'How I Met Your Mother' to reveal huge piece of mythology next week

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With only ten episodes of How I Met Your Mother left, the next few episodes are going to be back with farewells, surprises and, apparently, huge reveals.

Among them? The names of Ted’s children, which executive producer Craig Thomas told EW and other reporters Wednesday night, happens in next week’s episode! “You’re going to learn the kids names next week in ‘Unpause,'” he said. “Someone’s going to get mad at me [for saying] that.”

That’s not all Thomas revealed following HIMYM’s panel during the Television Critics Association Press Tour, where the show’s impending end made for moments of reflection (Josh Radnor shared a story about how the cast resurrected their breakfast meeting tradition at the start of this season) and thanks (particularly for longtime director Pam Fryman, whom was credited by the cast for setting a humble tone on set). The show’s hour-long finale, titled “Last Forever, parts 1 and 2,” was also a hot topic, with Thomas sharing, “What you see on March 31 has been the plan all along and we hope that people see why we did have that. We leave the series with a certain message that we wanted to convey and that we wanted the whole series we wanted to be about. It’s very positive.”

Read on for more scoop:

+ Will we ever meet Robin’s mom?

“I won’t confirm or deny,” says Thomas. “But there’s an episode coming up about the fact that Robin’s mom hasn’t come to the wedding and the entire crux of that. Lily really wants Robin to be upset about it. Lily thinks Robin needs this emotional catharsis about this fact and that Robin needs to be emotional about the fact that it’s her wedding weekend.” At least one episode will deal directly with the issue, says Thomas, and it will come up in others as well. “I don’t want to spoil exactly what we do with it but what a big deal for a parent not to come to their kid’s wedding.”

+ Who’s coming back?

A full list: Tim Gunn (Barney’s emergency tailor), Roger Bart (front desk), Rachel Bilson (Cindy, the Mother’s former roommate), Lucy Hale (Robin’s sister Katie), Kyle MacLachlan (The Captain), Abby Elliot (Crazy Jeanette), Bill Fagerbakke (Marshall’s dad), Ashley Williams (Victoria). Also, Jon Heder will make a guest appearance.

+ The last episode titles?

“How Your Mother Met Me” (Jan. 27)

“Sunrise” (Feb. 3)

“Rally” (Feb. 24)

“Vesuvius” (March 3)

“Daisy” (March 10)

“Gary Blauman” (March 17)

“The End of the Aisle” (March 24)

“Last Forever, part 1 and 2” (March 31)

+ What’s going on for Marshall and Lily in the final episodes?

“There’s some really nice Marshall and Lily stuff that hits very close to home for me because it’s no longer based on my wife and I. They are their own characters who have been tailored to these actors but at the same time, it was based on my wife and I and I feel like that episode especially is one of our goodbyes to them. They are in the finale hour for sure but they get a really nice send off in that episode,” says Thomas.

+ Will we learn the Mother’s name in the finale?

Thomas wouldn’t say it happens in the actual finale, but promises that’s a piece of info fans will learn before the show ends. “We’ve known it for a while,” he said.

+ Has anyone been cast in the spin-off pilot?

Not yet. “We’re meeting people but no one is cast yet.”