How I Met Your Mother: 7 Ways Finale Went So Wrong
6. It Undid Years Of Character Development
In 2005 when How I Met Your Mother first hit screens viewers were introduced to hopeless romantic Ted, who becomes immediately smitten with emotionally detached new-girl-in-town Robin. His best friends Marshall and Lily were deeply in love since college, and his "Bro" Barney was a womanising egotist. Robin finally opened up the idea of settling down but not with Ted. She tried her hand with a few partners and even moved in with co-host Don and later got engaged to Kevin before finding her match but in the least likely of places: Barney Stinson. Barney had matured a lot in the past few seasons, showing a selfless emotional side that wanted to settle down. He tried with Nora and then with Quinn whom he was engaged to, but nothing seemed to work quite like Robin. He officially put his womaniser days behind him with the destruction of the Playbook and even a passing of the torch to the new generation in 'Sunrise'. Yet the finale shows a Barney that has surrendered himself to being no better than a life of sleeping with random women because if he couldn't do it with Robin, he isn't capable. He is soon happy in his old ways, except for the lack of having his friends around him, even completing "the perfect month" but it is here that changes his life forever. #31 falls pregnant and Barney becomes a father and grows up. But it should have been his wedding to Robin that gave him this moment of settling into maturity once and for all, it was the moment built up to and even though Barney has shown a fondness to the idea of babies in the past, he has always decided that he is a better uncle because he wouldn't be willing to drop everything for a child. Robin is also miserable because her wedding to Barney ends, something which clearly neither is over. judging by their interaction on Halloween. She too has shown that she was incapable of settling down instead of being a slave to her work. And Ted still can't move on from Robin. Again, more on that later.
