For every great sitcom series finale like the ending of MASH or The Office, there are controversial endings like Seinfeld’s last episode or the infamous finale of How I Met Your Mother. Throughout the 2010s, How I Met Your Mother built itself up a dedicated fan base, maintained strong ratings, and even earned comparisons to Friends thanks to the show’s central sextet of lovable main characters. However, on March 31, 2014, the show squandered almost all of its audience goodwill with the infamously divisive ending of How I Met Your Mother.
How I Met Your Mother’s March 31, 2014 Finale Was Incredibly Divisive
Although the series finale earned a huge amount of ire from viewers, How I Met Your Mother’s entire final season made things pretty hard for the show. The whole season took place over the weekend of Robin and Barney’s wedding, with only the finale itself jumping forward into the future to tell viewers what happened to the main characters in the future. How I Met Your Mother had experimented with narrative formatting throughout its nine seasons, but this was a twist too far.
The “Unique” structure of this season meant that many of How I Met Your Mother’s main characters barely even shared any screen time in the show’s final season, and this awkward choice meant their prized interplay was kept to a minimum. While How I Met Your Mother’s twist ending made matters worse, the decision to split the story of the final season didn’t help matters. Ted barely even spoke to the titular mother until the last episode, only for her to be unceremoniously killed off in a flash forward soon after.
How I Met Your Mother’s Controversial Ending Makes More Sense On A Re-Watch
As bizarre as this twist seemed at the time, re-watching How I Met Your Mother makes it clear that this was the show’s planned ending all along. Cristin Milioti’s character proved so charismatic that viewers resented how late she appeared in the series, but this was ultimately because the sitcom was really about Ted and Robin’s love story, not Ted’s love story with the largely unseen mother of the title.
Since Ted and Robin had dated, broken up, gotten back together, and broken up again so many times over the course of the show, it was hard for viewers to be shocked by the finale’s big twist ending. However, it is equally unfair to claim that How I Met Your Mother’s ending didn’t make sense, or that the show’s conclusion wasn’t sufficiently foreshadowed.
Throughout How I Met Your Mother’s nine seasons, the show consistently focuses on Robin and Ted more than every other character, and neither of them can find lasting romantic happiness with any other partners. As such, How I Met Your Mother’s finale was justified in bringing the couple back together, even if the rushed execution and the criminal underuse of Milioti’s long-awaited character meant this revelation was terribly mishandled.
