How I Met Your Mother: 10 Ways The Finale Totally Lived Up To Expectations

9. The Series Regulars & In-Jokes

How I Met Your Mother has always relied on its long-term fans. Sure, if you pick up odd episodes not knowing about the show then it can be entertaining, but what the show has really depended on are the fans who get the in-jokes, fans who remember The Pineapple Incident or the impromptu flight to Philadelphia way back at he beginning of Season 1. And Season 9 has delivered on all of them. And the finale was no exception to this. We had all of the regular tropes of the show - Ted discussing destiny with the woman at Farhampton station, multiple drinks at MacLaren's Pub, etc - and so many of the in-jokes. Listing them all would take an age but in just this double-episode we had references to "Have you met Ted?", Canada-bashing, Ted and Robin's "Major Pleasure", sci-fi references, an epic high-five, Barney's 'guys' for everything, the Cockamouse, Halloween costume jokes, Robots vs Wrestlers, Barney's Perfect Month (again featuring Jim Nantz), The Playbook II and Ted's middle name. And if you look closely, you can even see Marshall subtly pay Lily the dividends of their Long-Term Bet that Ted would end up with Robin when Ted and Tracy are married and at MacLaren's. The finale definitely delivered to its long-term fans, showering viewers with in-jokes and references to previous episodes all the way through, as even Ted and Tracy discuss their intertwined lives with the yellow umbrella.