Entering the How I Met Your Father season 1 finale, we hoped to see a return from an original cast member. We didn’t actually expect that it would happen!

Yet, over the course of this week’s big episode on Hulu, we had Cobie Smulders making her way back to this universe as Robin Scherbatsky. Hilary Duff’s character of Sophie also made an appearance at MacLaren’s pub and while there, she got a little bit of sage romantic advice.

Remember, Robin’s gone through a lot in her life, especially in this particular timeline. She will have already been divorced from Barney at the time of this finale, and it’s prior to her eventually getting back with Ted in the oh-so controversial ending to the original How I Met Your Mother.

So how did this appearance coming about? Speaking to TVLine, show executive producer / director Pamela Fryman revealed that How I Met Your Mother co-creator Craig Thomas reached out to Cobie first about appearing, and fellow EP Isaac Aptaker made it clear she was thrilled to come back:

She had no sort of hesitation. She has so much love for Robin. We had that idea that she would be, sort of… passing the torch and giving some wisdom to the next generation, and I think she really loved the idea of that dynamic with Hilary.

The scene in the finale was actually filmed earlier on in the run, mostly to accommodate Cobie’s schedule. She’s extremely busy, after all, with her role in the Marvel universe! We hope that this sets the stage for Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, or someone else to appear down the road.

Related – Check out more coverage now entering the How I Met Your Father finale, including when season 2 could happen

Are you thrilled that Cobie Smulders returned as Robin for the How I Met Your Father season 1 finale?

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