It's been a while since I've last written here, well over two years actually, so there would have to be a HUGE event to bring me back again. And last night, March 31, 2014, such an event has occurred: the series finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.
I thought I'd do a whole recap, but I figure if you're reading this, you've already seen it. So let's consider this your SPOILER ALERT!
So, here's the deal: I respect the fact that Carter Thomas and Craig bays stuck to their story and didn't compromise. Their plan all along was for Robin and Ted to end up together. However, my issue with this is these two characters have changed so much over the years that they don't make sense together anymore. Ted is still the romantic and Robin is still the cynical, non-commitment oriented, run-when-it-gets-tough girl she's always been. At least with Barney, Robin found a match that struggles the same way she does. When Robin would struggle with Ted, he'd say everything perfect, but not challenge her to be better than she thinks she can be. Barney and Robin bring out the best in each other. In order for Ted and Robin to end up together, I would have preferred to see a change in Robin.
Here's how I would have ended it:
First, I would have had flash forwards throughout the season with Robin over a tombstone in 2030 saying things like, "I hope you know how much your friendship meant to me" and "I don't want to do something that would upset you", etc. But in the end of the finale...
TED
And that, kids, is how I met your mother.
PENNY
Wow, Dad. Sounds like you and Aunt Robin meant a lot to each other...
TED
You're right, Penny, but we were always a bit wrong for each other from the beginning.
LUKE
Dad...you know Mom would want you to be happy, right?
TED
Kids, your Mom was the greatest love of my life, she can't be replaced with someone like your Aunt Robin that doesn't get me the way your Mom did...
CUT TO:
Some time later. ROBIN home with her dogs, feeling lonely, realizing it's time for her to make a change and make the grand romantic gesture.
MONTAGE
ROBIN, at the cemetery.
ROBIN
I hope you understand how much Ted means to me and I plan on making him as happy as possible.
We see the tombstone is Tracy's.
Then, ROBIN runs into the restaurant she and Ted had their first date in and steals the blue french horn, then catches a train out to the suburbs, arriving in front of Ted's house.
ROBIN
MOSBY! TED. MOSBY!
TED opens up his window and looks down at ROBIN.
TED
What are you doing?
ROBIN
Making a grand romantic gesture.
(Reveals the blue french horn from behind her back)
Title card runs "HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER".
THE END
Now, it's not perfect, I know. But what I'm trying to say is Ted and Robin became different people and the only way they could end up together is by showing that there has been some kind of drastic adjustment to show their compatibility or at very least an unexpected gesture to show such an adjustment, thus Robin making the romantic gesture. Ted making the gesture in light of just finishing telling his kids the story of how he met their mother, paints him as kind of a douche. Robin's gesture seems more final and not douchey.
Other things that kind of bugged me:
--Barney's "let me be me" monologue. This works against all the character development he made throughout the course of this story. It seems the only thing that kept him from being "me" was Robin. But they gave up on their relationship when it got difficult... I'm surprised Lily and Marshall didn't beat them senseless. Think of all the issues they went through over the years...
--Why spend a whole season on introducing your audience to a title character only to kill her off without even giving her a proper goodbye scene? The least they could have done was present her death more clearly (there were signs throughout the season) earlier in the season to give your audience the chance to not gain so much hope in the happily ever after she is expected to have. This just made all the build up to meeting her (which was the point of the show) seem superfluous, especially if you just meant to have your leading man end up with the girl that started the story off in the first place.
--Barney never knowing the name of his daughter's mother. Disrespectful, even for Barney.--WHAT ABOUT THE FREAKING PINEAPPLE?!?!
Best park of the show: Barney holding his daughter for the first time. Precious.
Final remarks: How I Met Your Mother has always stood to show how life can change, sometimes unexpectedly. The finale stayed true to that statement. However, the rest of the series had the benefit of having a continued storyline to show how these changes became part of who the characters are over time. These new changes and developments simply must be accepted by the audience. This whole season showed how Barney and Robin loved each other and would work, then the audience was shown how this whole season was for naught, because Robin and Barney didn't end up together and, ultimately, Ted would go back to Robin. If this were always the end game, fine. The execution was a bit misleading...
As Lily once said, "Life is full of changes--one day you have an apartment, the next it's a house of dumplings--but the important stuff never changes." Unfortunately, I feel as if this is true, but not for a lack of trying.
If you're angry or hungry for a different ending, perhaps you should take a page out of the HIMYM gang's notebook and go have a "sandwich".
