MovieChat Forums > How I Met Your Mother (2005) Discussion > How would you have ended it?

How would you have ended it?

posted 8 years ago by armalite1016
28 replies | jump to latest

Assuming we all agree that the ending was executed rather poorly, how would you change it?

1. Would you have the mother alive at the end, or stick with her death and have him end up with Robin as the show did (just change the way they did it?)

2. If she's alive, how would you have ended the finale in a satisfying way? If she's dead, how would you fixed the finale/final season in a way which doesn't make it a slap in the face?

3. If she's dead, how would you have dealt with Robin and Barney's divorce?

4. Would you have told a different ending altogether?

5. Would you make Ted meet Tracy earlier so we wouldn't have to sit through an entire season at the wedding?

Just curious on everyone's thoughts. I personally am fine with Ted going after Robin, but because they cemented Robin and Barney together, that kind of makes it impossible as far as I'm concerned when it comes to satisfying storytelling, so I would have kept the Barnstormer and the Canuck together. Because of this, I would have kept the mother alive. Or maybe, she's sick and it's possible she could die by the end of the story. BUT, then it wouldn't make sense for the kids to be annoyed to listen to this. So maybe she's just alive and it's one of those "The Journey is what matters" kind of shows. The more I think about it, the more I feel as if there wouldn't have been any truly satisfying endings.

Basically, the writers wrote themselves into A LOT OF CORNERS during the course of the show with the directions they pushed characters. If they wanted Ted to end up with Robin, then her marrying Barney was a huge blunder on the writers' part, and having their wedding take up an entire season was a INSURMOUNTABLE blunder to this end. Also, since every last iota of Barney's development was thrown out the window in 3 seconds flat, and then he is given a brand new development that enjoys a COMPLETE ARC, also in 3 seconds flat, instead of him going after Robin, they would have been better of giving him a kid to begin with, or just forgetting that altogether and letting Barney remain the one static character in the show. We loved Barney; he didn't NEED to have a complete character arc. He was just that guy.

I really don't know how I would have ended it, to be honest. Perhaps they developed too many contradicting storylines over the years for the show to ever have a truly satisfying ending, or one that makes complete sense and at the same time doesn't completely trample important development in some way or another.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nycbm 8 years ago

I would have had the mother living but the final narration going something like this "I am telling you this story because you two are about to go into high school. Dating and relationships are never going to be what they seem. But it's important to keep in mind that no matter what heartbreak you suffer, how often you get rejected, or how hopeless it all feels, never forgot that there is always someone waiting for you. You just have to meet them.

"And that kids is how I met your mother."

My problem with the alternate ending we got is that we never got an explanation for the reason Ted was telling his story.

[–] cdambion 8 years ago

Two answers to this...
Short form...
And Long Form...

Short form is the alternate ending.

The long form I'll type down when I feel like it!

[–] skywalkr_00 8 years ago

How old are you people? Life is not always pink.Bad things sometimes happen,or most of the time.The ending is pretty realistic.

[–] mariano_yuba 8 years ago

Well, i don't mind Tracy being dead, but going back to Robin felt cheap, AND it made the entire relationship with Tracy feel cheap, since it makes Trace look like a rebound girl Ted was all to happy to be rid of in order to go fetch Robin again.
At least, i didn't like how it was done. We don't see anything with Ted and Robin between her death and 2030 (other than the odd flashforward), we don't see them get reacquainted, or how he finally accepts Tracy's passing and moves on (especially when they made Tracy's scene doing just that SO powerful), or anything that makes us feel that this is not just Ted resuming his Robin crush. I could maybe accept that he's down under and she helps him back up, and they rediscover each other as who they are NOW...but here it seems like they're the exact same people as before who only took a break while Ted was getting kids and wating for that other chick to expire.

[–] Bubbathegut (18253) 8 years ago

ted marries victoria and has his two kids, robin gets divorced and never gets married again. robin then becomes the cat lady.

[–] ADBruno1985 (3580) 8 years ago

1. I would have Tracy alive. That was the biggest slap in the face of all. If she had lived and Ted and she had an actual happily ever after together, the rest of the slaps could've been deal with.

2: If she's alive, just leave Robin and Barney together. I know, that's too simple and sweet, but still a better ending after 9 years. If she's dead, well, then they could've at least devoted more time to her in the finale, to her life with Ted, her time as a mom, an actual explanation for her death. Maybe they didn't because to draw it out so much may have felt ineffectual for a sitcom. Though, being HIMYM, they likely could've gotten it right had they tried.

3: If she's dead and Robin and Barney still get divorced... Barney's story could've gone the same way. Robin would've just become like the next Diane Sawyer and not needed a man. Or, one who was better-suited to her.

4: See the beginning of my second answer.

5: I really didn't mind the whole wedding stretched for a season bit, other than it was in vain given the near-immediate divorce. But I would've liked to have gotten a season of Tracy as part of the gang, and really joining the group.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Bubbathegut (18253) 7 years ago

I would agree as well. Ted and Victoria were perfect for each other but the writers wanted Ted to hook up with Robin again in the finale. Whats so stupid is that Ted played a part in Victorias failed wedding only to dump her later on. C'mon really!? Barney should have married Quinn instead which would have been a lot better I think. Robin would have stayed single and become the dog lady.

[–] StarWarsRey (566) 7 years ago

Simple, the end should have been Tracy is alive and all is well. I know not everything in life end in happiness, but the show is called How I Met Your Mother, not How I Met Robin.

[–] Bubbathegut (18253) 7 years ago

Good point, or not How I hooked up with Robin 3 times.