15 Saddest How I Met Your Mother Episodes

Season six's theme of family offers up several of the show's best and most dramatic episodes. In Legendaddy, Barney comes to face-to-face with his estranged father, Jerome Whittaker, and finds himself at odds with the reunion. Though he tells his friends that Jerry is everything he ever wanted, Jerry himself says Barney is ignoring him and wants nothing to do with him.

After an intervention, the gang encourage Barney to give his father a chance, and he does. At dinner, things start off well, until Barney realises that his half-brother is named after their father. Realising Jerry left his life and started a new family - the kind of family Barney never had - Barney lets out all his anger and grief on his father.

Played beautifully by Neil Patrick Harris and John Lithgow, the final scene of the episode sees Barney leaving his dad and walking off without their relationship being fixed. Their story may have had a happier ending down the line, but here, everything seemed broken beyond repair.