YMMV / How I Met Your Mother S 9 E 16 How Your Mother Met Me

• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: While not hated, there were concerns that The Mother was starting to seem like a Manic Pixie Dream Girl there to improve Ted Moseby's life. This episode fleshed out her backstory considerably, making her feel like an independent person and selling why she and Ted would be perfectly matched.
• She Really Can Act: Cristin Millioti had been acclaimed for her comic timing and Adorkable nature on the show, but this episode showed just how well she could balance drama and comedy.
• The Woobie:
  • The episode turns The Mother into one of these. She lost her boyfriend on her 21st birthday and was left so heartbroken it's taken her close to a decade to move on from it.
  • Cindy arguably becomes one too, revealing that she's actually gay and held feelings for her roommate, who had to reject her once she acted on them.