10 Reasons Why How I Met Your Mother Season 9 Isn't As Bad As You Remember

You knew this was coming, it's just that no-one likes to admit it.

It's actually a testament to the showrunners that they were prepared to take some risks with the finale and be realistic, rather than just giving people what they wanted. For example, Barney and Robin did have a dream wedding, but in the end they were both too narcissistic and unpredictable for each other. Their other life problems didn't go away just because they got married (Robin still wanted to boost her career, Barney still wanted to be in control of his life etc), so it was inevitable really they split.

At heart though, the show was always about Ted's relationship with Robin, and while it did evolve to focus on the other characters, there was constantly that undercurrent of affection between the two, even when Robin was with Barney.

While many fans were hoping for a happy ending with The Mother, that isn't how life always works, and there had to be a reason why Ted wasn't just telling the story of how he met Tracy, but why he was effectively relaying his life in New York - he wanted to tell his kids about his history with Robin.

If there's one thing that can be learned about Ted's journey through the show, it's that life isn't always a fairytale and it's not as simple as just meeting 'The One'. It's possible that you can love more than one person in your lifetime. He chose to love Tracy every moment he could while he had the chance, and that was the lesson he passed on to his kids. Life goes on though, and his affection for Robin never really went away.