'How I Met Your Mother' Recap: Barney & Robin Tie The Knot; Marshall & Lily Renew Their Vows

How I Met Your Mother, “The End of the Aisle” finally gets around to Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin’s (Cobie Smulders) actual wedding at the Farhampton hotel.

How I Met Your Mother Recap

After older, wiser Ted (Bob Saget) provides a voiceover about wedding day panics, as Robin tells present-day Ted (Josh Radnor) that she can’t go through with the wedding with 32 minutes until it’s time for her to walk down the aisle. Refusing to go through with “another runaway bride situation,” Ted insists that she calm down. She tells him that she can’t shake the feeling that not finding the locket is a bad sign – that she wants to be with someone who will always come through for her.

Cue Ted walking out of the hotel room to pull the locket from his pocket. Apparently, he’d jumped over the bridge in Central Park and into the water to retrieve it. He goes to see Barney, who’s still freaking out about not having his cornflower blue tie, and tells him to give the locket to Robin. He protests at first, but caves and gives it to her.

Marshall & Lily’s Wedding Vows

When Barney returns to his room, he’s pouring over pages and pages of wedding vows. After Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) realize it’s not a wordy suicide note, they try to convince him that they’re basically wedding vow experts and offer their services. Barney goes on to point out that they haven’t kept their own vows. In sickness and in health? Marshall faked sleep while Lily puked on the plane on the way to their honeymoon. Honor and respect? Lily helped Ted and Barney turned Marshall into the bearded wonder woman.

Robin Questions Marrying Barney

When Ted goes back to Robin’s room, she tells him that she knows it was him – not Barney – who found the locket. He eventually concedes that it was him and gives her a rundown on how he tracked it. She’s incredulous that he went through so much to find it and concerned at how easy it was for Barney to lie and tell her it was him who’d found it. “You’re the one who always comes through for me Ted, the one who’s there for me. Maybe I should be marrying you,” said a cold-footed Robin.

Ted tries to calm his former flame down, giving her a lecture about love. “You don’t love me,” he tells her. “You love Barney. Love is totally non-sensical. Love is the best thing we do. It doesn’t have to make sense to make sense.” Robin ultimately agrees that they can’t run away together, but that doesn’t mean that she can’t take off on her own. Running through the rehearsal area, she runs into The Mother (Cristin Milioti).

Marshall, meanwhile, is walking Lily into the chapel. He thinks that they need some updated vows to better suit their messy lives. “I vow to not point out every dog erection we see in the park,” he says. She offers, “I vow to always tell you when you have green stuff in your teeth.” More sweetly, Marshall concludes, “I vow to keep updating them as we go. One set of vows can’t cover a lifetime.”

Barney Tells Robin The Truth

Barney overhears their new vows and quietly exits the chapel to go find Robin, who has been instructed by The Mother to take three deep breaths. Barney walks in as she’s taking her last one and tells her he’s finally realized the most important vow he could make to her. “From this day forward, I’m always going to be honest with you, because I love,” he says, adding “Ted got that locket for you. He’s the one you should thank.” Her fears put to rest, she kisses her soon-to-be husband.

At wedding time, Barney has one last freak out about his missing cornflower blue tie, which gets resolved after Marshall uses up his final slap. After a “ring bear” brings them their rings and Barney nixes the “flower gorilla,” Barney and Robin vow to love one another, exchange their rings, and walk up the aisle officially married.

How I Met Your Mother‘s hour-long series finale airs next Monday on CBS at 8/7c.

For More How I Met Your Mother News:

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‘How I Met Your Mother’ Recap: Marshall Finds Out Lily Is Pregnant; Robin Gets Marriage Advice From Her Mom

Krysta Rodriguez Joins ‘How I Met Your Dad’ Cast

‘How I Met Your Mother’ Recap: The Crew Tries To ‘Rally’ A Hungover Barney For His Wedding

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