Should Ted Have Ended Up With Robin?

The How I Met Your Mom collection finale was arguably probably the most polarizing episodes of tv — and practically a decade later we nonetheless have ideas about that conclusion.

The sitcom, which aired on CBS from 2005 to 2014, adopted Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and his group of mates in New York Metropolis as they tried to search out happiness of their private {and professional} lives. All through the collection, Ted recalled his previous to his future son and daughter as a option to clarify how he met their mom, Tracy (Cristin Milioti).

How I Met Your Mom spent eight seasons constructing as much as the mom’s id. In consequence, the ultimate season took issues sluggish by having Tracy cross paths with Robin (Cobie Smulders), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel) earlier than lastly having her meet-cute with Ted.

The present put a number of effort into cementing Tracy’s place in Ted’s life — which is why having Ted find yourself with Robin within the collection finale threw Us for a loop. How I Met Your Mom walked again all their narrative progress simply to have Tracy die from a mysterious sickness, which paved the best way for Ted and Robin to lastly discover a romance that was really extinguished a few years in the past.

Creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have stood by their imaginative and prescient however did the selection age properly or did it doom How I Met Your Mom‘s legacy?

Scroll right down to revisit the notorious debate:

Sticking to the Story

The ending might have felt prefer it got here out of left subject — however the twist was created in the course of the present’s first season. The actors who performed Ted’s future youngsters, Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, filmed their reactions to the collection finale’s pivotal second again in 2005 so that they wouldn’t seem older within the footage every time HIMYM really wrapped up.

In response, followers had questions on Bays and Thomas sticking to an concept that they had within the first season as an alternative of letting the story get formed all through the years. HIMYM had a nine-year run, which meant there was room for the story and the ending to develop as relationships developed.

Bays, nonetheless, stood by having Ted’s journey finish with an introduction again to his romance with Robin. “For those who didn’t just like the finale, I assume that occurs. We tried one thing and it didn’t join with you. I hope we’re nonetheless mates,” he tweeted in 2014.

Thomas adopted go well with by displaying appreciation for the HIMYM fandom regardless of their response.

“Thanks all. I imply it: Each potential response to the final 44 minutes … thanks all … The truth that we now have been a TV sitcom that has obtained this a lot ardour from followers, for 9 years (not simply tonight) — thanks,” the manager producer wrote by way of Twitter on the time. “We wrote a comedy with dramatic parts until the very finish. Thanks for taking that journey with us. We did a finale about life’s twists and turns and that isn’t at all times what occurs … however THANKS! Significantly — it doesn’t matter what you considered tonight, THANK YOU … you have been with us. We love you. Thanks for this journey.”

Taking Away the Present’s Whole Premise

How I Met Your Mom was actually all about how Ted met the mom of his youngsters. It was there within the title and it at all times performed a task within the voiceover as Future Ted (Bob Saget) guided his kids and the viewers via the years main as much as him assembly Tracy.

Nonetheless, a collection finale which has the Mom die of an unnamed terminal sickness simply as Ted and the viewers lastly met her appears counterproductive. Tracy is basically your entire present however after she offers start to Ted’s kids the narrative sees her as disposable? Maybe that wasn’t what HIMYM was going for however it’s the message lots of Us walked away with ultimately.

Losing the Remaining Season

In accordance with Bays, there was another ending to the long-running CBS sitcom which didn’t see the sunshine of day. The opposite conclusion would have stored Tracy alive (and with Ted) whereas Robin and Barney stayed married.

“16 days in the past right now we have been within the HIMYM edit room, attempting to resolve between two very totally different endings. We solely shot one script, however via edit room magic we had two potential outcomes for the collection,” he tweeted. “We selected the ending we selected and we stand by it. However we cherished the opposite model too.”

Many followers have identified that utilizing the ultimate minutes to pivot to Ted and Robin seemingly erased that season 9 was primarily centered on the times main as much as Robin and Barney’s marriage ceremony. The primary 22 episodes of the ultimate season — and numerous episodes all through the collection — created the phantasm that Robin and Barney have been rising towards their future collectively. As an alternative, although, HIMYM broke them up on the final second for no tangible purpose aside from to stay to an ending that was chosen earlier than viewers met — and began to root for — Robin and Barney.

Radnor later addressed his shock at HIMYM sticking to the twist ending, telling Vulture in 2014, “[The creators] had talked about to me the twist concerning the mom within the first season, and I type of put it out of my head. I didn’t know if they might really wish to come again to it and try this, particularly after Cristin, as a result of she was so fantastic and the followers appeared to essentially take to her. So I requested them ‘Are you guys nonetheless doing that?’ They usually stated yeah.”

Strolling Again Barney and Robin’s Journey

Following one yr of relationship, Ted and Robin known as it quits on the finish of season 2 as a result of they have been rising aside. How I Met Your Mom continued to circle across the concept of Ted and Robin nonetheless being excited by one another — however their break up set occasions in movement that constructed as much as Robin and Barney’s relationship.

The pair, who have been far more suited collectively, even received assist from Harris.

“I’ve been actively attempting to make that occur. I talked to the writers and I used to be pitching it, and I’d attempt to do little issues in our scenes collectively the place I gave her an additional look and an additional look or would stare solely at her throughout an entire scene simply to see if anybody was noticing,” he instructed Fan Carpet in 2013. “We had good chemistry. And I really like doing scenes with Cobie, she’s tremendous enjoyable. She’s Canadian, you already know. They’re cool.”

Following ups and downs of their relationship, Robin and Barney lastly discovered their manner again to one another. In consequence, the ultimate season was devoted to Robin and Barney’s marriage ceremony, which made it seem to be their romance was endgame. Think about our shock when all these scenes that developed Robin and Barney because the couple to root for have been discarded in favor of Robin’s unsuccessful relationship with Ted.

Smulders, in the meantime, argued in favor of Robin returning to Ted.

“Persons are going to really feel how they’re going to really feel about that. However I feel that there’s been sufficient time,” she instructed UK’s Metro in Might 2020 about how streaming shifted viewers’ ideas on HIMYM. “Watching it as a streaming present now, you get somewhat bit extra of a connection for different relationships. I feel on the finish of the collection between Robin and Barney, that was type of the connection everybody was rooting for.”

The Disney star continued: “However whenever you return to the very starting of the present, it was Robin and Ted. So, I feel that it’s a unique option to watch the present now whenever you see it in its entirety.”