A noteworthy theme throughout 'Vesuvius' was about stories. Ted and The Mother have apparently shared every story about their lives with each other, becoming an old married couple who repeat them over and over again. After beginning a story they think she doesn't know, The Mother admits to Ted that she worries about him becoming the guy who lives in his old stories, reliving the glory days rather than moving forward and making new ones. Ted seems shocked that she knows all his stories, finishing them long before he gets to the punchline, but could this have a deeper clue? Maybe Ted is going through early stages of Alzheimer's and has simply kept repeating his stories to The Mother enough times that she knows them off by heart. Her comment about living in his stories might act as foreshadowing as he's bound to confuse when and where he is. Interestingly, after they realize she knows the story of Lily and Robin's fight, he asks her to finish it. Could this be a lovey-dovey moment or maybe he can't remember how it ends? Perhaps the reason Ted is telling the kids such a prolonged version of how he met their mother is because he wants them to remember every detail before he completely forgets. Let's remember Ted has already forgotten many details or mixed up stories throughout the series as well. At the moment this is a far-fetched theory, but one which holds a certain thematic quality to it as Ted has always loved telling stories. If he has or develops Alzheimer's, his wife's warning will become a very stark reality where he literally relives his old stories in a very Notebook fashion. It may seem morbid, but certainly not as morbid as the final theory.
Richard Church has a Bachelor of Arts in English and a diploma in Television Writing and Producing. He is an aspiring writer for short stories, novels and screenplays. He is also an avid fan of comic books and graphic novels.
