Unpopular opinion (& spoiler?): the end of How I Met Your Mother is absolutely fantastic. It’s heavily foreshadowed and a really beautiful, valuable lesson — Ted can both deeply treasure his time with the mother and still seek love again, without minimizing either relationship.
Seriously, I don’t see how anyone can watch the episode where Ted imagines rushing up to the mother’s door a few months before actually meeting her and see the look in his eyes and truly be surprised that by the time he’s telling this story she’s long gone.
And the people who are mad that Robin and Barney’s marriage fell apart after investing so many episodes in their wedding? What the hell. That’s the most ridiculously accurate thing ever.
There was never a chance in hell that Robin and Barney would last.
Sometimes people you care about make truly stupid marriage choices, but they still ask you to get onboard… participate in the wedding, get to know the spouse, be supportive.
And then, bam, big surprise, it doesn’t last, and yeah, you still spent all that time investing.
How I Met Your Mother absolutely nailed that dynamic, and if they’d gone the way fans wanted?
UGH.
It would have been AWFUL if they’d pretended Barney was going to turn around and suddenly be all fixed and redeemed just because everyone spent a lot of energy on a wedding.
‘Cause one of the things that actually works about How I Met Your Mother is that, yes, Barney is awful, but the SHOW KNOWS THAT. He’s a purposeful contrast to what Ted is trying to be and what Marshall is. Lily sees right through him all the way through the show.
So, yeah, How I Met Your Mother is an amazing comfort show with lovable characters (because even through his toxicity, Barney’s kinda lovable, because Neil Patrick Harris is so much fun to watch); it plays with time and memory in fun ways, and it TOTALLY LANDS THE ENDING.
And geez, I didn’t even get into the way that How I Met Your Mother totally kills other long-form sitcoms (Friends, The Office, I’m looking at you) by turning around and having Marshall put his dream of being a judge completely on hold to follow Lily to Rome for her dream job.
I have trouble seeing the story of Marshall turning aside a judgeship so he can watch the babies for Lily while they move to Rome for her job as anything other than a COMPLETELY PURPOSEFUL COMMENTARY on the final episode of Friends where Ross stops Rachel from moving to Paris.
And really, actually, my absolute favorite thing about How I Met Your Mother?
From the very, very, very beginning, Robin doesn’t want kids and just wants to focus on her job.
AND THE SHOW GODDAMNED RESPECTS THAT.
Robin never has kids. Focuses on her job. AND IT’S AMAZING.
In the end, Robin gets everything she wants — she’s a successful news anchor who travels all over the world; she gets to be the cool aunt who continues to be beloved by her friends; and in the end, she even gets Ted who she always loved.
It’s ROBIN’S STORY.
Really, when it comes down to it, that’s probably why so many “fans” are so whiny about the end of How I Met Your Mother — it’s not a complete, straightforward wish-fulfillment story for Ted. His wife dies, and he raises his kids as a single dad.
It does right by the woman lead.