How I Met Your Mother was a wonderful show. Sure, after Season 4, the quality and writing slid a bit, but the characters and situations remained hilarious and relatable, often simultaneously, painting a beautiful tapestry of love and growth. The show was all about second chances: second chances with love, second chances at work, second chances with family. Therefore, when Ted's season-long arc of letting go of Robin ended with the gorgeous shot of Robin slowly slipping away like a childhood balloon, the show seemed to say that this saga had officially ended. The show about second chances finally let go and said the inevitable: sometimes, you just have to move on. Except when it comes to blue French horns. Ted and Robin began the Pilot and they ended the finale. The full circle hath wrought its vengeance. A loophole in the Pilot's promise (that woman is your Aunt Robin) has been found. More than anything, this seems to revert back to Season 1 roots: character development, relationships, dynamics, jokes, callbacks, the whole package. Season 1 remains one of the best the show has produced, but the character development How I Met Your Mother has experienced over eight years should not be thrown away for the sake of one couple. Think about it: Lily and Marshall are sidelined, Barney is sacrificed, The Mother is killed, and Robin becomes a lonely old maid. All for Tobin to happen. Why betray the characters at their very roots? This ending doesn't reveal anything about second chances or the reality of life; rather, it seems more fantastical than anything Ted told in his many stories. The Mother could have died; that is real. Barney could have reverted to his roots; with proper justification, it could have worked. But Robin and Ted together makes no sense at all, almost discrediting an entire series of warm, funny stories about love and life. What did you make of the How I Met Your Mother finale? Would these fixes have saved it? Let us know in the comments below.
