Did We Meet the Mother?
So there’s been a lot of chatter online about whether or not we may have met the mother this week. As reader Jez pointed out to me in an email, it seemed strange for the episode to include Ted bumping into a girl, seemingly at random, while at the club (for those of you who have the episode, say from iTunes like I do, it’s around the 13:30 mark). We know that the mother was at the party, yet Future Ted says at the end that he didn’t meet the mother there. Could the girl he bumped into turn out to be the mom? Let’s examine the possibilities.
- In the picture above, all we can see the woman with the yellow umbrella wearing is a leather jacket and jeans. We can tell she’s caucasian, petite, and has a bit of an olive complextion.
- Check out the images below, screen captures from the moment Ted bumps into the woman at the bar.
This woman is also wearing jeans, but so are 99% of the other women in the bar (and, in fact, the world.) I say this evidence isn’t conclusive enough. With all the talk about potential mother casting and then subsequent changes in game plan, it could be that, in lieu of Dermatologist Stella turning out to be the mom, the writers have thrown in a curve ball hinting at something else for the future. Or it could be a red herring.
I decided to track down the actress who played the girl Ted bumped into to try and determine how likely she would be to, at some point, become a series regular. Based on the press release I tracked her down:
Her name is Nicole Muirbrook Wagner and she has not appeared in anything notable. That’s a good sign, if she isn’t a hugely popular, in demand character actor there’s a good chance she’d be both available and amiable to come back on the show in a larger capacity.
Also, she fits the profile of the mother that was established in season one’s episode “Milk” when they showed shots of the mom with her face covered. What we could tell about the mother in those pictures was that she a) was brunette b) was petite c) had a mild olive complextion. Again, Wagner fits the bill. Additionally, if you look at Future Ted’s kids, they too are petite brunettes with vaguely olive complextions.
Now we have to ask if the creators of the show would do this to us? Maybe I watch too much Lost but yes, I think they would. That’s not to say that I’m convinced this is the mother, but it’s a definite possibility.
What do you think?
PS. If you guys would digg this story I’d appreciate it.
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JD | March 19, 2008 @ 10:29 am
Damn! NY Mag scooped me! I swear, I did my own research!
Ranier | March 19, 2008 @ 11:51 am
i was very excited about that girl, i was taking screencaps all over xD
She looks a little bit like the slutty pumpkin, don’t you think? at least what we saw of her on 1.06, but maybe i’m just being paranoic xD
and she looks very hot too, so, go for her Teddy boy
Jack | March 19, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
In the bottom pics we see that she is wearing a very long top and very tight pants. In the umbrella pic, however, she does not seem to be wearing such a long top, and her pants are straight-leg and looser.
I don’t think she is the mom- if she is, they did not pay much attention to some small details.
The Coolest Gifts | March 19, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Maybe…but Future Ted said they never met at that party.
Sure it could just be him forgetting such an incidental contact, but somehow I don’t think the writers would play it like that.
Ike | March 19, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
I thought it was strange for them to do that and from watching Lost I know not to make many predictions because they’re almost never right. It could go either way really. I think she fits the bill and could be the mother but that could easily be a red herring. I’ll just wait and see.
Jon T. | March 19, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
Although I do believe it is possible that this woman is in fact the mother, I don’t think that it’s very likely unless the show doesn’t get picked up for a fourth season. I think it’s highly improbable that the writers (along with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas) would use a device that’s as simplistic and obvious as Ted and the mother bumping into each other ‘mistakenly.’ It seems beneath the stature of the rest of the writing and plot twists on the show – besides a potential Barney/Robin storyline which seems to be coming at any minute now.
This may seem way too Lost-y for some people, but something caught my eye while watching the club scenes that may be worth discussing. Right after the five-minute mark in the episode, a girl walks out of the club – sans yellow umbrella – who seems to be wearing the outfit that the yellow umbrella girl was wearing. I agree with Jack that the mother does not appear to be wearing a shirt as long as the shirt that Ms. Wagner is wearing, but I think the 5 minute girl is. If I knew how to post screen grabs I would, but you’ll see what I mean if you watch the episode.
Let me know what you all think.
JD | March 19, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
Jon T,
I’ll grab a screenshot and check it out. Thanks!
Steve | March 19, 2008 @ 9:16 pm
Red Herring for now…
I can see this kind of thing continually happening until the show is finally put to rest – is that the mother, is that the mother, etc…
I’ve adopted a policy regarding this show – take everything with a grain of salt and enjoy the silliness
john d'arc | March 19, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
looking back, it was too weird for it to not be important. Unless this woman won a walk on role on HIMYM (where was THAT contest) then she shouldn’t have stopped the flow of that scene.
Someone needs to just ask Craig/Carter about it, and hope they don’t lie. It’s just like them to tease that the mother would be a celebrity guest, and then get some no namer to be the real mother.
aaron | March 19, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
@Jon T.
Love your theory…I looked back at the 5 minute mark and there is a girls with a similar outfit to the girl with the yellow umbrella, however, her coat is a cloth/trench coat deal (like the executive style rain coat) while the mother’s (ms. yellow umbrella) seems to be wearing a leather jacket. I’ve got the screen shots if anyone wants them.
And to weigh in…I think they just like screwing with the fans like that. Like Steve said, I can see stuff like this happening more often.
Cheers & be awesome instead.
aaron | March 19, 2008 @ 10:09 pm
hmm…just noticed this too. It’s kind of fitting that the name of the club is “Low Point” and that was seemingly (and hopefully) a low point for the way Ted was acting.
toomuchfreetime | March 20, 2008 @ 8:35 pm
It’s not the mother. In the last frame that she is on screen you can see that the woman Ted bumped into is wearing Brown leather shoes on the outside of her jeans when the mother is wearing black leather shoes under her jeans. Also I agree her shirt is too long
Xavier | March 21, 2008 @ 2:12 am
So Michael is Ben’s spy on the boat?
C’mon people, we’re grasping at straws here.
db | March 21, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
but! did anyone notice that Nicole Muirbrook Wagner’s name was in the credits once the ep ended? could that mean she has a possible role in future episodes? it’s not like they put EVERY extra’s name on the credits at the end.
Tom the Dog | April 1, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
See, I could’ve sworn it was a DIFFERENT actress than the one you name: I thought it was Hope Riley, who was credited as “Attractive Brunette” (at least according to IMDb). I went over it briefly on my blog (linked above), checked out her website, even posted a picture, and I could swear she’s the one that Ted bumps into, not Nicole Wagner. But… I could be wrong.
macdawson | April 1, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
I think that it is a possibility. She is probably going to show up later in the show and this accidental bump might be used as an ice-breaker between them. I also think that, just as Ted now has her umbrella, it is possible that The Mother has.. wait for it… his cell phone, the one he lost at the party, and she might be calling soon.
nicolas | April 3, 2008 @ 8:31 pm
i love all this theory thing but i just don’t get one detail of what has been taken as basis. why do you say that the love solutions girl, the soul mate, is meant to be the mother ? i mean , maybe i’m wrong and she is, but it’s just that ted never say that she is, i know there is the fact that her face is masked but that can be just a way not giving her a real existence because we all know that ted is still under Robin. There are so many tricks in scenarists’ minds, let’s just not take everything for granted
Weekend links at ProductionNinja.com | April 23, 2008 @ 9:38 pm
[...] on the HIMYM front, some believe that we may have seen the mother. I don’t know about that, but I will say they do seem to be drawing attention to that [...]
Ae | April 30, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
One of my friends pointed this out to me. The girl who Ted bumps into is in the PILOT episode. She is a friend of Robin’s. She the one sitting on the left at the booth in the bar with the group of girls Robin with. If you have the pilot go look. I think they are the same actress.
I think she is the mom, until someone comes up with a better theory that what I’m going with for now.
JPM | May 8, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
The “bump-into” girl strongly resembles an extra in “The Goat” episode, in the surprise party scene–the top pic above is sharp enough to compare.
I posted May 6 on “The Goat” ep discussion page with details on where to look. The short version is that she’s over Robin’s right shoulder in one camera angle. I’d bet OPM that they are the same!
Upon review of the PILOT episode on disc (able to zoom), girl on the left of the table resembles Hope Riley—sorry I forgot to double check credits! She doesn’t have much info on IMDB, so couldn’t compare eye-color, etc.
At any rate, the writers have “marked” Wagner’s character, since she is apparently in a close-enough circle to be invited-or connected as “friend-of-a-friend” who got schlepped along with another existing acqaintance of Ted’s.
My best guess is that Mom is going to be a relatively new face, judging by the way this show breaks away from tired, old formulas(thank you writers/creators). Now just get the network to lose the canned laughter like Scrubs shows can be done.
Now, the next big clue to be dropped would be Ted making a comment about specific people at his 30th b-day party… or 31st.
Sandy | August 11, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
That is a good point, but future ted said that he didn’t meet her there… However, stella said in “Ten Sessions” that she went out on St. Patty’s Day… coincidence? I think not.
Sarah | August 12, 2008 @ 4:45 am
NiCole Muirbrook was also in a Backstreet Boys video in 2000/2001.
Jackie | August 12, 2008 @ 4:49 am
Yes she was, it was the video The Call I think…..one of the Backstreet Boys is cheating on his girlfriend with her and then he ends up chasing her thru the night.
I believe that besides modeling that was her first work as an actress.
Zack | August 12, 2008 @ 4:53 am
I knew her in high school and she is as pretty now as she ever was. she is also really nice. I know her brother Jason Muirbrook too he is a model too I think.
Ivy | September 2, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
I LOVE to read this stuff
But I don’t think we’ve seen the mother. I think the only things we should take seriously are the obvious things. Like the yellow umbrella en the fact that the mother was at the St Patrick’s Day party. And that’s all. I think all the other ‘clues’ are just to let people talk about the show 
Like we do now.
I hope this show will go on for many seasons!
But I love it
Paul | October 30, 2008 @ 9:53 am
I’m of the utmost belief they the writer’s/producer’s intentions were to have that as the mother, it’s too blatant and in the show: how many times have they had a random background character bump into a main character and get a speaking line? there are even some girls “Barney” hits on who don’t get their face shown… there’s obviously a reason this girl was used, and if nothing else, the scene is quick enough and she’s unknown enough to where they could replace her next year or a few years down the road when they’re officially ready to cast “the mother’s” part. Lastly, as far as the comment “Ted” says about not meeting the mother that night, technically speaking, they didnt meet. I’ve bumped into (and excused myself) an uncountable number of girls in clubs and bars in my day and i wouldnt count that as me meeting any of those ladies.
chuck | November 17, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
where’s her red purse/bag in the picture with the umbrella?
Laptop | March 19, 2009 @ 11:28 pm
Is there a way to locate someone locally to try this?
Chad | December 31, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
My friend Cory and I are obsessed with this show. I’m glad that I finally stumbled upon this site, because he and I noticed the same thing with Ted bumping into this “random” girl. It just made no sense. ADDITIONALLY! If you look in the background, just behind the girl he bumps into, there is another girl there that looks INCREDIBLY like Eliza Dushku. Check it out. I think she would be a perfect fit for the part of the mother.
Yada | March 16, 2010 @ 11:02 am
I totally agree she is the mom, I mean after this, she appears on other episodes, more often on the 5th season of the show, episode 1 SE 05, she is sitting on the class ted is teaching wrongly, ECON 305, but she looks more like Hope Riley, also she appears at the end of that same episode coming out of McLaren’s and they did the same, they focused the cam on her, they were filming barney and robin, but when she comes out the cam follows her for a couple of secs, still too weird, it is totally her, I hope so
bob loblaw | March 23, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
will be interesting to see if they throw us a teaser in the last ep and if nicole muirbrook is credited with any other appearances. on imdb she only has the one right now.
archer inside | June 22, 2010 @ 11:49 pm
We may get snippets of the mother (and this may be her *wink*) regularly but wont actually meet her until the very end. There isn’t really a point to go on considering the story is how the mother was met not what went on after. Loving the ongoing tales of How I met every woman I bonked before I met your mother since Robyn came along.
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Nathaniel Wood | July 9, 2010 @ 8:19 am
Backstreet boys is a very popular band during my teenage years, they are great performers too.,–