A couple days ago I watched the grand finale of the very popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother. It's hard to believe that after 9 seasons and 208 episodes this hilarious series has come to an end. The show premiered in 2005, however I did not start following it until 2010 when Philip and Shawnna lent me the first 4 seasons on DVD. Afterwards I followed each season on Neftlix.
I enjoyed the show almost immediately, and could relate to the setting, a close group of friends in their mid-to-late 20s living in the city. It was very similar to Friends, (a show that I never got into) about a group of young professionals living out various comedic situations in New York City. This show was particularly clever because it was the telling of a romantic story as the title suggests. It was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays and was loosely based off of many of their friendship in New York City.
The Characters
Ted Mosby: The main character of the show is Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) and narrated by his older self (Bob Saget). Ted is essentially telling his two teenage children the story of how he met their mother, beginning with his professional life in New York City after college. He works as an architect and has a very close group of friends who meet at a bar almost regularly. The comedic quality to Ted is that he is a hopeless romantic, always looking for the perfect one.
Barney Stinson: The breakout character of the show is no doubt Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris). Barney is the ultimate player of New York City, who prides himself in his classy style of picking up women. As sleazy as his character is, he also has a genuine side and always puts the interests of his best friends first.
Marshall Eriksen: Ted's oldest friend from his childhood days and college roommate is Marshall Eriksen (played by Jason Segel). Marshall is constantly attached to his significant other, Lilly, yet he is also Ted's dearest friend. He works as a lawyer in the city.
Lily Aldrin: Marshall's girlfriend since college and another good friend to Ted is the character of Lily Aldrin (played by Alyson Hannigan). She is a spunky kindergarten teacher, truly in love with Marshall and always opinionated on the groups' decisions. Although Ted is the core of the group, Lily is the mediator, always resolving conflicts.
Robin Scherbtasky: Ted's ex-girlfriend and constant love interest is Robin Scherbtasky (played by Cobie Smulders). She was the last addition to the group, having moved from Canada to pursue a job in TV news reporting. She also has a relationship with Barney towards the end of the season, yet ultimately ends up with Ted in the end.
The Finale
To be honest I was slightly disappointed with the ending which I'll get into in a bit, yet that being said it doesn't take away from the brilliance that was this sitcom. The writing was unlike anything I'd witnessed before, constant overlapping and time-spanning, especially in the final season. Each episode was cleverly done, with numerous stories and situations intersecting with the other. There were moments of drama, moments of shock, and nonstop moments of entertaining laughs.
After 8 seasons of back story, the producers decided to make the final season revolving around one event, Barney and Robins marriage. After all this was the big event in which Ted met "the one". I think this was a very smart choice and the perfect way to bring everyone together and close the many knots that needed tying. The final season succeeded in staying true to it's comedic overlapping style while closing out each main character and minor character.
The final season cleverly introduced Ted's future wife, Cristin Miioti (played by Tracy McConnell) at the end of eighth season. All throughout the 9th season she was bumping into characters at the wedding, and the viewer got to know who this special somebody was. Her and Ted were of course a perfect match, and their final meeting was true to all the clues and details Ted told his children about in the prior 8 seasons. However what seemed to be a happily-ever-after story did not end that way, and rather there was quite an unconventional ending.
In the final one hour episode we were bombarded with emotional closure. Marhsall became a judge and later a Supreme Court Justice and he and Lily had a third child. This resolution was an easy one, since Marshall and Lily were always by each other's sides. However the other three characters of Ted, Barney, and Robin were a little less conventional. Following the wedding, the story begins to fast forward to numerous events in each character's life.
The first major twist is that Barney and Robin do not end together, yet rather get a divorce after 3 years. I suppose it could have been assumed when considering Robin and Barney's independent characters, yet still is an unhappy resolution. To make matters worse for Robin, Barney gets a child of his own, which although is from a one night stand, it still gives Barney something to aspire to. Robin on the other hand must resort to the path of her profession, of which she successfully travels the world climbing the TV news ladder, however is ultimately alone with nothing to show.
The second major twist comes in Ted and Cristin's marriage as we see a fast-forwarding of their life together It appears they are bound to live happily ever after as we see mentions of their first date and numerous romantic encounters. They don't have their wedding until after their two children are born. Of which the entire group is reunited for the first time in several years. However it appears clear that Robin is unhappy with her situation and thus leads to perhaps the biggest shocker in the entire show; the death of Ted's wife. Which obviously leads the way to him being with Robin forever after.
Of course this was always the expected conclusion, yet how the writers went about it was perhaps a bit rushed and careless It seemed as if we had just met this special somebody whom Ted was dearly in love with, and who mothered his two children. To kill her off so quickly only to pave the way for him and Robin being together seemed a bit harsh. This ending left a bad taste with many viewers. My argument is that if the writers intended Robin and Ted to be together, then why even bring Cristin into the story. Although it can be assumed that Robin and Ted ended happily ever after it was by no means a happily ever after ending.
That being said this ending does not take away from the brilliant entertainment that was How I Met Your Mother. There were so many episodes of sheer originality that left me dying of laughter. From it's catchy theme song, to Ted Mosby's ridiculous situations, to Robin's Canadian lifestyle, to Marshall and Lily's cheesy relationship, and finally Barney's never-ending catch-phrases and self dubbed awesomeness. Ted was always my favorite character and it makes me happy to see that he was able to find love in the city. I think this show will go down as one of my all time favorite sitcoms, and although its finished, I will surely be watching it again.
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