How I Met Your Mother - Part 5

[John Locke]

After thinking about it for a day, I think the only thing I dislike about the finale is Ted talking to his kids. I'm fine with Ted going back to Robin. If Ted had said that he was telling the story because it was the first step of moving on because that's what Tracy wanted and then the kids approve of Ted going after Robin then I would be okay with the finale. But I hate that Penny was so enthusiastic about Ted going after Robin and that she said that the only reason Ted was telling the story was so he would convince them to allow him to go after Robin. Hopefully the part where Ted said Tracy wanted him to move on is it those deleted 18 minutes.

 

[Loki882]

The finale and how they ended makes alot of since, and I have to applaud them for sticking to their guns from Day 1.

I just wish Barney and Robin's courtship, and the death of the mother, was handled better. But besides that, it really was how it should've of been from the beginning.

The revelation that the story Ted was telling was about Robin, not the Mother, makes sense. Considering that, outside of Ted, the primary focus of the show has always been Robin.

Especially in the last 4 seasons.

And I mean really, there's a reason the show began when he met Robin, and not at the Wedding ; a point many people have made.

Throughout this series, as much as we learned the story of Ted and how he would eventually meet the mother, we learned just as much (if not more) about Robin, and how she got from the point she first met Ted, to 2030.

No, it didn't make sense. It was lame and contrived. The show outgrew their original ending, and rather than change to recognize that fact, they crowbarred it into a situation that it no longer fit. This is proof that "having it all planned out from the beginning" isn't always a good idea.

 

[Prison Mike]

We'll it had been 6 years since Tracy died and I'm sure Penny has bonded more with Robin since then which is why she seems excited about it. I'm sure Tracy would want Ted to move on. It's not like he went after Robin right after his wife was buried.

 

[Loki882]

I guess this is the ending people wanted safe and secure. Despite its flaws, Josh Radnor add Neil Patrick Harris knocked it out of the park!

No, the majority of the people that I've seen don't like this ending. They think that it essentially undid multiple seasons worth of character development and growth, which it did.

 

[Loki882]

We'll it had been 6 years since Tracy died and I'm sure Penny has bonded more with Robin since then which is why she seems excited about it. I'm sure Tracy would want Ted to move on. It's not like he went after Robin right after his wife was buried.

Here's the problem, they didn't SHOW any of that. It was just glossed over in the last few minutes so that we could get a "happy ending." If they had actually taken the time to show her death, Ted grieving and dealing with it over time, any sense that Penny was close with Tracy, then MAYBE this ending could have worked. The last ten minutes of the finale should have been the entire season.

 

[Sawyer]

By the way does anyone know the ending song form the finale?

[YT]6QaFK_GvO_s[/YT]

 

[LostSon88]

[YT]0caCEG1nH3E[/YT]

The ending we deserved...the ending we needed.

Pretty much.

Predictable? Yes.
Cliche? Yes.
Simple? Yes.

What I wanted? Absolutely.

It's the pretty little ribbon on top that wraps the series up nicely. I understand people who wanted more. I wouldn't have minded it either.

But what they did give us? Yeah, I didn't want that.

 

[Art Vandelay]

The credits were the one moment I thought they got right. Since I hadn't seen the first episode in a long time, it was a bit jarring seeing a young Jason Segel, and it really hit home just how much time has passed since the show first started.

 

[Orb]

[YT]6QaFK_GvO_s[/YT]

Thanks!

 

[weezerspider]

Pretty much.

Predictable? Yes.
Cliche? Yes.
Simple? Yes.

What I wanted? Absolutely.

It's the pretty little ribbon on top that wraps the series up nicely. I understand people who wanted more. I wouldn't have minded it either.

But what they did give us? Yeah, I didn't want that.

Breaking Bad was so predictable. So was True Detective. Both were ****ing amazing. You really put perfectly what a series finale should be: A pretty little ribbon that wraps the series up nicely. The best series finales are simple. It's different than a film. Twists and turns can negate hours and hours and years and years of storytelling where in a film it's only two hours. There's less at stake. Also a film typically won't evolve past your endgame where a show might, but that's not the point, really. All of the great writers say that the characters determine the plot, they just follow the characters. The characters evolved way past this ending. It's not 2005 anymore.

 

[runawayboulder]

I liked how they did those credits at the end. Man, I can't stop thinking about the finale. I'm just glad it wasn't boring or cliche.

I'm not one of the ones that hated the finale but looking back at it, the last image of Robin smiling out her window before it cuts to the title card was a little bit weird.

They really devalued what Cristin brought to the character of the Mother.

 

[weezerspider]

I'm not one of the ones that hated the finale but looking back at it, the last image of Robin smiling out her window before it cuts to the title card was a little bit weird.

They really devalued what Cristin brought to the character of the Mother.

I think that's probably the biggest problem. I think almost everyone could have at least accepted this ending if the whole season was leading up to 2030, including seeing Ted actually deal with the loss of Tracy and such, but the way they handled it made The Mother seem so non-important, when the rest of the series is basically doing the exact opposite.

 

[BatLobster]

All the people saying they wanted "simple" and "predictable" and that this was just a twist for the sake of a twist...

This ending IS what I and many others predicted. This is the simple, straight forward resolution I had wanted from Day 1. The show was about Robin, not the mother, always was, always will be. Some just allowed the show's gimmick to distract them from that very simple, obvious, yet blinding truth.

I like Tracy, but all we saw were her positives. She didn't feel like a real person, just this perfect little angel. Robin was a real person, a fully formed character, with flaws and all.

Ending on the umbrella scene with no Robin denouement would've felt hollow and disappointed me and others as much as this ending disappointed you guys. There was really no way to win. They wrote themselves into a corner from Day 1, I'm just lucky enough that they wrote themselves out of it the way I'd always hoped they would.

 

[Sawyer]

The only character who I would admit they undid years of character development with is Barney. But the way I see it, it makes perfect sense for the character. He made a lot of changes for Robin and the sake of their relationship. He went all in. But their relationship, as much as they may have loved one another, wasn't built to last. A lot of relationships don't last, and probably a lot of those are built on a stronger foundation than Barney and Robin's. So, when the relationship crumbled, he regressed. It makes sense. Of all the characters on this show, he was the one who remained static for the longest, which is exactly the way he wanted it. Of course he'd go back to who he was before Robin sparked the idea of change in him.

Having a daughter was what really cemented the idea of change for Barney in a way that Robin couldn't, because the paternal relationship is a very different beast than the romantic relationship. It's not something based on two independent adults with their own views and desires and plans for their future. There's more responsibility for Barney being a parent. Responsibility has never really been a part of it for Barney before. And he easily could've walked away from it. He could've said "Whatever, you'll have an easier time raising that kid without me around" or something equally snarky. But as soon as he lays eyes on his daughter, he falls in love, and warmly embraces the idea of responsibility.

In a sense, they may have undone some character growth for Barney, but at the same time, they kind of built on it.

 

[BatLobster]

Yup. Knocking up a random and learning to love being a father is a MUCH more logical and fitting conclusion for Barney Stinson than living happily ever after with Robin- which I never believed was going to happen regardless of all the focus on their wedding this season.

Honestly, the more I reflect on this finale the more I feel like they got a lot right.

 

[Teelie]

I don't think anyone mentioned this, but the Twitter comment from Alyson saying there was another 18 minutes cut? Remember today is April 1st. Maybe not get your hopes up too high.

 

[Sawyer]

And the thing that I really like about the whole Ted/Robin thing is that it wasn't her falling into his arms, it wasn't the two of them standing at a wedding altar together or holding hands and walking off into the distance together. It wasn't a fairy tale ending for the two of them. Ted already got his fairy tale ending with Tracy. He got the girl he loved completely and who loved him completely in return. It was a fairy tale ending, but as the real world shows us all at some point... nothing lasts forever.

When he showed up at Robin's apartment with the blue french horn (which I still have issues with, but whatever), it wasn't a "We have everything we ever wanted now!" It's more like a new Chapter 1 between the two of them. A new beginning at a very different stage of their lives.

 

[Sawyer]

I don't think anyone mentioned this, but the Twitter comment from Alyson saying there was another 18 minutes cut? Remember today is April 1st. Maybe not get your hopes up too high.

She was responding to a girl who tweeted her a question. That wouldn't be an April Fools Day joke, it'd be an outright lie.

 

[The Apocalypse]

Sawyer, what was your thoughts on the season as a whole?

 

[Sawyer]

I didn't love the format of the season. I think it's something I would've enjoyed a lot more if this season took place over the decade or so after the wedding like the finale did, rather than jamming it all into one (or I guess two) episodes. As it stands, the first half of the season had some funny moments, but mostly felt empty to me, and it wasn't until the second half that stuff got really good. Except the slap episode. That **** was bad.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

No, the majority of the people that I've seen don't like this ending. They think that it essentially undid multiple seasons worth of character development and growth, which it did.

Really? Because the majority of the people I've heard from loved it.

Here's the problem, they didn't SHOW any of that. It was just glossed over in the last few minutes so that we could get a "happy ending." If they had actually taken the time to show her death, Ted grieving and dealing with it over time, any sense that Penny was close with Tracy, then MAYBE this ending could have worked. The last ten minutes of the finale should have been the entire season.

Sure we saw all this. Throughout the 9 seasons, there has been plenty of reference to the role that "Aunt" Robin played in the children's lives, and how close they would have been. The entire 9 seasons was a grieving and mourning of sorts.

I don't know. There's a part of me that doesn't like the ending. But I don't inherently dislike the idea of the mother dying and Ted and Robin ending up together. There was always a part of me that, while I don't like Robin as a romantic partner for Ted, still wanted them to end up together at the end of it all.

Overall I'm fine with it, but I'm not 100% happy with it. But I wouldn't have been 100% happy with it if the show ended with Ted and Tracy happily together forever either.

 

[Lily Adler]

[YT]0caCEG1nH3E[/YT]

The ending we deserved...the ending we needed.

I'm sorry I need a moment. They're happy tears I swear.

 

[Naked Shia]

I hated that ending. Spending 3 seasons mostly about Barney and Robin, one season being about their wedding, just to erase everything in the finale, including Barney's whole character development didn't make sense to me. Lily did nothing but cry and be pregnant, and unlike the others, she didn't really have an epilogue.

The mother's story had no sense. She was there just to be the mother, she wasn't even Ted's true love, since he only ever thought of Robin actually. It would probably have worked better if the entire season had been about Ted and the mother though. But still, I think they did a lot of wrong in this season and in this finale.

 

[Fizicks]

[YT]0caCEG1nH3E[/YT]

The ending we deserved...the ending we needed.

lol I just posted the same video a few pages back.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

see idk, even if you were a die hard Ted/Robin supporter an always wanted to see them get together in the end

was seeing them finally get together 15 years later as a widower and divorcee, in the 40's/50's, really satisfy that