HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER at PaleyFest 2014: The Panelists on ‘The Mother is Dead’ Theories, the Final Slap, the Final Scene Shot, and More

There are only a few episodes left of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, which means that during Saturday night’s PaleyFest panel, some big questions were brought up — and avoided — and some good teases were given.

Keep reading for what the panelists had to say about the final episodes…

So, is the Mother dead?

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER has always been a show that inspired theories, etc., but one of the more controversial speculations — that has only grown louder in buzz over the past few weeks — is that the we’re leading to Future!Ted revealing that in 2030 the Mother is actually dead.

HIMYM bosses Carter Bays and Craig Thomas didn’t speak with press before the panel, but the “Is the Mother dead?” question was brought up during the panel. As you might expect, neither man really answered the question.

“We’re wildly excited about the finale and the story, and obviously we can’t say [if she dies],” Bays said. “We wish we could tell you what happens.”

“I think one of the great things about HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is it’s surprising, it does super weird things, at times, and thank you [viewers] for going with it,” Thomas added. “What a weird show. And it’s curve balls, and it’s really strange for a sitcom on Monday nights on TV. We have been the worst interview in show business for eight years [when we were asked about meeting the Mother] and we’d be like a disgraced politician avoiding giving an answer. And we’re just going to do that with this other question, too. Stay tuned in two weeks, and we’ll see what happens.”

The Ted/Mother meeting scene has been written for a while.

For as much as the HIMYM writers are keeping on the down-low, Cristin Milioti (The Mother) revealed that the final scene she shot of the series (though it won’t necessarily be the final scene we see her in that episode, since shows tend to film scenes out of order) was actually a scene she used to land her role.

“The last scene that I filmed was the scene that I tested with [to land the role],” Milioti. “That was the scene I tested with, on the set, in the apartment, when I had no idea what I was getting into, or even what role I was testing for — though I had a suspicion. To have that be the last thing, it was amazing that I had come that full-circle.”

“And they really didn’t change almost a word from the audition scene [from a year ago],” Josh Radnor (Ted) points out.

(For what it’s worth, the HIMYM cast and crew previously noted that the final scene they shot of the series was the actual meeting between Ted and the Mother.)

About the final slap of the Slap Bet…

With only a handful of episodes left — and since the PaleyFest audience got the chance to see this Monday’s episode early — a fan wanted to know if we’d get to see the final slap before the series ends.

“It happens,” Thomas promised. “We didn’t forget. It happens.”

…but (maybe) no more musical numbers.

Both executive producers squirmed a bit when they were questioned whether there would be any more musical numbers in the show’s final episodes. Finally, they landed on that they “won’t confirm or deny. But no.”

A tease about Monday’s episode.

There are only a few episodes left, so I don’t want to ruin anything, but if you’ve been watching this show for a while (or from the start), if you can manage to make it through the final five or so minutes without tearing up a little…well, let me know how you pulled it off. There’s a couple of lovely moments that feel like a real love letter to the loyal fans of the show.

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