Wow! What a touching ending. The show runners played with our expectations in an unexpected way. The mother couldn't possibly die because too many people were speculating on that for years. Couldn't happen. Then it does. I was so hit by that that I couldn't fully pay attention to the actual meeting at the train stop in the next scene (where we got an actual name of course... Tracy McConnell). Then there's the other big twist... "How I Met Your Stepmother". It was about Robin after all. And the actors who played the kids knew this big revelation for years. Good bye show. It was legen...
Wow , that was the worst finale I've ever seen. It makes Battlestar look like Citizen Kane. Seriously, they spend an entire season on Barney and Robin's wedding along with Ted finally getting over Robin and they just fucking throw it all away. I knew that Tracy would die, they foreshadowed it during the season, but they did her a huge disservice by having her die off screen and by making her second to Robin, despite her being perfect for Ted and for her being the mother of his children. I am so full of hate right now. It is Mass Effect all over again.
Looks like a lot of people at the IMDb boards didn't like the finale. Personally, I liked it. I liked seeing where everyone ended up over the years and that life doesn't always turn out the way you'd hoped or planned when you were younger and more idealistic. And SG-17, I agree with you about the mother dying off screen. That's one of the misses that came to mind.
Thanks for the spoilers. It's on the DVR. If that's the twist, then I'm happy it worked out that way. Waiting for the wife to get home. Probably won't watch it tonight, because Castle is up in a bit.
I think this may be a case of a series that outgrew its planned ending, which might have worked better had it resolved after 4-5 seasons and not dragged out the quest for the Mother whilst throwing all kinds of roadblocks between Ted and Robin.
I didn't mind the ending, it kinda fit. Sweet, funny, etc. When looking back, though, it's kinda odd that they spent the whole last season on Robin and Barney's wedding if it really didn't matter or play into things so much. I mean, only way it really was big in the story was that, I suppose, it was the last time they really spent time together as 'the gang'. Things changed after that. Ending wasn't top of my list, but liked it. Felt they could have spent a little more time with the mother at the end, though. She just got a quick "when she got sick" line, and then was gone. We'd already gotten bits around it, but still felt rushed. Didn't need a whole thing, just felt quick.
I thought it worked very well without being overly telegraphed. Throughout the series there were hints that Robin and Ted were supposed to be together (and Barney and Robin weren't). If anything, over the years I'd gotten a little fed up with the Barney/Robin thing because it didn't feel right to me. Apparently, the writers were faking me out. Good job. As for Ted and Robin, we all knew that Robin wasn't the mother for several years now. So the hints at them still having feelings never seemed quite right either. That, to me, seemed like the filler of a show that had gone on a few years to long. They pulled us through a lot of twists and turns but, in the end, they came around back to Ted and Robin in a way I didn't expect. Oh, and anytime someone gives a Tom Waits cover its a good thing. For me, they totally sticked the landing.
This was the planned ending all along. The shots with the kids were filmed in the first season. In reality the kids are 9 years older since the series began. So even then they knew how it would end. I liked the ending. We got to see Ted marry the mother of his children and I know many fans wanted to see Ted end up with Robin. It was the best of both worlds.
Yep, it fits. Otherwise, the story having so much Robin in it was creepy and TMI from a dad to his kids. I mean, if the mother is in the other room while he's telling THIS story...
Um, where did I say otherwise? My point was that this ending does not fit the story they've been telling for a number of years now (but would have fit much better had it come earlier). The show sunk the idea of Ted and Robin pretty comprehensively over the last few years. In retrospect, the reluctance of the producers to introduce Tracy as a character makes a lot more sense now, and the producers should probably have stuck to their guns on that point. Which is a weird thing to say, since Tracy/Cristin Milioti was easily the best thing about this season.
Yep, and in a great fake out, Jason Segel telegraphed the ending, albeit as part of a joke, years ago. Presactly. They took the obvious ending (Ted with Robin) from year one, made us think we wouldn't get the obvious ending and then found a way to logically and methodically bring us back to that ending without a single cheat. I'm the G-man and I approve this message.
Agreed. At around Season 4-5, I was still on the Ted and Robin train. If they had pulled this then, I don't think I'd be as upset. But at this point, I can't stand Ted and Robin. Ted and Tracy had such a perfect story and she was perfect for him and that was the point of the last three or four seasons. Tracy is better for Ted than Robin... so how is it a rewarding ending for 9 years of searching for this woman that Ted just ends up with Robin?
I really, really love this show... but I really, really did not like this ending. The show is called How I Met Your Mother. For nine years we were building to Ted meeting his soul mate, this mysterious quirky perfect little lady. For nine years we've seen over and over again why Ted and Robin aren't meant for each other. For nine years we've built to Barney and Robin being the perfect match for each other. And then in the final episode all of that gets thrown out the window. Ted meets his soul mate... we barely get any screen time for her... his perfect woman dies... so a few years later he shacks up with his ex? And THAT'S what the series was about? Seeing if his kids were alright with him banging his ex?! Good lord. And the final insult. No Bob Saget. He spent nine years walking us through the narration and gets absolutely nothing for the final episode where his character actually would have finally appeared and had something to do. I don't even like the name Tracy And perhaps worst of all, this episode wasn't even funny. It was all so sad and serious. It was just one failed relationship after another.