How I Met Your Father Theory Sets Up Tracy's Perfect HIMYM Cameo

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How I Met Your Father Theory Sets Up Tracy's Perfect HIMYM Cameo

One theory for How I Met Your Father uses a new connection to set up a perfect cameo from HIMYM’s title character, Tracy. After nearly a decade of building anticipation for the mother’s identity, HIMYM finally revealed Ted’s future wife, Tracy McConnell (Cristin Milioti), in the season 8 finale. HIMYM season 9 then used various flash-forwards to give glimpses into Ted’s future life with Tracy, but these small moments weren’t enough when considering how well Milioti’s character was received before she was killed off in the series finale. Since Tracy is still alive in How I Met Your Father’s current timeline, the spinoff series is the best way to see more of the love of Ted’s life.

After plenty of theories and speculation about which HIMYM characters would cameo on How I Met Your Father season 1, the series surprised audiences with the returns of four beloved figures. How I Met Your Father’s Sophie told her son about the story of The Captain and Becky’s divorce, which saw the two characters return in a fun connection while also confirming the truth about the Pineapple Incident. The next episode then brought back Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, How I Met Your Mother’s iconic Canadian reporter, at MacLaren’s Pub with Carl still behind the bar. Robin’s season 1 finale cameo was one of the least expected appearances, yet ended up being the most fitting and significant to the progression of How I Met Your Father’s storyline.

As How I Met Your Father season 2 approaches, theories about which HIMYM character will appear next have abounded. While Marshall and Lily are already established in universe as selling the apartment to Jesse and Sid, most theories have speculated about the returns of HIMYM’s main character Ted, new father Barney, and title mother, Tracy. Barney and Ted’s cameos may not suit the plot as naturally, but one How I Met Your Father theory suggests Tracy could fittingly return as Hannah’s patient when she gets sick.

Why Tracy Is The Best HIMYM Character Cameo For How I Met Your Father

As exciting as it would be to have the rest of How I Met Your Mother’s main characters reprise their roles for the spinoff, the best figure to return is Tracy, as she arguably had the most important role despite receiving the least amount of screen time. Audiences had to grow to know and love Tracy with only a few scenes throughout HIMYM season 9, and while this worked well, it felt unjust to have such little time with her before revealing that she died in the series finale. Tracy is still alive during How I Met Your Father’s season 2 timeline, meaning she could finally appear with ample screen time and a more pronounced spotlight than she was given in HIMYM’s ending.

Tracy cameoing on How I Met Your Father would also make the character better by allowing the series’ universe to depict her in a manner that’s not exclusive to Ted’s memory. Just as Robin seemed different in Sophie’s story compared to Ted’s, Tracy appearing in How I Met Your Father would give a more accurate look at this character that audiences hardly got to know before she passed away. HIMYM showed Ted’s recollection of their love story, but How I Met Your Father could finally show how Tracy remembers it. Considering HIMYM season 9’s standalone episode about Tracy’s past is considered one of the best installments of the entire series, bringing Cristin Milioti back for the spinoff would give even more heart to this time frame in her story that wasn’t explored in the original show.

Where Tracy Is During How I Met Your Father’s Timeline

How I Met Your Father season 1 took place in 2022, with the only known activities of Tracy during this time being that she drank Stinson’s Hangover Fixer Elixir on New Year’s Day 2022. She and Ted got married in 2020, and by 2022 Penny is about seven years old while Luke is five. It’s unclear when exactly Tracy gets sick with her undisclosed illness, but HIMYM’s finale episode revealed that she passed away in 2024, which gives How I Met Your Father at least one to two years to bring her back. It’s safe to say that Tracy will find out she’s sick in 2023 or early 2024, as it’s also unclear how late into 2024 she dies. So, How I Met Your Father could reasonably feature Tracy in seasons 2 or 3.

HIMYF Theory: Hannah Will Be Tracy’s Doctor When She Gets Sick

Reddit user Kazesora28 has theorized that Tracy could very well show up in How I Met Your Father through a connection to Sid’s wife, Hannah. How I Met Your Father has made Hannah’s profession as a doctor extremely significant to her storyline, which could have been an intentional way of bringing Tracy into the mix during the spinoff’s timeline. As such, if Tracy appears in How I Met Your Father seasons 2 or 3, she may be Hannah’s patient once she becomes sick.

While Hannah is still living in Los Angeles at the end of How I Met Your Father season 1, her long-distance relationship with her husband, Sid, may become even more strained if she stays another year or so on the other side of the country. It wouldn’t be surprising in How I Met Your Father season 2 later revealed that Hannah was being transferred back to New York City, and perhaps to the wing of the hospital where Tracy goes for treatment. Since HIMYM never revealed what illness caused Tracy’s death and How I Met Your Father has yet to reveal Hannah’s surgical specialty, there isn’t any evidence to refute that Sid’s wife could become Tracy’s doctor, supporting the theory.

Tracy’s HIMYF Cameo Could Revive HIMYM’s Finale Controversy

Bringing back Tracy McConnell would appease wishes to see more of the important character before her death, but it would also more than likely revive the HIMYM series finale’s controversy. Now considered one of the most divisive TV endings of all time, HIMYM’s finale had Ted reveal that Tracy had died six years before he was telling the story to his kids in 2030. Just moments after Ted explained that Tracy died, How I Met Your Mother‘s twist ending saw his kids convince him to go after Robin, suggesting the entire story had truly been about his romance with the one that got away. This was inevitably received with much controversy by viewers, with one of the most commonly cited criticisms being that HIMYM spent most of season 9 getting audiences to fall in love with Tracy before swiftly killing her off in favor of Robin and Ted’s love story.

If Tracy returns on How I Met Your Father, viewers are apt to like the character even more, which is guaranteed to reincite debates over the original series finale’s decision on her fate. However, it may almost be a peace offering, as a How I Met Your Father Tracy cameo would still grant the requests to explore her character more during this timeframe, as she could never reasonably return in a series set after 2024. Seeing Ted and Tracy happy together in How I Met Your Father would be a great way to better experience their personal love story, but it would also come with a new wave of division about whether HIMYM should have ended with the pair still together.