Andrew Robinson
In the third of our series “How [blank TV show should have ended], we find ourselves at CBS’s hit comedy How I Met Your Mother. The first in the series was Game of Thrones; the second was Bones. Featuring nine seasons of adventures amongst a group of 30-something NYC friends, HIMYM caused an uproar with its ending.
How Did it Actually End?
Ted Mosby spends the entire series telling his kids how he met their mother. In the early portions of the final season, the mother’s identity is revealed, and her character is explored. Robin and Barney – two of Ted’s friends – get married late in the final season. In the finale, however, it is revealed that Robin and Barney’s marriage doesn’t last long; they divorce. Then, it is painfully revealed that The Mother dies of cancer, leaving a now-present day Ted asking his kids for their blessing to ask out the woman they call Aunt Robin. Thus, The Mother is discarded entirely, and Ted ends up with Robin.
How Should it Have Ended?
The actual ending of the show soured longtime fans to the series as a whole. Many believed that it was a cop-out; having the two still end up together and killing off The Mother discounted the entire point of the nine-year wait to see Ted and Tracy together. It also ended up destroying much of Barney’s character development, as well as the time spent building his and Robin’s relationship.
So, instead of alienating longtime fans, we’re going to end HIMYM differently.
The final season still shows The Mother early on, and her character is still explored just as heavily. However, instead of spending most of the final season with the characters stuck at Barney and Robin’s wedding, the festivities are over with by the halfway point of the season. They still end up going through with the wedding, and Ted and Tracy still meet for the first time at the wedding.
However, after the midseason finale, the remaining eleven episodes focus on Ted and Tracy’s blossoming relationship. It tells the story of how they end up marrying, while also taking time to focus on Marshall and Lily, as well as Robin and Barney.
Three-quarters of the way through the season, Robin and Barney announce that they are moving away from NYC. They decide they would like to live in Europe; Robin is offered a newscaster job in London. One stand-alone episode is dedicated to their lives in London; they meet new friends, take new jobs, and move on from the original gang. However, at the end of this stand-alone episode, after living in London for nearly two years, Barney receives a call. Ted is getting married.
After this announcement, he and Robin rush back to the States in order to make the wedding. There is a near-episode-long flashback, as the viewer is given the opportunity to watch Ted propose. They listen to him take all of Marshall’s advice on how he should do it; they listen as Lily tells him what would be perfect for Tracy. And the viewer watches as Ted fails to take any of their advice, instead proposing to Tracy one lazy Sunday morning as they eat breakfast. This represents Ted’s comfort with Tracy – he doesn’t feel as if he has to take her out and fulfill any huge romantic gestures in order to profess his love. He just does it. And this is beautiful to watch.
The episode ends with Barney and Robin arriving back to NYC. Marshall, Lily, Ted, and Tracy are waiting for them at the airport.
This leaves four episodes left in the show. The next episode serves as the “How Your Mother Met Me” episode from the actual final season. This episode, unlike the season as a whole, was beloved by fans.
Both the third-to-last and penultimate episodes focus on the wedding itself. Minor inconveniences occur and old characters are brought back for the festivities. Barney and Robin catch up with gang just like old times. By the time the actual wedding occurs, everyone is on the verge of tears. Ted has finally found his love.
Then, the finale. Early on in the episode, Barney and Robin return to London. It is an emotional goodbye, but everyone knows it’s for the best. By all indications, their marriage is going well. This is the last we see the two.
Next, we watch as about a month passes. Ted and Lily enjoy a honeymoon in Bora Bora. By the end of their time there, they talk about their future. Both want kids right away. And both decide that NYC isn’t the place to raise those children.
Tracy wishes to raise them in a suburb in New Jersey. Ted, as he has always done, expresses his hatred for New Jersey initially. However, after thinking about it for a little while, he reasons with himself that they’ll still be close enough to NYC to visit; to take the kids to events. And they’ll be close enough to Marshall and Lily to stay in touch.
The longest-tenured main couple in the show is not surprised to hear of Ted and Tracy’s plans. They, however, have an announcement of their own. Marshall has accepted a job near his hometown in Minnesota.
Ted is heartbroken. Tracy consoles him, but he’s absolutely heartbroken. He sees how quickly life changes: first Robin and Barney, then Marshall and Lily. He sees this and he hates every second.
A week passes. Marshall and Lily are packing up their things to leave. Ted, who hasn’t seen his best friend since the announcement, arrives. The four (including Tracy) go to MacLaren’s one last time. The couples vow to visit each other at least twice a year.
Ted and Tracy take Marshall and Lily to the airport.
Then, Ted and Tracy move in to their new home. Time passes and the viewer witnesses the births of their children. They see the parents interact with their kids, offering them the best lives possible.
The final scene is what looks to be a Thanksgiving feast about fifteen years down the road. There’s a knock at the door; Ted lights up.
“They’re here!” he says. He walks past his wife and children sitting on the couch, and goes to open the door.
