'How I Met Your Mother' Season 9, Episode 19 'Vesuvius' Recap

If you've been losing interest in "How I Met Your Mother" during this final season, the show's writers probably got your attention with this week's episode. As the series enters its home stretch, things are getting serious. Very, very serious.

In "Vesuvius," it's the day of the wedding, and the bride and groom are getting ready. Or getting ready to get ready. Barney can't decide which of his many, many suits to wear for the ceremony, and he enlists Ted's help to narrow down the choices.

Meanwhile, Lily is getting more and more frustrated with Robin as the bride-to-be resolutely refuses to get excited about her impending betrothal. Lily wants to coo over scrapbooks, but Robin just wants to play hockey in the hotel room with her sister.

There is also the distraction of "The Wedding Bride Too"—the second in the movie franchise based on Ted's relationship with Stella—on pay-per-view, and Marshall and Robin really want to watch it. It seems that no one is focused on the wedding.

The real focus of the episode comes at the end, though, and it comes in two parts. First of all, Robin's wayward mother shows up (in the guise of surprise guest star Tracey Ullman). Arguably the bigger bombshell comes during a flash-forward conversation between Ted and the Mother, during which we get a hint of the potentially very somber wrap-up of the series.