Board 8 > Someone explain How I Met Your Mother's ending to me, please (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've never watched the show. All I know is that it's about a dad telling his kids how he met their mother and it takes him nine years to explain, and that the ending was hated by everyone.
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The issue with the show is that the wrote the ending back in Season 1 for whenever the show ended. The show evolved from beyond where it was in Season 1, but the writers never adjusted based on that.

Basically, in the very first episode, it shows Ted, the main character who is also telling the story to his children, meeting Robin and going on a date with her. The first episode ends with him saying "That's how I met your Aunt Robin" and the kids are all shocked that he was telling the story of meeting their aunt, not their mom.

Ted and Robin have an on again off again romance for seasons, which feels mostly pointless since we already know she's not the mother.

Robin then falls in love with Barney, another main character on the show, and we get 3 seasons of their relationship. The entire last season is set over one weekend - the weekend of Robin and Barney's wedding. This last season is also the first time the actual mother is introduced as a character.

So for the entire last season we get two main storylines - Ted meeting the mother and Robin and Barney getting married.

Then in the very last episode it's revealed that the mother died years ago, Robin & Barney got divorced, and Ted & Robin got back together.

It completely undoes the entire second half of the show to fit the ending that the writers had originally imagined.

It's horrible because nearly everyone loved the mother and Robin & Barney being together.
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It also makes Ted this pathetic guy who married the mother of his children but was never able to get over his ex the entire time
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Wouldn't that make Robin the kids' stepmother and not their aunt? And it doesn't sound like Robin was their aunt anyawy.
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Well he gets with robin after talking to the kids.

Aunt isn't being used by him as a blood relation
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I caught a good amount of episodes of the show because my fiancee watched it. I never really cared for it, but I will say the ending was dumb precisely because the second half of the series was building up to Robin and Barney getting married. The "that's why I am marrying your Aunt Robin now" twist would probably have been fine if the entire Barney marriage plot didn't happen.
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KingButz posted...

Well he gets with robin after talking to the kids.

Aunt isn't being used by him as a blood relation

Oh, okay.
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Never watched the show, but I always thought it should have ended with the kids telling the dad that he's taking too long, and the mom comes in and tells the story in 30 seconds.

Was it ever confirmed that Ted and Robin get married at the end of the show? I thought the show ended with Ted going to see Robin and tell her how he felt. It's implied that they'll get together, but that's as far as it goes.
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Xeybozn posted...

Was it ever confirmed that Ted and Robin get married at the end of the show? I thought the show ended with Ted going to see Robin and tell her how he felt. It's implied that they'll get together, but that's as far as it goes.

yeah I think this is correct
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Show did a very good job in making the mother a perfect match for Ted and why Ted and Robin while good weren't the best match.

The overall message was that it is okay to move on, but I felt it was executed poorly.
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the last season was all about Ted having to get over Robin and accept her marrying Barney as he finds love with the new woman, the mom

then just flips that around at the end in a quick series of bizarre flash-forwards

also really awkward how fast the went from "your mom died" bombshell to "lol you can go out with Robin"

Now someone explain the Lost finale to me because i never watched that.
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Did the mother have a name?
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Zelos posted...

Now someone explain the Lost finale to me because i never watched that.

The island wasn't purgatory.
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yes she was fully developed

Anagram posted...

Did the mother have a name?

Tracy.

I don't think she got a name until the series finale iirc
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mnkboy907 posted...

Zelos posted...

Now someone explain the Lost finale to me because i never watched that.

The island wasn't purgatory.

"But don't worry that we added in a weird afterlife thingy at the end anyway. Nothing odd about that!"
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charmander6000 posted...

Show did a very good job in making the mother a perfect match for Ted and why Ted and Robin while good weren't the best match.

The overall message was that it is okay to move on, but I felt it was executed poorly.

See I thought Robin was a good match for Ted once they were in their 50s

Robin was great for Ted, but didn't want to settle down or whatever while he did. Once they were older, she was ready
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To be clear i thought the mother being "perfect" for Ted was pretty stupid and only good if the Robin plot twist or something very much like it WAS coming.
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I thought it was alright and figured it would go that way
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The ending was garbage

"Hey kids I've spent 9 seasons describing how I never really cared about your dead mom and I've actually been in love with the woman you know as your aunt the whole time. Your mom was just my backup plan when she got married!"
Legitimately probably the worst ending of any show I've ever seen
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I don't have issue with the ending so much as I do the execution of it. My opinion is that they should have had Barney and Robin's wedding and the meeting of the mother at the midseason finale and then use the second half of the season to flesh out all the stuff the happened in the final episode.
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ZaziGuado posted...

I don't have issue with the ending so much as I do the execution of it. My opinion is that they should have had Barney and Robin's wedding and the meeting of the mother at the midseason finale and then use the second half of the season to flesh out all the stuff the happened in the final episode.

Yeah, I think this was the bigger problem. It'd be like if the final season of friends focused on Joey and Rachel's relationship, then covered the last two and a half seasons of content in the final episode.
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Johnbobb posted...

Legitimately probably the worst ending of any show I've ever seen

This
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Can anyone explain the Two and a Half Men ending to me?
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The ending would have been great if it happened in the first season.

It would have even been fine if it happened some time in the early seasons.

Dragging the whole thing out so long (the entire last season took place over a weekend) to the point where all the characters had evolved and developed and then snapping it back in the last half hour or so just to fit in the original ending was mistake. Hell, the fatigue alone drove many fans off.
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I didn't have a problem with the ending after thinking about it, I mean yeah it could have been executed better but the whole show was just about how Ted met the mother. Once that was done, everything else was just an afterthought.

That's why they made an alternate ending that leaves all of that extra shit out and just ends with Ted meeting the mom and stating "and that's how I met your mother."

Her dying and then him going to Robin was fine, I mean it's sad and all that it happened that way but sometimes that's just how life turns out. It's not always a happily ever after.
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Grand Kirby posted...

The ending would have been great if it happened in the first season.

It would have even been fine if it happened some time in the early seasons.

Dragging the whole thing out so long (the entire last season took place over a weekend) to the point where all the characters had evolved and developed and then snapping it back in the last half hour or so just to fit in the original ending was mistake. Hell, the fatigue alone drove many fans off.

I did always sort of think thats how it was supposed to end - with Victoria being the mother and the ending being the ending
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Victoria was going to be the mother if they didn't get past the first season
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There has never and will never be a worse ending for a show. How I Met Your Mother used to be that show Id always have on in the background while it was still on, but I havent even watched a minute of the show since that turd they called an ending.
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Lost was worse
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I loved the ending. I started the topic about it here in the day leading up to the finale. I couldn't then, and I still don't now, understand why people criticize it so much for the "undid a whole season(s) in one episode" thing. Just step back and look at the big picture of what happened.

But I also never wanted or expected Barney and Robin to last, so that's probably why I was totally fine with it when it turned out the story was just all about Ted.

JackMan posted...

ZaziGuado posted...

I don't have issue with the ending so much as I do the execution of it. My opinion is that they should have had Barney and Robin's wedding and the meeting of the mother at the midseason finale and then use the second half of the season to flesh out all the stuff the happened in the final episode.

Yeah, I think this was the bigger problem. It'd be like if the final season of friends focused on Joey and Rachel's relationship, then covered the last two and a half seasons of content in the final episode.

In retrospect, this would have been a much better end to that series.
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The ending of House was also seriously disappointing but then the last few seasons were all pretty bad.
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Eddv posted...

In retrospect, this would have been a much better end to that series.

LOL
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turbopuns2 posted...

Just step back and look at the big picture of what happened.

Johnbobb posted...

"Hey kids I've spent 9 seasons describing how I never really cared about your dead mom and I've actually been in love with the woman you know as your aunt the whole time. Your mom was just my backup plan when she got married!"

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Johnbobb posted...

Legitimately probably the worst ending of any show I've ever seen

Someone hasn't seen Dexter!
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KamikazePotato posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Legitimately probably the worst ending of any show I've ever seen

Someone hasn't seen Dexter!

I've watched the first seven seasons and intentionally stopped there because the season seven finale is an excellent series finale and I assume anything after that would just lessen my opinion of it
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Oh man, you have no idea.
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Johnbobb posted...

KamikazePotato posted...

Johnbobb posted...

Legitimately probably the worst ending of any show I've ever seen

Someone hasn't seen Dexter!

I've watched the first seven seasons and intentionally stopped there because the season seven finale is an excellent series finale and I assume anything after that would just lessen my opinion of it

this is cheating
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Dexter S8 is like The Room of television.
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Honestly you should watch it if you made it that far. It's kind of amazing when you have your expectations set. Besides S7 was decent, but the show was never all that great after S4.
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Johnbobb posted...

turbopuns2 posted...

Just step back and look at the big picture of what happened.

Johnbobb posted...

"Hey kids I've spent 9 seasons describing how I never really cared about your dead mom and I've actually been in love with the woman you know as your aunt the whole time. Your mom was just my backup plan when she got married!"

That's not what actually happened, though.

Come on people - The worst series ending has to go to ALF. The last episode of that show ruined my childhood.
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ALF and not Dinosaurs? They were both pretty big buzzkills.

I've heard enough about Dexter S8 that I feel comfortable holding onto the idea that it doesn't exist

And seasons 5-7 were flawed but the season 7 finale was excellent and really leaves Dexter/Deb's relationship on a really powerful and emotional point
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I always thought Dexter S5 was just fine.
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I'm probably the only person that actually liked every season of Dexter. The ending of course has it's flaws but it still entertains me every time I watch it. (Finished the series 4 times so far and I'm due for another re-watch soon)
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My favorite part is when Dexter parks next to the villain's car, dead stares at him from 6 feet away in broad daylight wearing a bright blue shirt, and then is shocked to find his tires slashed.
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