Episode 'How I Met Your Mother' Season 6, Episode 24 (Finale) - 'Challenge Accepted' Recap

It was a night of "out with the old, in with the new" on HIMYM...or was with "out with the new, in with the old?"

Marshall was just trying to keep everything in and not let anything out, as he ingested three bowls of his favorite soup from a deli known for its food poisoning catastrophes (seriously, they even had a policy about it: "Get sick, get a free gallon of soup").

When Lily got sick three hours after eating hers, Marshall knew his time was short. It would have just been a normal amount of suffering for him, except that he had an interview in two hours with one of the top environmental firms in the city (and Dave Foley).

Ted, meanwhile, was exhibiting his usual pattern of getting back together with a past girlfriend whenever a minor inconvenience hit him...except this time, it wasn't a minor inconvenience. With the Arcadian set to be demolished (and plenty of arguments over who gets to press the button going on), Ted started to panic about the details of this monstrous project ahead of him. So, back to Zoey!

When Barney and Robin find out about it, there's a mad dash to stop Ted from making a mistake. But on the way, they almost make a mistake themselves: while in the car, the two have a heart-to-heart about their relationship, and indirectly confess how much they once loved each other. Luckily, that's when they arrive and tackle Ted and his orchid. After a quick sike from Bob Saget, we move on, and Zoey is out of the picture.

It was the last five minutes of this season finale that really delivered. Marshall, upon completely blowing the job and returning home, finds that he is completely without symptoms. Why, then, was Lily so violently ill? She's pregnant, that's why! Finally, something good in Marshall's so-far-pretty-crappy year. And it's out with the old, in with the new as the scene of Marshall and Lily holding each other is juxtaposed with the demolition of the Arcadian.

We were teased with a possible lead-in for next season when Barney, while walking with Robin, ran into Nora. Barney forgets about his "new is always better" rule and asks Nora out for coffee so that he can apologize. She agrees, and walks away with the parting words: "It's never too late." "Challenge accepted," Barney replies.

We probably would have been satisfied with that, but HIMYM had one more shocker up its sleeve: we fast forward to a while later, and Ted is sitting outside a chapel, apparently the best man to someone...and that someone is Barney. GASP!

Will Barney go through with it? Will that look of regret from Robin get in the way of Barney's resolve if he does? I guess we have to wait until next season to find out, but I can guarantee that no matter how much Barney loves Nora, he won't go up to that altar without a fight.