But since Lily is already being paid to be an art consultant, why would that necessarily change once she gets back to New York? I don't think this is a new year-long position; it's an extension of her current open-ended position. It's as if she were working for a company and the company relocated.

Yeah, if there's any ending that would upset me more than Ted marrying Robin after the mother's death, it's Ted divorcing the mother for Robin.

I think the real issue for Lily, anyway, wouldn't be a stranger overhearing her — why would she care if a stranger knew she were pregnant? She doesn't want her friends to know before she tells Marshall, and if she doesn't order a glass of wine or something her friends will wonder why.

Exactly — she didn't have to risk being overheard ordering a non-alcoholic drink.

The funny thing is, before I had kids, and when they were babies, I would have thought the judgeship was the right choice. Now that I have middle-schoolers and a high-schooler, I think—go to Italy now! They will have plenty of time for stability. Marshall will be able to get a job. Lily will be getting paid (and from…

My older two kids are thirteen months apart as well. It actually worked out great, although the first year was a little stressful.

She was never smoking at all. That was Ted's theory, but he was wrong. She was always hiding a possible pregnancy, not smoking.

I just cannot imagine the showrunners killing off a child in the series finale of their sitcom. I just can't believe they would go that dark.

And if they ever are going to go to Italy for a year, this is realistically their last shot until the kids are out of school. Babies and toddlers are much easier to uproot than kids who are settled, with friends and routines they would miss.

When I was pregnant with my first, I called to order a pizza and instead of giving them my current address, I gave them the address for an apartment I had lived in two years before, in a different city. They called fifteen minutes, confused, because they had no idea where Woodlawn Avenue was.

A lot of couples engage babysitters for the children of their guests during the ceremony and reception. Also, sometimes hotels can help you find a sitter in a pinch. So that doesn't seem too unrealistic.

Well, keep in mind I am grading with graduation goggles. But I think A episodes can have flaws; flawless episodes should get an A+. (I would give it an A- anyway.)

I really loved this episode. Maybe I'm just a sucker for babies. But I liked seeing how Marshall and Lily's life turned out (at least in the short run), I was happy to see them have another baby, and I thought Ted's Poirot routine was fun. The beginning was a little weak, and I didn't care for the Robin-freaking-out B…

They have doctors in Italy. And any child born to American citizens is American. (I have a friend who was born and spent the first year of her life in Italy. It really hasn't affected her life at all.)

Lily's job as an art consultant for the Captain probably pays more than a low-level judgeship. It's not as stable, but if you're looking just at salary for the next three or four years, Lily's job probably wins.

Didn't Josh Radnor know all along, too? Or am I misremembering?

I agree. The more we see of The Wedding Bride franchise, the worse Stella looks.

It was in 2020. Probably their 20th college reunion.

Me too. My original theory was that Robin was dead, since so much of Ted's story focuses on her. But Time Travelers made me think that it was the Mother. At this point — maybe it's both of them! Maybe the finale's going to have a higher body count than the last act of Hamlet!

Yes, I think it was smart to show the mother sparingly. If they made her this perfect and showed her more often, she would be too unbelievable. (I'm having a little bit of trouble with the whole "she eradicates poverty!" bit as it is.) If they gave her more flaws, they could show her more often but then she might…