In the cab, Ted says, "That's what I'm gonna say." Wha??? Oh, show, you're such a little cheater. The gang could not approve any more of Ted's planned speech. Marshall says, "Oh, dag!" Barney growls, "Cold-blooded!" Lily says, "Yeah, that's good. Go say that." Ted gets out of the cab -- for real. But this time, when Stella climbs the stairs, Tony, who is holding little Lucy on one hip, opens the door and comes out to welcome Stella home. Ted watches as this happy little family greets one another with kisses and hugs. Saget!Ted tells us that then it all just went away. "And that was it. In that moment I wasn't angry anymore. I could see Stella was meant to be with Tony. Kids, you may think your only choices are to swallow your anger, or throw it in someone's face," I think he's talking to you, Lily. "But there's a third option. You can just let it go. And only when you do that is it really gone, and then you can move forward." I think Saget!Ted swallows. We watch 2008 Ted walk back to the car, so slowly, lost in thought. "And that kids, was the perfect ending to a perfect love story. It just wasn't mine." Over a shot of Ted's "A New York Guide to Place You Might Run Into Stella Zinman" map, Saget!Ted closes with: "Mine was still out there -- waiting for me." One by one, the red zones disappears, which I think means Ted is now a free-range New Yorker. There's no end tag, so we're all out of show, and one episode closer to meeting the mother. If she exists. I'm starting to think Ted's kids were hatched.

Discuss this episode in our forums, then read our celebration of the MacLaren Gang's favorite words in How I Met Your Mother: The New Verbiage!

Cindy McLennan is really preoccupied by the election, but that will be over by the time you read this. If you're concerned she won't know what to do with her time, you can e-mail her at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com. If you've made fantastic, fanatical fan art, feel free to let her know.