Although it has been several years since the show has ended, How I Met Your Mother has endless binge-ability. Fans love to watch Ted tell the story of how he met his children's mother and the paths he took to get to where he ended up. It was just an added bonus that fans got to see the growth and development of his other friends, too.
The only problems with a HIMYM rewatch are the issues and inconsistencies that crop up. In fact, there are quite a few discrepancies that have affected the characters' arcs and narrative plot — especially Lily's.
Lily And Marshall Share A Toothbrush?
In the season 5 episode "Perfect Week," Marshall and Lily grossed out their friends when they admitted that they had been sharing a toothbrush for years.
However, some fans have realized that Marshall and Lily were seen brushing their teeth with two separate toothbrushes in the season 1 episode "Zip, Zip, Zip." Either they started doing it after they reunited in season 2 or the writers forgot about the previous scene.
Lily's Infrequent Peeing
Although it is not a major plot hole and it doesn't affect the narrative massively, the writers made an error with Lily's infrequent peeing. In the season 1 episode "The Pineapple Incident," fans saw Barney mock Lily when he states that she had a "big tank for a small girl" after he overheard her peeing. This was also proven to be accurate when Lily was seen to hold her pee in for a while during "Zip, Zip, Zip."
However, this was contradicted in "Dual Citizenship" when Lily is on a road trip with Ted and Marshall, and demands they stop every five minutes so she could use the bathroom. A minor detail but still an inconsistency.
What Is Marshall And Lily's Song?
In "Life Among the Gorillas," Lily is seen to get excited when she notices the karaoke bar's song library has her and Marshall's song, Sir Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."
However, in "Best Prom Ever," this was seen to be contradicted when Marshall insists that The 88 play their song, "Good Feeling" by The Violent Femmes, for their wedding. Although many have stated one could just be their karaoke song, its still strange that neither songs are heard at their actual wedding.
Lily's Relationship With Her Father
In "Moving Day," Lily is implies that he paid for her and Marshall's wedding. She has even been heard saying that a harp player would be playing at their wedding as a favor to her father. However, when fans first met Mickey, the writers changed a lot of things about his relationship with Lily.
Firstly, in "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap," fans learn that Lily isn't close to her father due to years of disappointment. In fact, Lily reveals that she stopped speaking to him from 2006 onwards when she discovered he prevented her grandparents from moving and forced her grandfather out of retirement. It's quite a significant detail.
When Did Lily Return To New York?
A big question that has created a minor plot hole has to be Lily's return to New York. In "Bachelor Party," Lily reveals that Barney had visited her in San Francisco to try and convince her to come home. She even adds that Barney had been stealing women from Marshall for her benefit.
However, many fans have pointed out that this couldn't be possible since Lily had returned to New York in "Where Were We?." Barney had only begun stealing Marshall's dates from "The Scorpion and The Toad" and by this episode, Robin was helping Lily look for an apartment in the city. It's quite noticeable the more the fans watch it.
Does Lily Have A Dog Allergy?
As fans remember, Barney allows Lily to stay at his apartment after the gang realizes her new place is unsuitable ("World's Greatest Couple"). Robin states that she would allow Lily to stay at her place if the kindergarten teacher wasn't allergic to dogs.
However, there have been several episodes that have refuted this claim. Firstly, the dogs are present when Lily is hanging out at Robin's apartment in "The Scorpion and The Toad." Some fans have also pointed out that Lily is seen petting the dogs in "Aldrin Justice." Surely her allergies would have flared up in these instances. Either she was taking medicine or it was just a convenient excuse to have her wind up at Barney's.
What Was The Word Ted Used To Insult Lily?
As many fans remember, the season 2 episode "How Lily Stole Christmas" saw the kindergarten teacher fall out with Ted after he called her a "Grinch."
Initially, fans believed it was a euphemism for the b-word. However, this now doesn't make sense since Lily was seen to say the "dirty word" several times — to the extent that it became her catchphrase. While fans now believe it was c-word, there is still no confirmation. So what was it?
Marshall's Nude Painting
Lily and Marshall were teased by their friends after they uncovered the nude painting of Marshall hidden behind the piano ("Columns"). Future Ted then reveals that it was part of Lily's assignments and Marshall only agreed to sit because he was uncomfortable with the thought of Lily painting another guy naked.
However, this was seen to be contradicted in "Sorry, Bro" when Lily says she painted Marshall because he had eaten her bowl of fruit. Either Ted was becoming an unreliable narrator or this was another error that slipped through the cracks.
Lily's Hair In 2030
In many flashforwards, Lily was seen to sport a shorter hairdo and looked significantly older in comparison to her 2013 persona ("How I Met Everyone Else," "Rally"). However, her appearance seems to have drastically changed by 2030.
In one of the deleted scenes of "Last Forever - Part Two," fans will see Lily giving Marshall money after they discover Ted and Robin were back together. While Marshall still appears to have a receding hairline, Lily looks a lot more youthful. In fact, she looks more like her 2013 self. Surely she should have looked a lot older now that she was 50?
Scooter's Real Name
One of the biggest conundrums about Lily's arc is the fact that she seems to have forgotten her ex-boyfriend's real name. In season 2, fans discovered that Scooter's real name was Bill after he slipped past Brad in an attempt to crash Marshall and Lily's wedding ("Something Borrowed").
However, in the season 8 episode "Twelve Horny Women," Scooter now claims his name is Jeff. To this day, fans don't know if he had used a false name or if this was a continuity error.