The Best Tracy Moment On How I Met Your Mother According To Fans

From 2005 to 2014, the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" charmed critics and fans with its rom-com sensibility and tongue-in-cheek humor (via Rotten Tomatoes). Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, the series centered on Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), a twenty-something hopeless romantic searching for his perfect partner in New York City. Along the way, his closest friends from college, Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), boost his pursuits – while his ne'er-do-well comrade Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) encourages him to play the field. Throughout all eight seasons, an older Ted (Bob Saget) narrates his travails to his adolescent children, building up to the climactic reveal of who, exactly, marries the beleaguered, yet hopeful protagonist.

During the show's run, viewers often cataloged clues in each episode, noting one-off lines and pop culture references as possible evidence pointing to the identity of the future mother (via Bustle). In the final season, Ted reveals, after a series of mishaps and missed connections, that he spots Tracy McConnell (Cristin Milioti), the mother of his children, at the wedding reception for Barney and Robin (Cobie Smulders). Soon after, the long-awaited couple finally unite, huddled under an iconic yellow umbrella in the rain.

Prior to their official get-together, the character Tracy delighted fans with her sharp wit and kindness. Even as many viewers condemned the divisive series finale (via Vulture), they also applauded Milioti's portrayal of the enigmatic Tracy. Here's the scene of hers that many fans seemed to love the most.

In one Reddit thread, u/mazgrog shared a fan-favorite Tracy moment from the show. While in her Economics 305 class at Columbia University, Tracy turns to a fellow student, Cindy, and generously offers to room with her, saying, "Come live with me! My roommate just moved out!" Surprised, Cindy responds, "But are you sure? You just met me! I could be a serial killer." Smiling, Tracy explains, "I like to believe in people." She adds, "Plus, what's the chances we're both serial killers?"

Other users jumped in to agree, citing the unexpected humor of the moment as a reason that they grew to appreciate Tracy. U/karstaang emphasized, "One of my favorite lines in the series. Her delivery is hilarious." Concurring, u/bigb9919 replied, "Haha, I use this joke all the time!"

One Redditor pointed out that Tracy's popularity seemed to lead to the polarizing response from fans when it came to the show's last episode. As u/Wantstoviewporn observed, "It actually ended up being a problem in the end, people like the mother so much that they really hated the series end."

Infamously, the show ultimately depicts Tracy dying from an undisclosed illness after her marriage to Ted, who realizes, years later, that he still harbors feelings for Robin. Many critics slammed the narrative decision, deeming it a failed attempt to introduce an unpredictable plot twist at curtain call that betrayed its main characters (via The Mary Sue). Even worse, it appeared to relegate Tracy to a minor footnote in Ted's life -– even after winning viewers over with her winning charisma.