10 TV Shows That Went Way Too Far
8. The Mother Is Dead - How I Met Your Mother
The set-up is simple and actually quite beautiful: Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) wants to sit his kids down and tell them all about how he met their mother. Granted, it's a long-winded story that takes nine seasons to tell, but at its best How I Met Your Mother was a wonderful little show aiming for a hopeful, romantic conclusion.
Or so we thought. In the finale, Ted reveals that Tracy (Cristin Milioti), the love of his life and mother to his children, has been dead for six years, and the only reason he's telling his kids the story of his life is because he wants their permission to once again pursue his long-time on-and-off ex-girlfriend, Robin (Cobie Smulders).
It's a jarring, cruel development that undermines the entire nature of the show before it, making Tracy a footnote in her own story so Ted can emotionally manipulate his kids for a relationship that, frankly, never worked in the first place. Tracy deserved better, and so did the fans who invested in a happy ending.