8 Things We Know About How I Met Your Mother's Final Episodes

Before How I Met Your Mothercomes to an end after nine seasons, the cast and creative team behind the hit CBS comedy said one final farewell during Saturday's Paley Festival panel. Creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, director Pam Fryman and stars Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan and Cristin Millioti were joined via Skype by Neil Patrick Harris — Jason Segel couldn't make it — to share some tidbits on the final episodes of HIMYM. Get the scoop:

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The Mother might be dead: Recent episodes have bolstered the sad theory that The Mother could actually be dead in the future, which has enraged some, though others are on board. "It's surprising," Thomas said of the show, totally dodging the question that opened the panel. "It's curve balls and really strange for a sitcom on Monday nights on TV. Stay tuned for two weeks and we'll see what happens."

Barney says his vows to Robin:The cast was very coy about their final scenes, but Harris dropped what could be a big hint for those who've wondered whether Barney and Robin make it down the aisle. "Getting to say my vows to Robin Scherbatsky was a highlight," he said. Hannigan added that she has at least one more bedroom scene with Segel. "Wow, this is the last time I'm going to be lying in bed with this bozo," she said. "Everything was so sentimental that week."

A possible final act for Robin Sparkles?: When asked whether there would be another musical episode before the end of the series, Bays and Thomas said they "won't confirm or deny, but no." Hopefully that doesn't negate one more Robin Sparkles appearance!

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The cast's emotional final scene together: Because Segel had to leave early to film a movie, the cast's final shot together was a week before the end of filming. "It was everything you love about How I Met Your Mother," Radnor said. "It was hilarious and sad and sweet and truthful. The last day with Jason, the five of us had a scene. They made special Kleenex for us that said, 'Let it all out, no questions asked.'" 

The final slap is coming: Marshall still has one last slap, which will happen during one of the final two episodes, so don't expect it on Monday. "It happens, we didn't forget," Thomas said. "It will happen."

Ted and The Mother go on their first date: Expect an upcoming flashback to feature Ted and The Mother's first date, which comes not long after the wedding. However, it might not go over as planned — like most things in Ted's life. That same episode will reveal that someone else is Ted's life also has a breakup butterfly tattoo.

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The return of several fan-favorite characters: Monday night's episode, which was screened before the panel, will welcome back a plethora of familiar faces in a scene that will give some closure for those secondary characters that have come in and out of the gang's lives over the years. "It was fun to get to do one more of those," Bays said of a scene at the end of Monday's episode, which has a similar feel to the two-minute date. "It was a perfect moment."

Ted and The Mother (finally)meet: Millioti revealed that her final scene on the show is the same scene she auditioned with during a screen test alongside Radnor a year prior, long before she realized what she was getting into. "I don't think I had fully understood the scope of it until I finished binge-watching all the seasons," she said. "When I got to the episode where I buy the train ticket to Farhampton, I was like, 'Oh no, this is a big deal.'" The scene in question is likely their meeting, since Thomas also pointed out that the final scene shot was Ted and The Mother coming face-to-face, though that might not be the last scene in the finale. 

How I Met Your Mother airs Mondays at 8/7c on CBS. The one-hour series finale airs Monday, March 31.

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