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

3. Barney Retains Dignity

Barney was the breakout character of How I Met Your Mother. The character with multiple catchphrases, the most cartoonish face, and the incredible ability to carry basically any story, as long as it remains as insane as possible. Neil Patrick Harris proved Doogie Howser was no fluke; Barney Stinson will reside the TV comedy hall of fame for years to come. Too bad his ending was so mangled. Barney's original playboy lifestyle proved rather difficult to sustain over time, especially in a series where all the other characters had made significant steps and moved on with their lives. Barney stood as vessel to a fun past and a crazy ride, but, much like the character, Barney only seemed useful in small doses. When the writers decided to test out his character development and attempt to advance it, the results were amazing. Season 8 and 9, in fact, used Barney as an emotional center for many episodes and progressed his character into exceedingly mature territory. This was what character growth and development looked like and it was glorious. The reversal in the finale whipped him back at tenfold speed back towards his carefree days of meaningless sex and hot hook-ups. Throwing away all this character development not only seemed unfair to Barney Stinson; it seemed to spit in the face of every viewer who has eagerly accepted every bit of momentum Barney has gained. The show attempted to salvage the character with the aforementioned love speech, but a baby wasn't the way to save Barney. An easy fix might be have him pull a Mosby. Make him a sad sack for an episode, run through all the beats of Ted, and arrive at the same place, with the love of his life. His girlfriend from the coffee shop when he was younger, perhaps? It really doesn't seem that much to ask for such a legendary character.