On March 31, 2014, the TV sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’ rolled out its hour long finale to the expectation, frustration, and relief of fans and viewers who were hoping to see numerous mysteries tied up after being alluded to for entire seasons. Enough blogs and recaps have been written about how some things find resolution and how the ending doesn’t sit well with a lot of die-hard fans.
People who were hoping for a fairytale ending were hit with realism instead. Timelines aren’t perfect, relationships aren’t perfect, and not every look is filled with drastic passion. While the ultimate resolution does not make everyone smile in the same way that they did when Ted first went from romantic gesture to romantic gesture, the five minutes before the ending make the series more than worth it.
Throughout the seasons, although sometimes loosely for episodes at a time, the main character Ted discusses how me met his wife with his two children. This original lens and intro that fell away in the ninth season came full circle in the finale when Ted explained why he needed to meet the mother instead of how. Admittedly, some of the more creative choices in this season’s episodes fell flat, but the writers saved the most jarring and emotionally pivotal thoughts for Ted’s last monologues.
In what can easily and completely taken out of the context of the show, he talks about time passing, making the hard choices, and realizing how good the small moments can be when you have the right people next to you. When so many things in life seem dark, there are people. He sums up the whole point of the show, and then some. ‘Love is the best thing we do.’
The other moment that should blow fans away is the final montage of the main characters. Each one is shown alongside a clip of themselves from the first season, and it’s incredible to think of the timeline of this show. They kept up with current events in a very SNL-esque way over the course of nine years. The characters have grown up next to their fans for nine years. Anyone who cannot remember where they were- and who they were- after finishing the first season cannot weigh in on how expected, unexpected, or cliche the ending was. Ted met the hell out of that mother and the onscreen time together is a metaphor for the time they got to spend with each other in the grand scheme of things.
Love it or hate it, this show was a huge cultural phenomenon that included many phrases and archetypal symbols that helped viewers find themselves. After nine whole years of being huge prime time television, everyone gets on with their futures. Anyone who’s seen most of the show can remember what it was like to care and follow a character’s life like an actual friend. Imagine extending ‘The Bachelor’ craze over almost a decade: ‘who will he choose this week?’ Shows that do well and do well often and stay on a major network for this long do not come very often, and much like Seinfeld, Friends, and The Office, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ has created season ticket holders who will own and love and discuss and compare the show to their and other people’s lives for years.
At a Loss with Themes 