THE MAIN CHARACTERS EMBRACE each other in the final season as they get ready for Barney and Robin’s wedding.Chris’s view
At its start in 2005, How I Met Your Mother was just another show in a sea of sitcoms, unsure of its future. But as the show progressed, it built a strong following of die-hard fans through its amusing running gags, quirky cast, and lessons that hit close to home. As a result, after the finale ended the series so abruptly, I, along with many others, was conflicted at its conclusion.
However, after a night’s sleep, I realized that the ending was fitting to such a monumental story. Although I believe that the finale should have been more than two hours long, its overall message is clear: though life can be unpredictable, you can always make the best out of the cards you’ve been dealt. Looking at the series as a whole, this theme fits each character. Marshall, though unhappy with many of his jobs, makes the most out of them, and eventually gets his dream job as a judge. Ted, who finally finds the one, makes the most out of his years with Tracy. When she passes away, he seeks Robin out to it make work with her as well. So in the end, I think the finale fit the series as a whole and was much needed, but I’m still upset we never found out about the pineapple.
Olivia’s view
After seeing endless Tumblr posts about How I Met Your Mother last year, I decided to start watching the series from the beginning. I had no idea that this show would become one of my all time favorites, and that I would become so invested in the characters and the plot of how Ted met met his children’s mother.
The finale addressed a lot of important issues, and also became emotional for me because one of my favorite shows was ending. The only plot line that I was definitely happy with was Marshall and Lily’s. Their lives ended up perfectly happy and they both achieved their goals. As for the other characters, I loved Barney and Robin together, because honestly, I never really liked Robin as a character and thought she deserved a guy like Barney. I actually cried when Barney held his baby girl for the first time; he finally found meaning in his life (side note: I think this will be the basis for the likely spin-off How I Met Your Dad). Ted finally had everything he ever wanted in his life: a perfect woman and a beautiful family. But then of course, it was all ruined when they killed the mother! It just seems as though Tracy didn’t get her chance to show how awesome she was for Ted. I was disappointed, and think that it’s of slightly poor taste from the creators to send off the reason for the show so quickly and without warning.
The controversy of the finale was Ted ending up with Robin. In all honesty, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I think that Ted deserves to be happy, and if Tracy is no longer in his life then he should find someone, may it be Robin, to love. However, if Tracy had not passed away, there would have been no reason for Ted and Robin to be together because Tracy was perfect for Ted in every way. Hopefully, the supposed alternate ending that will be on the season nine DVD release will help me cope with my uncertain feelings about the finale.
Andrew’s view
How I Met Your Mother has been one of my favorite, if not my favorite, shows for the last five years. When I began watching this show, I immediately got entrenched in the story line and obsessed in following the series. How I Met Your Mother has taught me so much about how to live your life and how, sometimes, life doesn’t just happen like you want it to. Also, I have learned, from this show that, in life, you don’t have to settle and that you should never to accept anything but perfection.
In terms of the show overall, I have loved every single second of it, except for the last five seconds of the final episode. I will admit that there was a period of time in which I wanted Ted and Robin to be together; however, after watching all of the episodes, I couldn’t have been more against it. Having seen how they acted together, it would be hard to find anyone who though that they would/should end up together. Other than that the show ended well, Marshall and Lilly where able to end the show together and happy, Robin and Barney broke up—which was expected—and Barney was able to find true joy in a child. The show would have ended perfectly if Tracy, the mother, had never gotten sick and Ted and her where able to ride happily into the sunset. Although I will always love this show, it will now have a sour taste in my mouth due to this less than Ideal ending.
How I Met Your Mother will always be remembered for the joy that it brought to everyone. Although this less than stellar ending occurred, it can’t take away from the face that this show has provided so many life lessons and good amount of laughs along the way.
Geoff’s view
How I Met Your Mother was special. I don’t really watch sitcoms with laugh tracks, so this is not something I normally view. Also, most comedies don’t handle dark themes; the only one I could think of recently that does was Scrubs. So HIMYM really hit a sweet spot for me, thus you could understand I would have some strong feelings about the finale. In truth, one of my only complaints is that the last episodes should have been longer. I think Cristin Milioti, who played the mother, deserved a better send off with a bit more information about her and Ted’s life together. I think the scene with the children felt a bit forced, especially since it was shot when the child actors were still child actors back during the early seasons. There is one complaint I’ve heard a lot that I disagree with completely however. People don’t think Ted should have ended up with Robin, which is ridiculous. Ted got what he wanted that he couldn’t get with Robin: a family, and after six years of his wife being gone, it would make sense for them to end up together. But, I can understand why people hated this, and I think it goes back to my previous criticism: that the episodes were too short. There was so much information, years worth of their lives, thrown into about 40 minutes. People can’t appreciate the loneliness of Ted being a widower for six years when it happens in six seconds. But, I think through the last roller coaster of emotion we find ourselves at a better place than we were at the beginning of the series, and that’s all I can really ask for.
Spoiler Warning!
This review contains spoilers for the end of the series.