How I Met Your Mother ended in 2014 with a handful of mysteries that went unsolved, but when Hulu announced that they were producing a spinoff, How I Met Your Father, there was hope that some unanswered questions from the parent series would be addressed in the new one. The Hulu television show ran for only two seasons before being canceled in 2023, marking the likely (now permanent) end of the How I Met Your Mother universe. While a few stars from the CBS sitcom made cameos in the spinoff series and gave fans updates on their characters, they didn’t answer every question left unsolved from the first show.
How I Met Your Father was set in the same universe as How I Met Your Mother and followed Sophie telling her son how she met his father in the future. It was a separate show from the CBS series but undoubtedly shared many qualities with its predecessor. So, going into How I Met Your Father, it was expected that it would somewhat continue How I Met Your Mother‘s story, and in a way, it did. Characters from the first show popped up and answered questions about their lives after the series finale, but now that the Hulu show is canceled, fans are left with various unsolved puzzles.
10. What Was Tracy’s Fatal Illness?
One of the most controversial aspects of the How I Met Your Mother series finale was when the Mother, Tracy, died of an unknown illness in 2024, about six years before Ted began telling the story of how he met her to their two children, Penny and Luke. Some viewers were unhappy with the shocking and depressing development, seeing as they had waited nine seasons for Ted’s happy ending just for the Mother to be dead in the future. Nevertheless, How I Met Your Father had the opportunity to rectify that mistake or give more context surrounding her death, but neither Ted nor Tracy appeared in the Hulu series.
9. Who Was The Mother Of Barney’s Daughter?
Aside from Tracy’s fate, Barney and Robin’s conclusion also contributed to How I Met Your Mother‘s controversial ending. The entirety of season 9 was dedicated to the couple’s wedding weekend, just for them to get a divorce a few minutes into the series finale. Then, Barney reverted to his playboy ways and attempted to have a “perfect month” where he slept with a different woman daily. Following his tryst with a woman on Day 31, Barney became a father to a girl named Ellie.
When Neil Patrick Harris made a cameo as Barney in How I Met Your Father season 2, he briefly discussed Ellie. However, neither show gave much information about his daughter’s mother. So, the world may never know Day 31’s identity, which is unfortunate because it feels degrading to call her “Day 31.”
8. Did Tracy Have A Doppelganger?
Every character in the How I Met Your Mother gang — Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney — had a doppelganger. It was a running joke in the CBS sitcom that played out over many seasons, and eventually, they all found their lookalikes. Tracy eventually joined their friend group, so one could assume she would have a doppelganger, as well, but neither show addressed this possibility.
7. Did A Monkey Mug Marshall?
In How I Met Your Mother season 5, episode 19, Marshall claimed he was mugged while walking through the Central Park Zoo. When Lily started extensively worrying about her husband, he switched up his story and revealed that a monkey, not a man, was the one who mugged him. Marshall went back and forth over which account was the truth throughout the episode, and it ended with the audience never getting a concrete answer.
6. What Was The Cockamouse?
During How I Met Your Mother season 1, Marshall and Lily encountered a creature in their apartment that they dubbed the Cockamouse. They claimed it was a hybrid of a cockroach and a mouse, hence the name, and attempted to capture it, just for it to later escape (by flying out the window). The unknown species returned a handful of times throughout the rest of the CBS series, but the show never gave a concrete answer regarding its actual genetic makeup. Unfortunately, the Cockamouse was never discussed or appeared in How I Met Your Father.
5. When Did Ranjit Get Rich?
How I Met Your Mother season 9, episode 21, gave viewers updates on multiple significant recurring characters, like Ranjit. Future Ted revealed that Ranjit, the gang’s go-to limo driver, invested in some stocks that made him rich. As a result, he bought the limo company and was living the life he always deserved. However, the sitcom never shared when Ranjit’s financial success happened, and the character never showed up in How I Met Your Father to give more details.
4.What Happened To Tracy’s Band?
Tracy’s band, SuperFreakonomics, was responsible for Ted meeting the love of his life in How I Met Your Mother. They played at Barney and Robin’s wedding, and the rest is history. However, some behind-the-scenes drama almost interfered with Tracy playing the bass at the reception, thanks to the lead singer, Darren. Thankfully, Darren quit, and all was well, but it’s unclear whether SuperFreakonomics continued without Darren following the wedding or if they broke up for good.
3. Did Barney Ever Settle Down?
As mentioned above, following Barney and Robin’s divorce, he returned to being a player in the How I Met Your Mother series finale. His daughter undoubtedly changed his life, but Barney never settled down and found a woman to be with for the rest of his days. Perhaps that was never Barney’s destiny, and his daughter was his purpose in life. During his cameo in How I Met Your Father, it was clear that Barney was on the road to recovery regarding his playboy ways, but the spinoff never addressed what happened to him following that journey.
2. Where Did Ted End Up In His Career?
Ted ultimately turned down the architecture job in Chicago in the How I Met Your Mother series finale because of his first meeting with Tracy. But following his changed plans, the CBS comedy series never revealed what happened regarding Ted’s career. It’s assumed that he continued working as an architect, but he could have returned to teaching. How I Met Your Father likely planned on having Josh Radnor making a cameo somewhere down the line, and fans might have gotten an answer to this question if Hulu hadn’t canceled the spinoff.
1. Did Lily Ever Become A Famous Artist?
After Barney and Robin’s wedding, Marshall and Lily temporarily moved to Italy, where she assisted the Captain as his art consultant. They were only there for a year before moving back to New York City, but it’s unclear if Lily continued to work as the Captain’s art consultant, if she returned to teaching, or if she pursued her dream of being a world-famous artist. Like Josh Radnor, How I Met Your Father probably planned on having Alyson Hannigan reprise her How I Met Your Mother role in the Hulu series and update viewers on Lily’s life, but that will never happen now.
