The How I Met Your Mother finale was to say the least
interesting. This post is actually extremely hard for me to write, I've had 3 cups of iced coffee today and as I write...I still think I should have more.
However, before I start going into my views on the finale, I want to begin by stating that this show meant a lot to me. I started watching this show during the summer. All eight seasons on Netflix then onto CBS for the final season. I loved the way the show made me feel, it made me happy, it made me laugh, and it taught me a few things about love. Though just like other TV sitcoms, other How I Met Your Mother viewers probably felt the same way.
The show captured the long and incredible story of how the main character, Ted Mosby played by Josh Radnor met his kids' mother. It was a story that detailed every turn in his life and every little step that brought him to the desk he sat in telling his children the full-on story.
The story was beautiful and after every episode, I felt more reassured that Ted will find the love of his life. Throughout it all, I fell in love with Marshall & Lily's relationship (played by Jason Segel & Alyson Hannigan) and the slightly surprising, but wonderful match that Barney made with Robin (played by Neil Patrick Harris & "Cobie" Smulders). So naturally, Ted and the mother's relationship became one that I had high hopes for and in the final season, I was happy to see their relationship unfold a bit.
The writers, producers, and everyone else behind the creation of this show did great, they made all nine seasons (minus the very last episode) pleasant (although sometimes heartbreaking) and just out-right breath-taking.
The finale had lots of ups and downs. The ups being the fact that Ted finally met the Mother and she was perfect. She was everything Ted seemed to have wanted and much more. She was loving, charming, and made Ted feel like the luckiest man on earth (because he was). The other up being that we were able to see Marshall & Lilly grow their loving family even more.
On the other hand, the downs being Barney & Robin getting divorced after three years together, Barney impregnated some random woman (as part of one of his old Playbook schemes), the Mother, Tracy (played by Cristin Milioti) becoming sick and then dying, and the biggest down...the person Ted finally ends up with is Robin.
This in simple terms just
broke my heart.
Ted finds the woman he loves deeply, he starts a beautiful family, and tells his children his life's complete journey on his quest to find the "one" and as it so happens...no matter how much he loved the Mother...she ended up not being the "one".
For a little personal perspective, I must say finding the "one" will be a magical moment for me. I believe there is only one person you can ever truly love. Sure, love is infinite and one may love many people...but there is just something about the "one" that makes you realize why no one else could have ever been the "one".
Tracy was just a love in Ted's life. She was not the "one" fans like me were hoping for. She was just the mother of his children. Robin was the "one" all along.
This is crushing for fans that believe in true love since we were set up to believe Ted would find that love with the Mother of his children. That was the love we all thought Ted was looking for, but instead Ted only always had a place in his heart to be with Robin.
Barney was a great match for Robin, they seemed messed up in their own ways, but they were madly in love. It didn't seem fair to me that Barney spent all these years loving Robin only to give it all up in the end.
It made me feel like true love doesn't exist and that life goes on whether you have found it or not... It really took away the magic of this series from me.
Not everything in this world has to be realistic. Too much realism takes away our love of life, our motivation to become better humans, and definitely defies the definition of life we're all secretly trying to find.
Beyond that, Barney never found real love as he raised his daughter, Ellie. Marshall & Lilly kept their family together which was a sweet touch. But, overall, the episode was not bad, but my aching heart says otherwise. Ted could have moved on from the death in another way (even with another person) as long as the Mother was the last person he was with...as long as she was the "one" he truly loved.
I trust you all to take it from here. What are your thoughts? How did you feel after the finale?
