Warning: This is not spoiler-free.

I spent two month binge-watching “How I Met Your Mother” nearly two years after its disappointing ending. Although I regret watching much of the last few seasons (I didn’t need to spend all that time on Barney and Robin’s love story only for it to fail in the finale...I mean, really?), I can’t help my appreciation for this average white group of pals. Something about its quirkiness resonates with me. But, what makes this show a unique brand of special and problematic?

The most notable unsettling issue is the lack of diversity. “HIMYM” is set in New York City. Yes, a group of six friends out of over 8 million are all white. CBS executives must have not gotten the memo that diverse casts perform better than non-diverse casts. Granted, “HIMYM” came to us in a post-“Friends” empire--another all-white cast that lasted longer than expected. The only “diversity” included in the main cast are two conventionally attractive white women; one in a long-term relationship and the other the token Hot Girl™ who frequently catches the affection of all types of men. That being said, there’s little diversity in nine long seasons. Barney’s brother (played by Wayne Brady) is both black and gay. Shows often do things such as this, where they lump together different archetypes into one character in order to establish some sort of diversity in the show. Also, one of Ted’s (white) girlfriends was later outed as a lesbian, and Ted went on a few dates with black women. None of those dates really matter in Ted’s chase for the mother...and Robin.

CBS

“HIMYM” was under fire for the main cast playing Asians in “Slapsgiving 3,” when Marshall wanted to learn the art of slapping from the masters. Also known as “yellowface,” this action was used as a joke in the show, but ends up as a device to utilize Asian stereotypes with an all-white cast. This can be dangerous, since many Asian-Americans are either fetishized or forced to assimilate with white American culture to ultimately not achieve their own roles in Hollywood. “HIMYM” isn’t the only victim of whitewashing non-white characters, but its popularity certainly proliferated the problem rather than using it to solve the problem.

But speaking of diversity, let’s talk about how women are perceived on this show. I’m not joking when I say I’ll fight someone on why Robin is the worst example of women’s representation. Regardless of how Ted feels about her, she sucks. There, I said it. Robin sucks. However, her character is important.

Ah, Robin Scherbatsky. Every man’s dream. A successful television journalist working in New York with a hot bod, nice hair, and unadulterated femininity and heterosexuality. She doesn’t want (nor can she have, but you discover that later) children, making her perfect hook-up material. In “Game Night” (S1E15), Ted’s girlfriend Victoria talked about how she only had two boyfriends, and Robin promptly replies, “Prude alert!” When Victoria refutes with, “Well two serious ones. I’ve dated others in between,” Robin replies, “Slut alert!” You can defend Robin by saying she’s being sarcastic or mocking because this is right before she dates Ted, but this still reinforces the problem with how women are expected to act in a male-celebrated society.

CBS | via alisonnbries.tumblr.com

Unfortunately, Robin and Lily reinforce the stereotype that women are expected to view each other as competition when chasing after men. The contrast between both women lies in their relationship status--Lily has been a long-term relationship with Marshall (the couple breaks up once during the summer of 2006 when Lily moves to San Francisco to live her dream of being an artist...the two later rekindle and get married), and therefore Robin is not seen as a threat. With Robin, her treatment of coworker Patrice (who was used as a plot device for Barney’s proposal to Robin) as well as her sad attempts at making--and keeping--female friends is far from the kind of woman young girls should aspire to be. She grew up with a father who desperately wanted a son, which led her to play hockey and adopt the “one of the boys” trope in her character. Even though she smokes cigars, watches sports, and drinks whiskey, she’s still feminine. Robin assimilates into her femininity but disassociates herself from the entire female gender. Think of her as Taylor Swift’s two identities in “You Belong With Me.”

There are countless other issues with “HIMYM,” most of them resting with Barney and Ted. Barney is fat-phobic (he refuses to date “fatties”), a womanizer, a giant sexist, and his “Bro Code” is disgustingly laughable. But, he does become the only character in the show with any sort of dynamic...until the finale when he returns to his old ways after his short marriage to Robin. Ted, by contrast, is the all-encompassing “nice guy” whom you as the viewer are supposed to feel sorry for because he perpetually has a broken heart. Entertainment media loves to do things like this, because Ted is supposed to be the cute guy who can never have a successful relationship. Women in these roles are usually “undesirable” and therefore made into reasons why women should aspire to be more like Robin. Because, you know, everything is about pleasing men. You shouldn’t feel sorry for Ted, however, because his girlfriends (and even the mother, mind you) are used as plot devices for Robin. But, “poor Ted!” or whatever.

Despite all this beef, “HIMYM” was probably the best worst show to ever hit our television sets. I’m sure the producers weren’t meaning to bring light to the problems, but it’s arguable that these problems are used in means of satire, and are not to be taken seriously. However, sometimes satire is not perceived well by an audience. This is why interpretation is powerful. What makes the show enjoyable, though, is how twenty- and thirtysomethings are battling the same issues as the characters. No, not everyone has Barney’s mysterious high-paying job, nor are we successful architects before we’re 30, but we are certainly going to try. When Ted’s architecture firm fails, or when Marshall leaves his high-paying corporate job to be the environmental lawyer he always dreamed to be, or Lily stops teaching to achieve her dream of working in art by failing and trying it again, that resonates. We are drawn to these characters in the way we feel like we’re sitting on the other end of that table at MacLaren’s. We are in the conversation. We are the other member of the group.

CBS

It’s also worth mentioning that the writing on the show, although problematic, has the best use of continuity. Barney’s seemingly unnoticeable use of 83 whenever he makes up a statistic, the constant foreshadowing leading us to the ending (the “mother” gravestone when Marshall visits his father; Barney telling Ted he’ll take Robin until she’s 40, then Ted can have her after), and seamless flashbacks to episodes airing years before keep the story true and pure. It’s like diving into your favorite book. Even if you hate the ending like I did, you can’t help but give credit to the story that got you there.

There’s a lot you can criticize about “HIMYM” and I certainly have exercised that. Tracey--the mother, shellfish lady, etc.--was unfairly short-lived in my opinion, but the writers have said they stand by the ending. When you watch the series from beginning to end, you’ll see the clues. Even with its issues there’s no denying the intelligence behind the show’s original plot. I can find more memorable characters in “Spongebob,” but that doesn’t make the group any less nuanced. Their problems remind us that they’re human. All of it makes this show legen--WAIT FOR IT--dary.