Victoria's surprising return in How I Met Your Mother season 7 could have been drastically different, but not in a good way. Ashley Williams played the supporting character in the sitcom's debut season before reappearing in the life of central character Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor). The professional baker was one of Ted's most serious girlfriends over the course of the series, but Ted's feelings toward close friend Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) always got in the way. Ironically, neither Victoria nor Robin wound up being the "Mother" character, but Ted ended up having a future with Robin.

Williams' character made her How I Met Your Mother debut in "The Wedding." After meeting at a wedding in which Victoria baked the cake, she and Ted began dating. Though there was an obvious connection between the two, Victoria left NYC for a fellowship at a culinary institute in Germany. The couple tried to make a long-distance relationship work, but Ted had to break up with Victoria after cheating on her with Robin. Six years later in the How I Met Your Mother timeline featured Victoria's grand return at the end of season 7's "The Naked Truth." While attending the Architect's Ball, Ted reunited with Victoria, who was back in the city still working as a professional baker. Although Victoria was engaged to another man named Klaus, Ted had to give the relationship another chance, believing she could be "The One."

Ted was previously left the alter, but he convinced Victoria to do the same to Klaus. Still, the relationship couldn't survive because Victoria forced Ted to choose between her or Robin. In hindsight, it was clever of series creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays to bring back Victoria as another roadblock in Ted's love life. That said, it seemed a rehash by throwing Robin into the middle of the relationship by presenting her as a factor in the ultimatum. Victoria's return, however, could have been a bit worse, considering the plan to involve a joke aimed at the character's weight. Essentially, the team behind the series thought about putting the character in a fat suit as a way to build on her time in pastry school, but one could see how that could end up being problematic.

According to Bays in an interview (via TVLine), after Victoria returned in How I Met Your Mother season 7 after a six-year absence, there was always a plan to bring the character back. The co-creator reiterated the notion that Victoria would have been the "Mother" had the sitcom been unexpectedly cancelled. Aside from the contingency plan reveals, Bays commented on a previous statement made by Thomas, who predicted Victoria would have been 600 pounds when she returned to Germany. Bays claimed Victoria's weight was an "ongoing joke" before teasing how they would have "put Ashley [Williams] in a fat suit." The idea was that working as a pastry chef in Germany could have potentially affected the character's weight and appearance.

Thankfully, the team behind How I Met Your Mother veered away from the fat suit idea, which would have certainly aged horribly. Based on how poorly Monica Geller's weight gag has aged in Friends, Bays and Thomas did the right thing by throwing away the insensitive joke. Poking fun at Victoria's appearance would have taken away from the significance of her return, especially when since it came at a crucial time of Ted's journey for self-actualization. Like every sitcom, How I Met Your Mother made some mistakes along the way, but a fat suit situation wasn't one of them, thanks to key reconsiderations.

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About The Author

Kara Hedash (1755 Articles Published)

Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world's most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara's not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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