How I Met Your Mother [Season 9, Episodes 23-24 (Last Forever)]: A Critique
- Riza Jasmin Mendez
- Feb 10, 2017
- 5 min read
How I Met Your Mother originally aired on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014 as an American sitcom. Craig Thomas and Carter Bays created the TV Series, and all throughout the 208 episodes, there were only 4 directors namely Pamela Fryman for 196 episodes, Rob Greenberg for 7 episodes, Michael Shea for 4 episodes, and 1 episode for Neil Patrick Harris. The TV show’s art direction, editing and cinematography had consistently been awarded from year 2006 to year 2014 respectively with 10 wins and 30 nominations. Aside from that, How I Met Your Mother had also garnered 72 nominations and 18 wins; majority are People’s Choice Awards, Emmy Awards, EWwy Awards, and ALMA Awards. I must say that the TV series is very much deserving of the recognitions they received because of the hard work that the cast and the people behind the camera had given. The effort they exerted to put up an outstanding TV show is evident on screen.
The show is composed of five main characters namely Ted Mosby, Robin Scherbatsky, Barney Stinson, Lily Aldrin, and Marshall Eriksen. These five people were best friends and were there for each other until the very end. Off screen, their names are Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, and Jason Segel. From the title of the show, you may infer that the show is about how the main character met the mother of his kids; However, during the show’s earlier seasons, people thought that the show is about the kid’s mother, thus resulting to disappointment every time the mother was failed to be introduced. Actually, the mother was meant to be just a small part of the story because the story was all about Ted Mosby’s search for love which is far greater than just meeting the eponymous mother.
Ted dated a lot of women throughout the show but the mother was only introduced during the last season. All of us loved the mother, Tracy McConell played by Cristin Milioti, because Ted finally found what he had been searching for. Tracy was the only woman who surpassed Ted’s standards, and I can say they were meant to be. Unfortunately, even though they got married and had kids, they did not really end up being together because Tracy died. It was disappointing in a viewer’s perspective how the mother was taken out of the show just like that witnessing the things Ted had gone through before he met her.
A lot of people did not like the finale because they said that the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ finale bailed on the entire show and to be honest, I agree with that. Starting off with Ted and Robin. In the first few episodes, Ted and Robin really had something that connects them as a couple and most of the viewers were rooting for them to end up together. They did try though but they were just not meant to be. They were together during the second season of the show, but they broke up, and that event was sad. Their relationship lasted for a year, and perhaps, it just had to be until there. Robin dated a lot of guys after Ted but what struck me the most was when Robin started dating Barney. Barney Stinson was a guy of one night stands. He never took love seriously, so when he started falling in love with Robin, I did not have a hard time loving them as a couple. However, the two got divorced three years after their wedding and Robin ended up with Ted once again.
I did not like how the character development of Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky was thrown away and disregarded just like that. It seems like the nine seasons and nine years the characters spent in building up themselves did not matter at all. As I previously said, Barney was a guy of one night stands. He never wanted to get married. Robin never wanted to get married too, but since they were in love with each other, they got married. Barney changed for Robin. He fell in love, even if he did not want to. Robin and Barney showed us that love really is powerful. They showed us that bad habits can change because of love. People can change because of love. But all of those were thrown away in the finale.
What is the point of the last 22 episodes about the wedding if they just ended up getting divorced? The separation of Robin and Barney seemed like the show was relaying the message that they were not really in love in the first place and that whatever change happens to you, you will still come back to your old ways just like how Ted and Barney did.
Robin ending up with Ted once again is supposed to feel cute. Robin theorists would be happy about this because it would be taken in a way that the two who were meant to be together all along are finally together (Lowe, 2014). Before Ted and Robin had another chance, Ted met Tracy who is the one he had been searching for, the love of his life; However, she died. It just feels wrong to go back to a failed relationship after you met the one, your true love. More so, instead of the show being about the mother as the title states, the show became about Robin. The title is How I Met Your Mother, but the mother was killed just so the main character could go back with the lady he could have been with all along.
According to Lowe, the development of the characters for the last nine seasons was not given justice nor the story of Ted’s search for love.
Ted and Robin should not have ended up together. The show did not build up to that ending. The show built up Robin and Barney. It also built up Ted and Tracy. If the series had spent time to build up Ted and Robin again, I would have accepted it. It’s just sad how the ending did not end the way most of us wanted. So many significant moments were crammed into minutes leaving the fans feeling cheated. Although I have a lot of negative things to say about this TV show, I still have positive feedbacks. For me, the episode’s perfect moment was when Ted met Tracy who is actually the mother.
That was when the title How I Met Your Mother solidified. Radnor and Milioti are powerful together, and if given the chance, I hope they could have had more moments as a couple. For me, this is the kind of ending the show deserves. I also loved Marshall and Lily. Even though they had a conflict during the ending of the first season and the start of the second season, they never fail to love each other. They always found ways to get back to each other. It was even revealed in the finale that they will have their third baby.
Overall, this final episode, “Last Forever”, is a really disappointing ending for the TV series. Lowe states, it is shameful that the story of a man who believes in true love and enduring hope was replaced by something much less significant. Perhaps the processing will take time before we may tell if the ending was worthwhile. However, despite the disappointment, I still loved the show. It is really about the journey and not the destination. My journey with the characters and episodes will always be treasured. My dislike towards the ending will never overpower my love towards the show.
Sources:
Fitzpatrick, K. (2014). ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Series Finale Review: “Last Forever”. Retrieved from http://screencrush.com/how-i-met-your-mother-series-finale-review-last-forever/
N.a. (2017). How I Met Your Mother. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_I_Met_Your_Mother#Awards_and_nominations
Lowe, A. (2014). How I Met Your Mother Series Finale Review: “Last Forever” (Season 9, Episodes 23 – 24). Retrieved from http://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/how-i-met-your-mother-series-finale-review-season-9-episodes-2324/2/
N.a. (2014). How I Met Your Mother. Retrieved from http://www.emmys.com/shows/how-i-met-your-mother