To say that some people didn't like the How I Met Your Mother finale might be an understatement. It's never easy to accurately determine exactly how divided people are over something like this, considering the angry people may very well be louder more passionate than the satisfied people. In the case of the HIMYM finale, there are enough people reacting to prompt the CBS comedy's co-creator to speak up, via Twitter:
Finale spoilers (obviously) ahead!
I shared my own reaction to the finale last night, and admittedly, I wasn't a fan of how the story ended. I felt like we were watching a good ending to the wrong show and the wrong ending to a good show... if that makes any sense. Even after reading some defenses and explanations, and considering that this final episode was all set-up to show how Ted and Robin were finally ready to be right for each other, I still don't like how it seemed to require unraveling the entire last season -- and Robin's friendships with pretty much everyone -- to get there.
And I know life doesn't turn out the way we expect it to. It's a harsh reality that people have to live with and it's a reality that can definitely be worked into the plot of a sitcom. How I Met Your Mother has faced situations like that before. Remember when Marshall and Lily split up? Remember every disappointing relationship Ted had to deal with? Remember Marshall losing his father? This series hasn't ever shied away from hard times and that's one of the reasons it's such a good show. So I can appreciate the drama and even the tragedy on that level, but it doesn't change my opinion on the finale.
Even knowing the theories about the mother possibly not being alive at the end of the story didn't really prepare me to accept that she was never the point of this story, or to want Robin and Ted to end up together. Because I spent all season wanting Robin and Barney to be happy, and Ted to finally meet the love of his life. We can analyze the series of flash-forwards in the finale that basically pushed Robin and Ted into places where they were finally meant to be together, and I can see what the writers did there, but I don't think that's enough to actually change my mindset so drastically from the start of the hour to the end.
So yeah, my opinion on the finale hasn't changed much since last night. But I still credit Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for taking a chance and not going for the obvious perfectly-happy ending. I just wished I could appreciate the outcome. Instead, I'll "settle" for appreciating the series and the nine seasons of laughs and great moments How I Met Your Mother gave us.
But where do you stand? Here's the poll we ran with last night's finale breakdown. Weigh in there or in the comments section below!
This poll is no longer available.
