How I Met Your Mother’s Ending Controversy Was Impossible To Avoid

Summary

• HIMYM’s ending was criticized for undoing characters’ arcs and minimizing the awaited first meeting of Ted and the Mother, instead reuniting Ted with Robin.
• The show’s unique storytelling concept and early finale planning left little room for adaptation and character evolution, causing controversy.
• An alternate ending was released, improving Robin’s character arc and giving all characters happy endings, but still faced criticism for abandoning her marriage to Barney.

The divisiveness of the How I Met Your Mother ending was inevitable. In 2014, the nine-season run of the show concluded and HIMYM‘s ending was criticized for undoing the main characters’ arcs by minimizing the eagerly-awaited first meeting of hopeless romantic Ted Mosby and the Mother, Tracy McConnell, and instead reuniting him with on-off love interest Robin Scherbatsky. This decision came after HIMYM spent its entire final season preparing for Robin and Barney Stinson’s wedding, and ultimately resulted in a mixed reception for the two-part final HIMYM episode.

While the controversial How I Met Your Mother ending was perhaps a disservice to Ted’s emotional journey, it was also a reaffirmation that the show was truly about him and Robin all along. The series attempted to end on a note suggesting every HIMYM character was with the one they were supposed to be with: Marshall and Lily, Barney and his daughter, Tracy and Max, and Ted and Robin. However, because HIMYM left virtually no time to process Tracy’s death and Ted and Robin’s reunion, the finale stirred controversy.

How I Met Your Mother’s Concept Created Its Biggest Ending Problem

Planning Ahead Boxed The Show Into Its Ending Too Early

How I Met Your Mother gained popularity due to its unique storytelling concept that framed 2030’s Ted Mosby telling his kids Penny and Luke tales of love, life, and friendship in New York City. This concept proved to be the instigator of the biggest problem for HIMYM since Ted’s kids had to film their finale reactions as early as season 2. Consequently, the show’s ending had already been predetermined, and its key elements were set in stone very early on. This decision left HIMYM creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays little room to explore other emerging plot opportunities.

Sadly, even before Tracy was introduced in the series, her fate as the Mother in
HIMYM
was already sealed…

Ultimately, HIMYM failed to adapt to how its characters evolved and how its audience responded to storylines. This was the opposite of most sitcoms, which use reviews and reactions to guide future storylines. Sadly, even before Tracy was introduced in the series, her fate as the Mother in HIMYM was already sealed, with no regard for how the character would be received by the audience.

Since she was integrated well into the final season, many were beginning to root for Tracy and Ted to finally end up together. Regardless, HIMYM had to stick to its plan and its filmed finale scenes, which meant viewers would, unsurprisingly, be left shocked and betrayed.

Why How I Met Your Mother Couldn’t Avoid Filming Its Ending In S2

The Age Of The Mosby Kids Became An Issue

How I Met Your Mother could not avoid filming its ending scenes early, since the Mosby kids’ actors were starting to grow up and age out of their roles. The alternative would be having the characters be older by the end of the show. That would make little sense, however, since it would imply that Ted had been telling them the story over many years.

It was a no-win scenario, forcing
How I Met Your Mother
to be faithful to its finale plan, no matter how much controversy it caused.

Even if HIMYM decided to show 2030’s Ted telling the story over a longer period of time to justify his aged-up children, it would have then required Ted himself to be played by an older actor. Losing Josh Radnor then drains the emotion from those final scenes. It was a no-win scenario, forcing How I Met Your Mother to be faithful to its finale plan, no matter how much controversy it caused.

Does The HIMYM Alternate Ending Fix Anything?

Robin’s Character Arc Improves In The Unused Version

As the How I Met Your Mother ending disappointed fans so much, it is not surprising that an alternate ending was released in the hopes of winning back some of the love that was lost. The alternate ending of How I Met Your Mother didn’t change everything, with the divorce of Robin and Barney remaining canon – and being one aspect that fans will likely still be angry about. However, the significant change is that Tracy lives and is still with Ted in the end, ignoring the final plotline about Ted and Robin being soulmates who eventually ended up together.

While it helps to make Ted more likable in the end, the real character who benefits from the alternate ending is Robin. Having her end up with Ted was only achieved by taking so much away from her character. Her marriage to Barney seemed to be abandoned solely to free her up for when Ted was ready and she abandoned her career dreams to stay in New York.

While her marriage still ends in the alternate ending, it feels less pointless and is made easier to take as she embraces her career path. In fact, while the alternate ending might not be wholly memorable, it gives the How I Met Your Mother characters all happy endings which is what fans wanted in the end.

The finale had to cut 18 minutes of footage as it was originally too long.

HIMYM Needed To Have A Backup Plan

The Show Could Have Given Itself More Options For The End

If the show was willing to plan so far ahead by setting up the ending in the second season, it is a wonder why HIMYM did not come up with an alternative plan as well. Although the viewers didn’t see Ted’s kids for much of the series, given the conceit of the show, it felt necessary to include them in the finale. Whatever path the show took, it was wise to recognize the kids had to be involved and it had to be filmed early on.

However, by only filming a moment in which the Ted and Robin romance is the endgame, the show was left with no option but to go with an ending that, by the final season, no longer felt like the right choice. Instead, the show should have attempted to cover themselves for several scenarios. While it would have been hard to predict where the show would go in between season 2 and season 9, these reactions from the children didn’t need to be precise. If anything, they could have simply played it as if the mother was still alive.

As things turned out, the show did itself a disservice by boxing itself into one ending. It is proof that, while shows may start out with one clear idea in mind for where things are heading, it is better to be open-minded about how the story can evolve over time and what the audience is responding to.