits start rolling, implying that Ted never went back to Robin and went on to have a long, happy marriage with Tracy. ==Notes==