The Three Things I Would Change About HIMYM’s Finale

Hello my field daisies!

It’s a rainy day here in Berkeley, creating the perfect backdrop as I muse over the end of How I Met Your Mother… I’m in a bit of a haze. My heart feels bittersweetly wrenched. Never in a million years did I picture the finale to be like this. It was so fast paced with so many flash forwards. In a way, it felt more like an epilogue than an ending. Truthfully I liked the fast pace and the flash forwards. It was a breath of fresh air compared to drawing out of the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding. But to change up the style so drastically for the last episode… There just seemed to be a strong disconnect between the finale and the rest of the season. They could have fit the season into an episode and the finale into a season.

Anyway I could spend all day talking about this, but here are:

The Three Things I Would Change About HIMYM’s Finale

1. Let the mother live. 

I mean I know she had to die sometime, but why so soon? His perfect woman! And she didn’t even make it to 2030! The scene under the umbrella was the best part of the whole episode. It was flawless.

I would have had more satisfaction if the whole episode was about Ted and the mother’s train ride back to New York, watching her convince him to stay. I wanted to see more of their chemistry and relish in it, not watch her get killed 0ff, “Up” style…

 

2. Keep Barney and Robin together. 

They broke up Marshall and Lily in Season 1, and I was devastated. But they got back in Season 2 and we get to see their happy ever after for 9 good years. They give us a glimpse of Barney and Robin’s happy ever after, and then they crush it half way through the episode. We don’t even get to see the three years they were together.

AND I loved Barney and Robin’s relationship. From the very beginning, I have wanted them to be together.

One of my favorite episodes is when they first hang out in “Zip, Zip Zip” (S1, E14).

She was his bro. She even suited up for him! She likes scotch and cigars and has daddy issues! And they played laser tag! For God’s sake she is Barney’s perfect woman! From that moment on, I thought Robin was the female counter part to Barney. Robin, as Cobie Smulders points out herself in this interview, is a bit of a slut.  I always liked to think that Barney really matured and changed for Robin, and that Robin decided to settle down with him because of his changes. This finale just made me so sad, watching Barney up to his old tricks and Robin isolating herself from the group.

But okay. Fine. Break up Robin and Barney. Given the doubt the two of them faced at the wedding itself, their divorce was sort of foreshadowed anyway.

Hell I would even allow the mother to killed if number 3 wouldn’t have happened!

3. Don’t make Ted chase with Robin. AGAIN. 

Save it for the fan fiction Carter and Craig. There are Ted and Robin shippers for a reason. Because of the third and final reason, I can’t go back and watch the episodes. Because of the last four minutes, the whole show is just a story about Ted chasing after Robin. THE WHOLE SHOW. It would be one thing if they just did it for one season, but this motif has been running for so long it’s become pathetic. The story becomes not about meeting the love of your life but about trying to win over someone who doesn’t love you. That’s the most unhealthy lesson I’ve ever learned. From cheating on Victoria to finding her grandmother’s locket, he has gone above and beyond to win Robin’s affection.

I mean I sort of get it. His kids do have a point. It would make sense why the series started with him meeting Robin. But it still didn’t feel right.

I can’t say I am disappointed with the series finale, but I can’t say I’m satisfied either. I liked how it tied off loose ends, but I hated how the ends were tied.

This is the appropriate poster for the show…

 

I just wish it would have gone something more like this…

 

 

According to Hollywood Reporter, the series finale was its most watched episode ever, 12.9 million views.

Congrats HIMYM. I am happy the show got enough support to continue through 9 seasons, and its ending does not change my love for the show. It’s still one of the best sitcoms I’ve ever watched. I loved all the crazy plotlines, rapid flashbacks, and legendary inside jokes.

Love ya’ll and thanks for reading!

Hope you have a daisyish day!