Television Sitcoms
Olive branches are historically symbolic of peace or friendship, but in the long-running CBS sitcom, “How I Met Your Mother,” the olive represents something more romantic: The prospect of relationship compatibility. In the pilot episode of the comedy, which ran on the network from September 19, 2005, until March 31, 2014, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) introduces the Olive Theory, which suggests that every great couple is made up of one person who loves olives and another who hates them.
Ted shares this piece of anecdotal wisdom during his first date with Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) and he bases it on the example of his two best friends, Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel). Lily and Marshall get engaged in the pilot episode of the series, and Ted believes that the Olive Theory helps explain why their relationship is so successful. According to Ted, Lily loves olives and Marshall hates them, and this balance is what makes them so compatible.
The Olive Theory offers a more specific variation on the idea that opposites attract, but the show uses the principle to help illustrate the nature of relationships and to propel the series’ narrative. Later in the pilot episode, Ted’s friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) discloses that Marshall actually does like olives — he just pretends not to so that he can make Lily happy by sharing his olives with her. This suggests that part of what makes up a successful relationship is listening to your partner and compromising when necessary.
The show also uses The Olive Theory to bookend Ted and Robin’s relationship
When Ted is recounting his successful first date with Robin to Marshall and Lily, one of the reasons he is convinced she is a good match for him is because she confesses to hating olives, which he loves. Ted and Robin date for a year, but end up breaking up when they realize they are heading in different directions. The two remain friends, but Ted struggles to shake the idea that he and Robin are meant to end up together.
The prospect of a Ted and Robin reconciliation emerges in the Season 9 episode “Platonish.” Robin and Barney are engaged, but in this particular episode, Ted learns that Robin has since changed her mind about olives. One of Ted’s reservations about Robin has been the fact that she doesn’t want kids, whereas he is very motivated to start a family. Robin’s olive evolution makes Ted reevaluate his feelings for her and eventually causes him to reject a job that would have taken him from New York City to Chicago.
Ted chooses not to pursue Robin after learning how her olive preferences have changed, but the Olive Theory may correctly predict a happy ending between the two. As the show ends, it is revealed that the mother of Ted’s children (Cristin Milioti) died six years before Ted started telling their kids about how they met. Ted’s kids encourage him to ask Robin out, which he does, adding another layer of significance to the Olive Theory’s impact on the show.
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