How I Saw HIMYM Finale (Spoilers)

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One theory that I've discovered is that Craig Thomas and Carter Bays didn't really think or expect their quirky little show to become a quasi hit. Due to the narrative device of Ted talking to his kids, they had to shoot the finale scene of the show in the second season so the kids still looked like kids. As the show kept getting renewed, the writing and the characters all matured and became different people than they were in the early seasons. But because the ending had already been shot, they pretty much had to quickly devolve all the characters back to their Season 2 selves. Consequently, it came off as jarring and out of place. I wouldn't be too surprised if stubbornness was involved too. They were so locked into the "Robin is the one" thing (when the Ted/Robin storyline had run its course long before the last season), that it blinded them from how off the finale was.

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Originally Posted by Spark Of Spirit

He told that story for nine years purely to ask his kids permission for a date?

Wow.

I'm reposting a summarization of the ending that I read elsewhere online. Ted pretty much could've simply said "Hi kids! I met your Aunt Robin and immediately fell in love with her! But she didn't want to have kids, so I spent years looking for a brood mare to pop out you two brats. Then she conveniently dropped dead so I could be with the woman I wanted to all along! And that's how I met your mother!"

But seriously, one has to wonder if producers seemed to really resent the fact that Robin/Barney took off as a couple. So instead of just going with it and jettisoning their planned original ending, they stuck to their guns and killed the syndication profits and potential sequel in the process. Apparently, the original finale was 18 minutes longer and had more scenes that apparently softened the abrupt ending. The original plan was always that Ted would end up with Robin after the mother died young. They'd filmed that ending with the kid actors early on, and they wouldn't change their plan even after Robin/Barney took off they cast Cristin Milioti as the mother.

And even without the dead mother twist, they had Barney and Robin split up within 15 minutes in the finale after they already spent a full season and much of the season prior on their relationship and eventually, their wedding.

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• 0:00 Intro
• 5:28 The Story
• 9:44 Season 9
• 16:22 The Finale
• 35:57 Conclusion

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5 Worst TV Finales That Ruined The Entire Show In Retrospect

Sometimes, a TV show's finale can be so disappointing that it ultimately ruins and undermines the entire show when viewed retrospectively.

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"I Didn't Understand The Weight": HIMYM's Cristin Milioti Reflects On Divisive Series Finale & Not Watching The Show Before Being Cast In Crucial Role

The actress who plays How I Met Your Mother's titular character, Cristin Milioti, has recently revealed she didn't see the show before she was cast.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Focusing Ted's whole story on Ted and Robin getting back together reduced the story to just two relevant points: Tracy's dead, and Ted and Robin have been flirting recently. The kids knew both of those things before Ted ever started talking.

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• 0:00 - Game of Thrones
• 3:09 - Attack on Titan
• 6:25 - The Sopranos
• 9:15 - Lost
• 12:35 - Death Note
• 15:08 - Dexter
• 17:48 - How I Met Your Mother
• 20:11 - Evangelion

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The Perfect Sitcom For How I Met Your Mother Fans Has A Much Better Ending

How I Met Your Mother had a notoriously rough series finale, so if you want to watch a funny sitcom with an actually good ending, check this out.

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Welcome back, Catodici friends! Today we dive into the beating heart of one of the most beloved and discussed series of all time: How I Met Your Mother. Between laughter, unforgettable friendships and a finale that made half the internet furious, we retrace the genesis of the show, the behind-the-scenes of the production and the reasons why the finale split the fandom. Is it really that terrible? Or maybe… we just didn't understand it? 🤯

📺 Discover how Carter Bays and Craig Thomas transformed their life in New York into a cult series, and why their narrative approach changed the language of sitcoms forever.

👉 If you love stories with juicy backstories and plot twists, this video is for you. And remember… the truth is in the details.

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How I Met Your Mother Creator Reveals His 1 Regret With the Sitcom's Controversial Finale

How I Met Your Mother co-creator Craig Thomas reveals the one regret he has with the fan-favorite sitcom's final episode.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Originally Posted by TMC

How I Met Your Mother Creator Reveals His 1 Regret With the Sitcom's Controversial Finale

How I Met Your Mother co-creator Craig Thomas reveals the one regret he has with the fan-favorite sitcom's final episode.

We just wanted to plant the seed that she missed Ted

There's a lot of reasons why "the deleted lunch scene" can't work, but this statement reveals the main one: Ted can't know that Robin is still stuck on him while she's coming by and becoming "Aunt Robin" to his and Tracy's children.

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People hated How I Met Your Mother's series finale, and it's all because of a decision the creators made seven years prior. How I Met Your Mother turns 20 years old this month. So here are some things I bet you never knew about it.

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This is a video about Ted and Robin from How I Met Your Mother.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro
• 0:29 Pre-Dating History
• 15:26 Ted's & Robin's Romantic Relationship
• 27:28 Post Breakup
• 51:21 The Ending
• 1:06:22 My Thoughts/Analysis

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Neil Patrick Harris Defends Much-Hated 'How I Met Your Mother' Finale: 'Big Supporter of It'

Neil Patrick Harris has remained a steadfast defender of the How I Met Your Mother finale since it aired in 2014, recently reaffirming that he is a "big supporter of it" during a March 2026 episode of the How We Made Your Mother podcast.

Despite the long-standing fan backlash over Barney and Robin's divorce and the death of the Mother, Harris argues that the ending stayed true to the characters' roots rather than following "TV sitcom logic".