Most Popular HIMYM Fan Theory Confirmed, And It Actually Changes Everything
The fan theory about the protagonist of How I Met Your Mother has been confirmed, and it completely changes the way fans look at the show and feel about the characters.
The narration in the series is done by an extremely unreliable and confused storyteller Ted. He broadcasts back in the year 2030 and tells his adult children the story of how he met their mother.
At the same time, he does not just retells the story – he recounts his young years in a confused, endless, and embellishing way. Spiced with life advices, of course.
It has long been theorized that Ted is not telling the story exactly as it really happened. Ted is a notorious example of an unreliable storyteller.
He does not hesitate to get confused in stories, forgetting names and substituting facts. Which can be critical, since we learn all the stories from Mosby's words. And it is difficult to call it an objective story.
Fans cite Barney's portrayal on the show to support this theory. If the characters of Ted, Robin, Lily, and Marshall always seemed fairly typical, albeit with quirks that captured the audience's interest, Barney Stinson, in all his glory, seemed somehow unrealistic.
Despite the impressive number of rivals for Robin's heart, it was always Barney who posed the biggest threat to Ted. In the end, Robin chose Stinson to the detriment of Mosby, which of course could not but offend the main character.
So what if all of Barney's flaws were greatly exaggerated by an unreliable narrator? And Ted himself, against the backdrop of an opponent, looks like a real romantic who deserves Robin much more.
It turns out fans were right to suspect that, as producer Carter Bays revealed in his Reddit AMA. He was asked if some of Barney's actions were exaggerated and if it should be taken at face value.
"Yes I think they're exaggerations. […] What the characters say isn't always exactly what was really said. The whole show is aware that it's a performance, a story being told for an audience. So no, you don't have to believe any of that stuff if you don't want to," Bays answered.
The confirmation of this theory largely explains the inconsistency of the script and some plot holes.
It also makes fans want to watch the cult sitcom again, only now with the realization that everything that happens is colored by Ted's personal opinion.