10 Small Details You Only Notice Rewatching How I Met Your Mother
7. The Countdown
The Season 6 episode Bad News may be one of the best in the whole series. The title telegraphs that something horrible will happen, so the audience feels on edge throughout this seemingly fun and innocent episode. However, the episode ends with the devastating revelation that Marshall's father has passed away of a heart attack.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that something other than the title felt off-putting about Bad News. Throughout the episode, we see a series of numbers on various objects, including calendars, beer cans, and a hi-five. When number one appears on a taxi cab, Lily comes out in tears to tell Marshall of his father's death. Only then do fans who have been following the numbers realize that they acted as a countdown, from 50 at the episode's start to the final one, leading to the titular bad news.
For anyone trying to rewatch Bad News in order to find the entire countdown, here's a hint: Sometimes, two numbers will appear back-to-back, such as Sandy Rivers living in apartment 1413.