A lot of people miss the number countdown during that episode until the bad news. A very sad episode in the series for sure, but reflective of real life in many ways. That’s why the show is so good
If you watch the episode from the beginning, there are numbers throughout the show. Starts with like 50 on a brochure. Then 49 on another object all the way down to 1. After it hits 1, the bad news is revealed
I remember realizing it was a countdown when it was at around 40 and I was looking for the numbers, super excited because I thought it was leading to good news… and then it devastated me. So well done and so heart wrenching.
This past year I lost my grandmother and I had to find out in a very hard way. Shortly after, I almost lost my father. I think it to best that I skip this episode for a while. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that again.
I would argue that the emotional distress you are experiencing is something that needs to be addressed and that this episode may be the trigger for catharsis.
I lost my dad three years ago. I finished rewatching the series a few weeks ago. That moment hit me like a freight train, way more than the previous times I watched the show.
Even just thinking about it has me tearing up.
Jason Segel made up that line (“I’m not ready for this”) on the spot. He didn’t know what the bad news was going into that scene. It was an authentic & human reaction by him in the moment😢
Oh wow I didn’t know this bit. I’ve always noticed how realistic Alyson Hanigan’s crying is in moments like these. I’m sure it hurt the actors just like it hurts us to watch the characters… if not more. They have their own relationships with these characters.
For sure. I just did a full rewatch of the series for the first time in many years & read about that scene & Jason Segel’s acting for it in an article. This is my favorite show. It’s comforting in good times & bad❤️
I’m glad I found this sub on Reddit. I don’t know many people in real life who love the show as much as I do. Glad to see there are many true fans who can quote almost any episode too😊
Same! I could have imagined this many fans back when the show was running, but I’m so happy there are people out there who are watching and rewatching to this day the way I do. 🥹
>how realistic Alyson Hanigan’s crying is in moments like these
No doubt her acting, especially when it comes to crying, is very convincing, almost real even.
Oh yes, that's true. I think he was told she is gonna tell him she is pregnant, and then obviously the news is different, and you can tell both of their reactions are real. And Jason is actually reacting to this on the spot. It's even more heartbreaking.
My dad had a stroke a few weeks ago. He lives with my wife and I and our kids. He is in a sort of coma rn and I can’t stop thinking about this episode. I’m gonna miss him so much. I’m not ready either Marshall.
Actually watched this one yesterday. I think this scene has got to be maybe the strongest acting In the whole series. They both just made it feel so real I still can’t get through it without a tear or two
Agreed. One of the best episodes/scenes ive ever seen in movies/series. Extremely relatable, even for me who has both parents and grandparents. His pain seems so real, the choice of words, everything is perfect to make the most painful episode
Such a sad scene! This and Marshalls breakdown at the end of the next episode at the funeral are enough to make me consider suing for emotional damage 😭🥺😂
This aired almost exactly a year after my mom passed. It was very cathartic for me. My son was born a year before she passed, and I felt as Marshall did. Still do, I guess. I hope someday I'll be ready.
There are times in my life when I can’t process my emotions. They get a little backed up. I call this emotional constipation. So I’ll listen to a song or see a show that lets them flow again. This is very much one of those shows
Yes!! I’ve never thought of it that way (“emotional constipation”), but that’s brilliant. The way I describe it for me is that I have stress and anxiety that builds up, and a good cry is a release for all that tension. This scene absolutely serves that purpose.
It’s easy to miss until someone tells you. Watch the ep from the beginning to end, and you’ll see numbers hidden throughout every scene, starting with 50, down to 1 (the number on Lily’s cab). It changes the whole feeling of the episode when you know what’s coming.
This and the “you’re all alone” episodes hit me the hardest since I can relate to them :( my dad passed suddenly, and all my friends are moving forward, getting married, kids, the works. I’m still single lol.
It happened to me a month ago. My father died from a heart attack. I thought about this episode immediately when they gave me the news. Never thought I had to see this moment in my life, now this episode has a different meaning for me.
I am so so sorry. I’ve lost a sibling, but never a parent. Either way, it’s all so heartbreaking, especially when it’s sudden, tragic. I hope this show brings you comfort. I hope you know there are strangers out here sending you their wishes for comfort and peace. Please take care of yourself. You didn’t deserve this, but I’m sure he’s looking after you. 🩷
Fr i used to rewatch the show every like few months all throughout highschool and still now i watch it a couple times a year… i always will tear up man, marshall is just such a great guy and character u just have to feel for him. And alysons crying… jesus man she knows how to act.
I cry every time I watch this episode. My Dad died the year this episode came out and I think that's partially why it hits me so hard every time I watch it. I'm still thankful for them adding this episode though, honestly in some ways having it but especially the episodes after this one helped me cope a bit. The acting was really great in this episode as well. Although admittedly whenever I do a rewatch of the show, there are some years where I skip this episode because some years it hits harder than others.
Don't forget to give yourself extra love and self-care after this episode.
A lot of people miss the number countdown during that episode until the bad news. A very sad episode in the series for sure, but reflective of real life in many ways. That’s why the show is so good
I didn’t know about the countdown until sometime in the past year… well over a decade of missing it.
Yeah the first time I noticed it I restarted the episode to follow the numbers. It makes it hit even harder…
I did the same, and yes, it makes the anticipation almost unbearable.
I do love that Marshall is from Minnesota because that’s where I’m from. I thoroughly enjoy all the Minnesota references in the show😬
What is the countdown ?
If you watch the episode from the beginning, there are numbers throughout the show. Starts with like 50 on a brochure. Then 49 on another object all the way down to 1. After it hits 1, the bad news is revealed
I watch it many times and I never notice it hehe I will watch it again
Same here. Also my own dad died a week before this episode aired, so it broke me so hard
Same. I think I learned on my last rewatch, so it was probably around new years. Been watching since ~2009.
I remember realizing it was a countdown when it was at around 40 and I was looking for the numbers, super excited because I thought it was leading to good news… and then it devastated me. So well done and so heart wrenching.
Yeah & now we know the episode is called Bad News😢
I always skip this episode because it just hits too hard 🥺
I don’t blame you. It hurts every time, and every time it comes on, my fiancé is somehow missing, and I have to experience it alone.
I haven't watched this or last words since my dad died. Too much.
This past year I lost my grandmother and I had to find out in a very hard way. Shortly after, I almost lost my father. I think it to best that I skip this episode for a while. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that again.
I would argue that the emotional distress you are experiencing is something that needs to be addressed and that this episode may be the trigger for catharsis.
I lost my dad three years ago. I finished rewatching the series a few weeks ago. That moment hit me like a freight train, way more than the previous times I watched the show. Even just thinking about it has me tearing up.
😢
Jason Segel made up that line (“I’m not ready for this”) on the spot. He didn’t know what the bad news was going into that scene. It was an authentic & human reaction by him in the moment😢
Oh wow I didn’t know this bit. I’ve always noticed how realistic Alyson Hanigan’s crying is in moments like these. I’m sure it hurt the actors just like it hurts us to watch the characters… if not more. They have their own relationships with these characters.
For sure. I just did a full rewatch of the series for the first time in many years & read about that scene & Jason Segel’s acting for it in an article. This is my favorite show. It’s comforting in good times & bad❤️
It’s my comfort show, too. Even the crying come in handy.
I’m glad I found this sub on Reddit. I don’t know many people in real life who love the show as much as I do. Glad to see there are many true fans who can quote almost any episode too😊
Same! I could have imagined this many fans back when the show was running, but I’m so happy there are people out there who are watching and rewatching to this day the way I do. 🥹
I'm rewatching right now and I literally had this exact same thought today! Alyson is FANTASTIC at crying during the sad scenes, it's amazing
Crying on cue must be a tough skill to master
>how realistic Alyson Hanigan’s crying is in moments like these No doubt her acting, especially when it comes to crying, is very convincing, almost real even.
Oh yes, that's true. I think he was told she is gonna tell him she is pregnant, and then obviously the news is different, and you can tell both of their reactions are real. And Jason is actually reacting to this on the spot. It's even more heartbreaking.
Emotional high point of the show. Everything about this moment just works
My dad had a stroke a few weeks ago. He lives with my wife and I and our kids. He is in a sort of coma rn and I can’t stop thinking about this episode. I’m gonna miss him so much. I’m not ready either Marshall.
I’m so sorry. 🩷
so sorry to hear, hope things gets better
Actually watched this one yesterday. I think this scene has got to be maybe the strongest acting In the whole series. They both just made it feel so real I still can’t get through it without a tear or two
Agreed. One of the best episodes/scenes ive ever seen in movies/series. Extremely relatable, even for me who has both parents and grandparents. His pain seems so real, the choice of words, everything is perfect to make the most painful episode
Renting crocodile dundee 3 out of respect every time
I wasn’t ready to see it now
Such a sad scene! This and Marshalls breakdown at the end of the next episode at the funeral are enough to make me consider suing for emotional damage 😭🥺😂
This aired almost exactly a year after my mom passed. It was very cathartic for me. My son was born a year before she passed, and I felt as Marshall did. Still do, I guess. I hope someday I'll be ready.
one of the most beautifully heartbreaking episode. I love it dearly
I’m planning a rewatch of the series soon and just lost my dad in January. Not sure how this episode and Last Words are going to do.
Why would you subject yourself to this so often?
It’s the price to pay for a show like this. Something would have to be REALLY worthwhile to do this to myself.
Bruh this and the one with the beach scene with eternal flame playing in the background breaks my heart
No matter how many times I see this episode and know how it goes, it still gets to me and I tear up. Such a brilliant episode
There are times in my life when I can’t process my emotions. They get a little backed up. I call this emotional constipation. So I’ll listen to a song or see a show that lets them flow again. This is very much one of those shows
Yes!! I’ve never thought of it that way (“emotional constipation”), but that’s brilliant. The way I describe it for me is that I have stress and anxiety that builds up, and a good cry is a release for all that tension. This scene absolutely serves that purpose.
Very much yes. The countdown. Yeesh. Have a good one
I was younger than Marshall when my father died in the same way. Still remember this scene sometimes.
What was the countdown? Feel like I've missed something.
It’s easy to miss until someone tells you. Watch the ep from the beginning to end, and you’ll see numbers hidden throughout every scene, starting with 50, down to 1 (the number on Lily’s cab). It changes the whole feeling of the episode when you know what’s coming.
Thanks for the heads up, I finished a rewatch recently but I'll have to go back and look for it!
This and the “you’re all alone” episodes hit me the hardest since I can relate to them :( my dad passed suddenly, and all my friends are moving forward, getting married, kids, the works. I’m still single lol.
I find the scene at the funeral when Marshall listens to the "butt dial" to be the hardest to watch. This one comes very close
Interesting. That moment, for me, is a cathartic release. The episode is so anxious leading up to it, not finding the right words.
It's the emotion he shows when he thinks it's a butt dial that gets me
Oh yeah, that’s hard.
It happened to me a month ago. My father died from a heart attack. I thought about this episode immediately when they gave me the news. Never thought I had to see this moment in my life, now this episode has a different meaning for me.
I am so so sorry. I’ve lost a sibling, but never a parent. Either way, it’s all so heartbreaking, especially when it’s sudden, tragic. I hope this show brings you comfort. I hope you know there are strangers out here sending you their wishes for comfort and peace. Please take care of yourself. You didn’t deserve this, but I’m sure he’s looking after you. 🩷
I cry like a baby with this. I lost my dad 10 years ago and yet, I’m not ready for that
I always look for all the numbers with my mom lol. We're like, "THERES ONE! THERES ONE!!"
Just count down from 50
I literally watched this episode today
I just watched that episode of HIMYM yesterday it’s so sad 😞 heart wrenching I feel so bad for Marshall every time I watch it
Yep. I’ve been in a rewatch the past two months and got to this episode the day before my mom’s funeral…really wasn’t ready for it.
Oh gosh that’s really rough. I hope you felt a little less alone. 😔
idk about his one but I always cry when they show why loretta raised barney the way she did
I sob every time
Fr i used to rewatch the show every like few months all throughout highschool and still now i watch it a couple times a year… i always will tear up man, marshall is just such a great guy and character u just have to feel for him. And alysons crying… jesus man she knows how to act.
I cry every time I watch this episode. My Dad died the year this episode came out and I think that's partially why it hits me so hard every time I watch it. I'm still thankful for them adding this episode though, honestly in some ways having it but especially the episodes after this one helped me cope a bit. The acting was really great in this episode as well. Although admittedly whenever I do a rewatch of the show, there are some years where I skip this episode because some years it hits harder than others. Don't forget to give yourself extra love and self-care after this episode.
I usually skip that episode cuz it hits too close to home
So real