Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Any HIMYM fans with finale PTSD? (Major Spoliers...)
I've got a fever...
(salutes) ... Major Spoilers...
Or is it more like?
.
Okay, I'm a latecomer to How I Met Your Mother (binged on seasons 1-8 last summer to catch up with Season 9 live), so my investment is different than someone who watched for a decade. But damn, that finale was a beautiful, funny, sad, bittersweet, steel-toed kick in the junk.
Sticking the landing on finales is hard (just ask Messrs. Cuse and Lindelof of Lost), and there's no pleasing everybody (Breaking Bad came the closest). But judging from the way that the internet nearly burned to the ground Monday night and Tuesday, it seems like showrunners Craig Carter and Thomas Bays managed to pick the ending designed to please the fewest possible people.
I'll admit, I'm not completely sure what I wanted to see. But after all of the time and energy spent weaning us off Ted/Robin, and after spending an entire season at Barney/Robin's wedding, it just felt cheap to invalidate all of that in one fell swoop. The showrunners had this ending planned all along (they filmed Ted's kids back in season 1 before they got too old for the part), and it might have paid off if the show went for 3 or 4 seasons and/or if the mother was still an unknown.
Speaking of which, it sucked that Tracy (The Mother) died. Cristin Miliotti was by far the MVP of the 9th season in her limited screen time, so it's a real shame that we didn't see more of her. After the episode Vesuvius, where there were all sorts of signs that she was already dead (at the time of Old Ted's narration), I thought I was okay with that. Life can be sad. And sad can make for great, moving art. But once they actually did that, I found myself wishing for Ted's happily ever after with Tracy.
The ending with Ted and the Blue French Horn (and Robin's reaction) is a great piece of television, and if you watch just the pilot and the finale, it looks like genius. But with all the years and changes that the characters went through, I found myself wishing that the showrunners had read the tea leaves, called an audible, and left the last three minutes on the cutting room floor. Sort of like this. Because after all, the actual Meeting of the Mother Under the Yellow Umbrella in Farhampton was everything HIMYM fans hoped it would be,
Who knows though. Maybe I'll like the ending they gave us more as time passes. That's what happened to me with Lost. Your thoughts?
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
I've been watching since the beginning of Season 3 and this episode broke my heart. I knew it was coming and yet still absolutely hated it. I was one of the seemingly few who actually really enjoyed the rest of this last season. It wasn't the funniest, but I loved seeing the characters grow up and tie everything together. Then in the course of an hour, they completely undid everything they had built up the whole season. I loved seeing Barney and Robin growing up together. I really felt like they both made each other better people and worked really well together. To see them throw it away so quickly because he didn't like her job was just lame. And I agree, Tracy was the hit of the season. I loved seeing them individually introduce her to each character and felt like she was a perfect addition to the group. To kill her off so quickly with no mourning period or anything was kind of harsh.
It was nice to see Barney finally fall "In love" with someone, but it was disappointing to see him go back to his old life so quickly after their divorce. At that point it just seemed sad. Wish we could have seen more about his life with little Ellie now.
For 8 seasons, they showed us how terrible Ted and Robin were together. Their whole story seemed to be that if we, like Ted, could just be patient, someone who was even better was going to come along for him. We just had to have faith. After so many girlfriends that never felt right, the Mother felt perfect after her first episode. I could have understood her death. I would have hated it, but understood it. Life isn't perfect and bad things happen. But for the whole show to have simply been about "How I Finally Got Back Together With Robin," is just disappointing. After telling us how wrong they are for each other, what on earth should make us believe that they'll work out this time? Robin never changed. She was still the woman not ready to put anything ahead of her career, but now she's going to be with a father that's got two kids?
I agree though, the final meeting was perfect.
First off, LOVED the mother - Cristin Milioti was perfect in that role, and the character they created was just awesome as Ted's soul-mate.
Next, HATE that they killed her off, mainly because I really liked her and she just didnt get enough screen time.
Third, I really didnt like the ending at all. both my wife and I, who have been watching since probably season 2 (watched season 1 on DVD) were just floored that he got together with Robin. And it was also in the way that they did it - the kids jump up and call "Bullsh**" on dad and tell him to go get her. That was just dumb.
Okay so now here is the kicker of what I really noticed in that last 3 minutes. Did anyone else notice that Ted's kids looked just as old as they did when the show started in 2005? I mean they are now 10 years older but I'm pretty sure those were the kids from when it started. Which makes me think that they may have taped that part of the show years ago and had this whole thing planned out from the beginning (I guess assuming the show would make it to the end and not get cancelled).
I know the kid who plays the boy, he was on Wizards of Waverly Place. He is like 25 now - was 16 when the show started, so how come he looked 16 on the finale as well.
Just something to think about.
A Saucy Wench
First off, LOVED the mother - Cristin Milioti was perfect in that role, and the character they created was just awesome as Ted's soul-mate. Next, HATE that they killed her off, mainly because I really liked her and she just didnt get enough screen time. Third, I really didnt like the ending at all. both my wife and I, who have been watching since probably season 2 (watched season 1 on DVD) were just floored that he got together with Robin. And it was also in the way that they did it - the kids jump up and call "Bullsh**" on dad and tell him to go get her. That was just dumb. Okay so now here is the kicker of what I really noticed in that last 3 minutes. Did anyone else notice that Ted's kids looked just as old as they did when the show started in 2005? I mean they are now 10 years older but I'm pretty sure those were the kids from when it started. Which makes me think that they may have taped that part of the show years ago and had this whole thing planned out from the beginning (I guess assuming the show would make it to the end and not get cancelled). I know the kid who plays the boy, he was on Wizards of Waverly Place. He is like 25 now - was 16 when the show started, so how come he looked 16 on the finale as well. Just something to think about.
Yes, they taped the kids from the beginning, although it is possible they ran through a bunch of different possible scenarios and left several on the cutting room floor. Even though it took 9 years to tell us the story, it was all supposed to be told to the kids in one incredibly long sitting. I'm kind of glad I didnt start the last season. I had gotten caught up on season 8 about midway through this season and Hulu was only storing 5 episodes so I was going to wait until it rolled over to netflix. I thought seasons 7 and 8 had definitely lost the momentum.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
I dunno man. I mean HIMYM was a sitcom and as such I think I gave it the appropriate level of attention and analysis. It made me laugh sometimes. I didn't feel like I needed to catch up or really follow the story. I could watch 5 episodes per season without knowing whether they were in the right order and it was fine. I watched some of the last season. It seemed weird they spent all that time on Barney and Robin's wedding and the meeting of the mother only to have Barney and Robin get divorced and the mother die in like a half hour. But then I was like, "huh, okay," and I was over it.
Runners run