I have read a lot of angry fan outcries at the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. I understand that people have been very upset, because over nine years of amazing character development we have started to care deeply for the main characters. But what people seem to forget is that How I Met Your Mother is not as much about finding true love as it is about growing up and gaining life experience.
Ted grew from a hopeless romantic loser into a responsible and independent dad after making many, many mistakes. And while Ted ending up with Tracy might be a happily ever after ending that fans desired, it is not always what happens. In fact, the ENTIRE POINT of this show is that people change. People change a lot in nine years. The last scene in which Ted ends up with Robin is the perfect statement to make that absolutely clear. It might not have been so powerful if Ted had spent more time mourning over Tracy.
Besides, in all nine seasons Ted was shown to deeply care for Robin and it was also clear that this love never really weakened. In fact, as time progressed his feelings only became stronger. Does that invalidate his relationship with Tracy? Absolutely not, because the show creators gave their all to make her a perfect match for Ted. They were truly happy together and I am sure Ted's world collapsed when she passed away. But he knew from experience that moping around does not solve anything. That is just not how life works. He had hit a brick wall multiple times in his life, but he always moved on.
And this ending might be his biggest achievement of all. Having the balls to stand up again after losing the love of his life and taking a big risk with his old flame is the most courageous thing he has done in the series. Yes, he has a lot of baggage and so does Robin, but he learned from previous experience to deal with it.
Furthermore, people tend to think that How I Met Your Mother was an unrealistic, magical, light-hearted show with lots of fantastical scenarios and over-the-top caricatures that suddenly got dark and grounded in the last episode. While yes, this may be true, they forget that HIMYM has always dealt with serious issues in a grounded and nuanced way. The series has always been bittersweet at times, with lots of traumatic events (Ted being left at the altar, rejected by Robin, losing 'the gang', etc).
While I agree the show may have overstayed its welcome (which becomes especially clear after watching the 6th and 7th season, which seem to drag on forever), this is the ending the show creators have always wanted. Not for shock value, but to make a statement. It took a lot of guts to end the show in this way and I am glad they pulled it off the way they did.
All in all, How I Met Your Mother is one of the few shows that provides funny jokes, believable and likable characters and sometimes incredibly sharp writing at a reasonable pace. Like life it has had its ups an downs, with a lot of mediocres in the middle. It was a damn good show with a fitting ending.
Ted grew from a hopeless romantic loser into a responsible and independent dad after making many, many mistakes. And while Ted ending up with Tracy might be a happily ever after ending that fans desired, it is not always what happens. In fact, the ENTIRE POINT of this show is that people change. People change a lot in nine years. The last scene in which Ted ends up with Robin is the perfect statement to make that absolutely clear. It might not have been so powerful if Ted had spent more time mourning over Tracy.
Besides, in all nine seasons Ted was shown to deeply care for Robin and it was also clear that this love never really weakened. In fact, as time progressed his feelings only became stronger. Does that invalidate his relationship with Tracy? Absolutely not, because the show creators gave their all to make her a perfect match for Ted. They were truly happy together and I am sure Ted's world collapsed when she passed away. But he knew from experience that moping around does not solve anything. That is just not how life works. He had hit a brick wall multiple times in his life, but he always moved on.
And this ending might be his biggest achievement of all. Having the balls to stand up again after losing the love of his life and taking a big risk with his old flame is the most courageous thing he has done in the series. Yes, he has a lot of baggage and so does Robin, but he learned from previous experience to deal with it.
Furthermore, people tend to think that How I Met Your Mother was an unrealistic, magical, light-hearted show with lots of fantastical scenarios and over-the-top caricatures that suddenly got dark and grounded in the last episode. While yes, this may be true, they forget that HIMYM has always dealt with serious issues in a grounded and nuanced way. The series has always been bittersweet at times, with lots of traumatic events (Ted being left at the altar, rejected by Robin, losing 'the gang', etc).
While I agree the show may have overstayed its welcome (which becomes especially clear after watching the 6th and 7th season, which seem to drag on forever), this is the ending the show creators have always wanted. Not for shock value, but to make a statement. It took a lot of guts to end the show in this way and I am glad they pulled it off the way they did.
All in all, How I Met Your Mother is one of the few shows that provides funny jokes, believable and likable characters and sometimes incredibly sharp writing at a reasonable pace. Like life it has had its ups an downs, with a lot of mediocres in the middle. It was a damn good show with a fitting ending.