This controversial theory about Ted’s narration inHow I Met Your Motherwill make you want to rewatch the hit sitcom. Throughoutevery season ofHow I Met Your Mother, we witness Ted Mosby share the lengthy story of how he met his future wife to their two children, and at the time of airing, the Mother’s identity was the primary focus of fans’ theories.
There are manyTV shows we miss creating theories for, andHow I Met Your Motheris one of them. Even years after the show’s end, audiences are still coming up with theories aboutHow I Met Your Mother’s best episodes. However, upon realizing Ted’s reliability as a narrator isn’t great, it’ll make you seeHow I Met Your Motherin a completely different way.
Ted Mosby Is An Unreliable Narrator According To A Popular HIMYM Theory
From early on, it’s clear thatHow I Met Your Motheris a different type of sitcom compared to the likes ofFriends. This is because of the show’s storytelling device, which sees an older Ted recount his past to his children.Ted often mixes his wacky adventures up,forgets names, and has to correct himself.
There are severalscenes inHIMYMthat support the Ted narration theory. For example, Ted doesn’t remember Blahblah’s name is actually Carol until the very last season, and he struggles to recall which birthday of his included Lily keeping a goat in the bathroom.
While these are all relatively trivial details,some of Ted’s other tales are so wild that it’s hard to trust his perspective.Upon closer analysis, some of the more major plots inHow I Met Your Mothercan be depicted in more than one way, and it makes you question what is the truth and what are simply Ted’s feelings about the matter.
How Ted Being An Unreliable Narrator Changes How I Met Your Mother
Some moments in the show will leave you questioning Ted. Looking back,How I Met Your Mother’s Wedding Bride subplotis rather over the top. However, Ted’s story also proves that Stella still cares about his well-being after she leaves him at the altar, so it’s difficult to believe that she’d allow Tony to turn him into a caricature based on lies.
At the same time, it’s possible that Ted blows the Jed Mosley character out of proportion because he’s bitter about the memory, too. The same can be said about how Robin and Barney are perceived in “The Rough Patch.” Perhaps Robin and Barney don’t look old or fat; maybe that’s just how Ted sees them at the time.
Thanks toHow I Met Your Mother’s controversial finale, we know thatTed’s story is a way for him to attempt to gently ease Luke and Penny into the idea of him reigniting his romance with Robin.Therefore, there’s a chance that everyone’s stories are biased.
If Ted was so hung up on Robin, it would be easy for his judgement of her to be askew. Plus, with there being such a narrowed focus on Robin in Ted’s story, it would make sense if his depictions of Lily, Marshall, and Barney weren’t completely reliable either.
It’s worth noting thatTed recounts events from their lives that he wasn’t actually aware of at the time.For example, Robin doesn’t tell Ted about her infertility for several episodes, and Barney knows before him, Lily, or Marshall. In fact, the episode that focuses on this, “Symphony of Illumination,” is told from Robin’s point of view, as she talks to her two nonexistent children.
While Ted is very respectful in recounting Robin’s past struggles, his narration can’t be trusted as fact. Ted doesn’t know how Robin feels at that moment, and he isn’t even there to witness the events play out. No matter how detailed a story Robin offers Ted, it’s impossible for him to be completely correct, as he isn’t actually present for these events.
Why Ted Being An Unreliable Narrator Is A Controversial Theory
However, many believe thatcalling Ted Mosby an unreliable narrator isn’t completely fair.Ted is sharing incredibly in-depth details from several decades before, and without the rest of the gang nearby to correct him, it’s understandable if he gets a few things wrong. His opinion of others changes depending on where in the story he is, so, of course, we see these characters differently, too.
The whole point ofHow I Met Your Motheris Ted telling the story of how he met Tracy. But it’s his story, nobody else’s. Perhaps the Eriksons’ game of Baskiceball isn’t as dangerous as we think, or maybeBarney’s real personality throughoutHow I Met Your Motherisn’t as extreme, but that is simply how he visualized these things.
Naturally, this means certain things or people are romanticized, but this doesn’t make Ted unreliable. If this is how he perceives the past, then it’s not necessarily untrue. Instead,Ted could be exaggerating details simply as a way for him to keep his kids engaged with his seemingly never-ending story.Ultimately, Ted’s story should be taken at face value.
The Truth About Ted In HIMYM Is Probably Somewhere In The Middle
This theory has a lot of potential, but ultimately, it’s more likely thatTed being an unreliable narrator is simply a result of time.Ted is thinking back on events that occurred years before he met Tracy, and beforeRobin and Barney’s relationship inHow I Met Your Mothereven begins, so there will be some errors.
However, I believe some of his unreliable narration is done on purpose, too. There are some stories that are way too inappropriate for Ted to properly share with his kids, so he changes the details. Other than things like “sandwiches” and “grinch” as replacement words, Ted is also rather vague during certain stories, like when he tries to go for the belt in “Third Wheel.”
Naturally, there are also things that couldn’t have happened. For example, Ted and Barney don’t sing in harmony with their future selves, nor is there a mass group number in the street so Barney can sing about his love of suits. However, for the sake ofHow I Met Your Mother’s creative storytelling, it’s not the end of the world if Ted isn’t completely factual.
