How I Met Your Mother: 10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Saved The Ending

8. Barney's Love Speech

"You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am is yours. Forever."

Easily the most cringeworthy part of the finale. Barney's love speech is supposed to complete his character arc from jerk to genuine. However, it only succeeds in filling precious airtime with worthless platitudes and romantic nonsense usually only reserved for Hallmark cards. How I Met Your Mother usually deals with romance and love in unexpected and enlightening ways unseen on similar sitcoms, yet here it delves in head-first to the lowest hanging cliches possible. Neil Patrick Harris does a commendable job trying to elevate the rather awkward lines, but it still stands in stark contrast to the well-written nature of almost everything else in the show. In even starker contrast, this speech of love seems to point to viewers that, yes, Barney has turned over a new leaf. But, wait, haven't you seen this before? Season 8's The Robin proved that the show's breakout character possessed a wonderfully warm heart, and the entire ninth season revolved around Barney proving his loyalty to Robin. Of course, this perhaps speaks more to the inconsistency in Barney's character than anything else, but this speech stands out as a blatant disregard for character development and an attempt to right past wrongs in even worse ways. Excising this speech would have truly fixed the ending, especially Barney's arc.