For those who didn't catch last night's surprising and heartwarming 'How I Met Your Mother' mid-season finale(s) "The Final Page, Part 1" and "The Final Page, Part 2," the episodes proved a large turning point for the series. Not only is there another wedding to plan, but the hour also marked one of the final installments before series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas would need to know if the current 'How I Met Your Mother' season would be the last. So what do the 'HIMYM' creators themselves have to say about last night and beyond?

While one would argue that we've known it was coming since last season, the final manner in which Barney got Robin to -- SPOILER ALERT -- accept his proposal proved to be one of the sweeter and more iconically 'HIMYM' moments of the entire series. So long as you're into elaborate long-cons that defy all sense of plausibility and logic to win a woman's heart.

Series creator Craig Thomas sat down with Entertainment Weekly to explain how they arrived at such an elaborate, if unique set-up to finally get Robin and Barney back together:

We loved the idea of the secret last page of the playbook. Barney Stinson is Barney Stinson, and he wouldn’t propose in some predictable way. We also liked indicating that there’s one last great play for Barney Stnson to execute, and it sends him into this whole next chapter of his life — a new, more evolved part of his life.

But I still like that the thing that catapults him into the next phase of his life is a play from the playbook — the secret final page. It’s the last play he’ll ever run, and it’s the last play he’ll ever need to run because it’s going to get him the love of his life. It felt like a good way for Barney to be Barney and still get engaged, which is a pretty high degree of difficulty.

We’ve also seen these two characters come together and pull apart a few times, so the challenge we tried to set for ourselves was how to get them back together in way that felt unlike what we’ve done before.

Of course, the question on everyone's mind remains if 'How I Met Your Mother' will stretch on to a ninth season, or end in May with Ted finally meeting the woman of his dreams. Speaking with reporters, Thomas acknowledged that discussions were still ongoing, with a need to have a definitive answer for writing purposes by the new year, but an announcement likely won't come until the TCA press tour in January.

Elsewhere on deck for the current season, Thomas confirmed the returns of both Rachel Bilson's and Ray Wise's respective characters, keeping mum about the former but elaborating that Barney will now have to seek Robin's father's approval for the engagement. Additionally, 'Pretty Little Liars' star Ashley Benson will appear as an atypical, younger love interest for Ted, one who provides him with a realization or two about his current state. And did we hear something about the final "Robin Sparkles" number?

Well, what say you? Were you won over by last night's big proposal? Would you prefer if 'How I Met Your Mother' goes out with this season, or another?

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