HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’S ENDING: OVER HATED OR NOT HATED ENOUGH?

Aaron Cole

November 13, 2025

            It’s been 11 years since the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. Since then, there have been countless lists and videos talking about tv shows with disappointing endings, and usually How I Met Your Mother is featured in those lists. For me, I have never hated the ending. There are quite a few things I enjoy about it. I see what the creators were going for. I have always been of the belief that it was more of the execution and pacing of the events of the series finale rather than the actual events themselves.

            Let’s get the first major decision that angered the audience out of the way first: Robin and Barney’s divorce. I’ll admit I have never been that into them as a couple but understand there are plenty who were. In real life, that kind of relationship would never work, but then again this isn’t exactly a realistic show. I can’t imagine what it was like for the people who were invested in those characters as a couple, to spend practically the whole season on their wedding, only for them to divorce the next episode. I will admit that it was poorly handled.

            However, there is one thing people should consider. The scene with Barney meeting his daughter for the first time and holding her is universally beloved. Even the people who hate the ending love that scene. The thing is; however, I don’t believe that scene would happen if Barney and Robin stayed together. Robin was unable to have kids and had no interest in adopting. Barney believed that by marrying Robin he would finally be able to settle down and his playboy days would be over. Unfortunately, after his divorce he goes back to his old ways. It is only after meeting his daughter that he finally grows up and settles down. Throughout the show, not having a father who was around left the biggest scar on him. He can now be the father that his father never was for him.

            The final season’s biggest error was having the wedding take up nearly the entire season. They spent 22 episodes hammering in the message that despite Barney and Robin’s flaws, they would work. You don’t have Ted say when they finally get married that their marriage was awesome only for them to divorce the next episode. Especially when his children already know they got divorced. They should have split the season into three different story beats. The first few episodes would be focused on the wedding. Ted meets the mother there and the Lily and Marshal sublot is abandoned completely. The next 10-15 episodes should have been spent on Ted and the mother’s time together, them marrying and having children together. The episodes take their time building up to Robin and Barney’s divorce. They are both heartbroken, but they carry on. Barney becomes a father and unlike what happened in the ending we got, Robin sticks around. She is heartbroken that Ted has found someone else, but she sticks with the group. We actually get to see Robin bond with Ted’s children.  The last couple episodes show the mother dying and take its time to show Ted grieve. Him and Robin reconnect. The show ends with Ted finishing his story to his kids. His kids encourage him to pursue a relationship with Robin again. The show then ends the same as the ending we got.

            I know plenty of people have an issue with the mother dying and then Ted and Robin getting back together. Again, I understand what the creators were going for, but they should have taken their time with it as shown in the paragraph above. I actually didn’t mind Ted and Robin getting back together. It is not uncommon for people to remarry. Robin was finally able to have the career she wanted and Ted was able to have kids. Along the way, Robin grew close to Ted’s kids. However, revealing the mother was dead and then having Ted’s kids encourage him to pursue Robin should not have happened in the same episode. Those two moments should have been properly built up.  The series finale was a total whiplash. So much happened that it was hard for the viewers to fully take it in. I’m not saying the creators needed to change the ending, but the choices they made needed to be earned. The finale would have been divisive regardless, but if the creators pace the final season out better and executed the plot points better, I believe the audience would have been more receptive to it.

            The ending for me is a mixed bag. Yes, there are a lot of problems, but at the same time there a plenty of good things as well. I am happy with where the characters end up. I got emotional seeing the credits and knowing that this was the end of the show. The show is certainly not flawless, but it did way more things right than it did wrong. Despite How I Met Your Mother not fully sticking the landing, it remains one of my favorite shows.