How I Met Your Mother Final Season: 10 Things You Should Know

It’s the beginning of the end for “How I Met Your Mother” as their ninth and final season gets under way on CBS tonight.

In a special two-part episode, we will finally begin the journey of how Ted Mosby met “the mother” played by NY actress Christina Milioti.

Fans got a glimpse at the mysterious love of Ted’s life in the season finale but this season we will get to know who she is and — most importantly — how she and Ted met.

WATCH: Cobie Smulders Talks ‘HIMYM’ Final Season

I just came from a screening this morning of the two-part episode and I’ve got a few tidbits to share. In an odd bit of irony or perhaps coincidence, while I was walking into the CBS building for the screening this morning I ran smack into none other than Bob Saget – aka the narrator of the show.

Here are 10 things to know about the final season of “HIMYM”:

1. We may not find out the name of Ted’s future wife until the very end of the season, perhaps even the final episode.
2. We will, however, see Mrs. Mosby-to-be throughout the season in “HIMYM” style flashbacks, but also perhaps in flash forwards.
3. The show’s creators revealed that all of Ted’s friends will meet “the mother” before he ever does. In the first episode, Lily (Alyson Hannigan) is the first of Ted’s friends to meet her. (Hint: cookies are involved).
4. Marshall’s journey to get to the wedding will be rocky and spent alongside guest star Sherri Shepherd and a giant yellow SUV called “The Monstrosity” is involved.
5. Ted and Robin may we be… wait for it…distant cousins!!
6. Expect to shed a few tears. There will be plenty of laughs this season, but also lots of tears. Seeing Ted finally find the true love he is searching for will certainly be a moment to make fans weep but there will also be plenty of goodbye references to each other and the show.
7. Expect to see lots of familiar faces from the past eight seasons show up this season. Barney’s family — Wayne Brady, Frances Conroy, John Lithgow — will all for sure be present.
8. Speaking of Barney’s family – expect them to create some friction between he and fiancé Robin Scherbatsky which may force Barney to choose between his future wife and his family.
9. Ted’s kids are not happy it’s taken so long to tell the story of how he met their mom. After eight years of seeing virtually the same shot of his two kids as future Ted (aka the voice of Bob Saget) narrates his life story, fans got a hilarious surprise when this video was released at Comic-Con in July. It’s very possible we may actually get to even meet the kids this season. While the actors who played the kids — David Henrie (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) and Lyndsy Fonseca (“Nikita”) — have both gone on to their own careers during the run of “HIMYM,” I’m betting the creators have something up their sleeve with them if they were able to get them to shoot this video.
10. Lily drinks A LOT this season. Remember this name – “Linus.”

— Laura Saltman