I am internally screaming. They gave us nine seasons of suspense. Eight seasons of laughs and tears only to lead up to a weird and drawn out final season which ended in the worst way possible. There were a lot of things wrong with the end of "How I Met Your Mother" and here they are:
First, they spent an entire season showing Barney and Robin's wedding, Barney's elaborate plan to get Robin to marry him, and Barney's final maturity as a person only to have them divorce after three years. What? Barney was never a better person than when he was with Robin. They seemed to be a perfect pair, and then they just split? Not only that but afterward, Barney reverts to his old ways of hooking up with girls and partying as if his ability to commit is completely gone again. Major bummer.
Second, the mother dies. This was the absolute worst. The fact that Ted had waited all that time for his perfect woman and she arrives but then dies only a few years later. Ted finally got over Robin and was able to love again, finding the absolute perfect match for him only to have her taken from him. This was kind of unexpected and pretty harsh. I don't feel that this was really necessary.
Third, Ted's kids' reaction at the end is really weird. As soon as Ted's story ends, they are not at all reminiscent of their mother nor are they at all annoyed at just how long their father's story took. No. They immediately push their father to remarry.
Forth, Ted's willingness to get Robin back so quickly is a little concerning. This bugged me. Earlier in the season, we see how the same thing happened to Tracy, the mother, where she was mourning the loss of her true love. The difference is that Tracy was still holding on and being sensitive to her deceased love. Ted doesn't give it a second thought. He immediately runs off to get Robin without a thought of Tracy. It's always Robin.
To be fair, there were some redeeming moments at the end as well. The first of which is Barney's daughter. His daughter seems to help Barney become kinder and respectful of women. He no longer has to chase after women because he has the most important girl in his life already. Another redeeming feature was the way the show ended with the phrase "how I met your mother" serving a double meaning. This might just be my interpretation, but it seems that by the end, Ted had not only found the kid's biological mother, but also their new mother -- the one that would continue to raise them. I must admit, that was a pretty cool twist.
All in all, the finale was pretty much the worst. Despite a few redeeming qualities, it was still inexcusably disappointing. Unfortunately, this finale was by no means "legendary."
