The HIMYM Finale Was Pleasant And What We All Secretly Wanted
I’ve never been a consistent fan of HIMYM. The series finale was the first time I watched an entire episode in full while on television. Like most series, I prefer to binge watch once up in it’s entirety on Netflix. And to be honest, I have no idea what’s been going on since the end of season 7. So am I the best candidate to weigh in on the series finale. Absolutely not. But I do have a few opinions about how the series wrapped up and I don’t think it was all that bad.
So Barney and Robin don’t end up together. The Mother eventually passes away. Boo hoo. So what. The writers gave us all exactly what we wanted from the beginning, but forgot after nine long seasons. Ted and Robin to end up together in the end. Sure, pivotal moments throughout the series have made us believe otherwise. Robin not being able to conceive children, and Ted obviously having two children made it seem impossible that these two were the real deal. But what do you expect from a series with twist and turns and loopholes that actually make sense in the end. Throughout it’s nine seasons, HIMYM has created storylines that made it’s viewers want certain outcomes for it’s characters, only to have those hopes crushed and a new storyline developed. Once comfortable with the new possibilities, we’re thrown into another whirl spin of events where what we wanted from the beginning actually happens. Barney’s whole elaborate scheme of proposing to Robin by being engaged to Patrice and luring Robin on the roof and revealing his last play as his proposal to her is a perfect example.
Now to say that I saw this coming would be untrue, I just didn’t find it all that surprising. Sometimes good friends grow apart. It was sad that Lily and Robin weren’t able to maintain their friendship. And I genuinely was rooting for Robin and Barney to make it a lifetime. But these were all loopholes the writers threw our way to distract us from what made sense. Barney is a playboy at his core, and he made a valid point that if he “couldn’t make it work with Robin, than he couldn’t make it work with any woman.” But his story wrapped up beautifully. He fell in love, truly, with his own daughter. Sometimes a significant other isn’t our one true love.
Sometimes it’s that oopsie baby that is the love of our lives. And how ironic for someone like Barney to end up having a daughter. And Ted and Robin’s lives were too different for them to work out as young adults. Ted wouldn’t have lasted one day with Robin’s ambitious career and not wanting to have children. The Mother gave him the things he wanted most in life. To have a family and be loved in return. It’s unfortunate that her character passes away in the future. But she turned Ted into a whole person. She gave him the life he wanted and needed to become a self-assured adult. Who knows what would have happened if she lived. Would Ted secretly love Robin? I really don’t have an answer for that. But I do believe that sometimes people have to spend time apart, and live their lives separately, before they have any chance at a life together.