How I Met Your Mother is by far my favorite sitcom, and to go even further, I would say it's my favorite television show of all time hands down. The show is very unique in many ways. Although it is a comedy, I also consider it to be a bit of drama as sad stuff does occur quite often throughout the 9 seasons of the series. This show teaches valuable life lessons about many things: Friendship, love, relationships, loss, betrayal, acceptance, etc. The list goes on and on. I liked the series a lot because of the values it teaches to the audience. The characters themselves are also great. They are different from each other (which makes the show more dynamic) but they all find a way to accept each other the way they are and hold a strong enduring bond throughout all of life's trials and tribulations. This aspect proves inspirational in how people in real life should view and treat each other. It is also a very touching characteristic and it helps us like the characters and become emotionally invested in them that much more. Personally, I grew very attached to each and every one of the characters: Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Robin (Colbie Smulders), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Marshall (Jason Segel), and especially Ted (Josh Radnor). Everyone of these actors does a sensational job bringing life, personality, reality, expression, and emotion to each of the characters. I got so invested in them that I viewed them all as being real people even though we all know they are fictional. I felt every emotion that they felt. When Marshall lost his dad, I felt that pain. When Stella left Ted at the altar, I felt that pain. When Lily left Marshall, I felt that pain. And finally, getting to the point of this review, I felt Ted's pain more than any other time when it is revealed that Tracy, the mother played by Cristin Milioti, died six years ago (2024) before Ted started telling his children the story of how he met her.
So, how does the series end? It turns out that the mother had grown ill and died years ago. At the same token, Barney and Robin had gotten divorced and Ted's kids urge him to ask Robin out because as we know, Ted has had feelings for Robin since the very first episode of the series. I have very mixed feelings about the ending but overall, I am fairly satisfied with the conclusion.
To be honest, I had grown very attached To Cristin Milioti as Ted's wife, the mother we had been waiting nine seasons to meet. I liked her so much because Tracy was a perfect match for Ted. There was no one better for him than her in my opinion. They had so much in common it was uncanny. Plus, they really just looked like an excellent couple; they went great together. Milioti played Tracy's character so well that only seeing her for one season didn't detract from how much I grew attached to the character. Ted is a lot like me and throughout those nine seasons, he had gone through so much heartache and pain; dealing with failed relationships, crazy women (Jennete), and the unrequited love situation with Robin. There really is a great deal of pain that someone experiences when they love someone who doesn't feel the same way and because I myself have been through that, I was greatly attached to Ted's character as well. I was routing for him to win and finally get everything he has been waiting for. In that case, I thought Tracy was the perfect reward for going through all he went through. I especially liked it that they had passed by each other so many times in the past without realizing it and it took till that night after Barney and Robin's wedding at the train station for them to meet and they reminisce about how they have barely missed each other so many times.
The scene where they meet at the train station is my favorite part- it's emotional, it's romantic, it's real, it's perfect. When Ted talks about how if his road hadn't been so long and arduous, the lesson wouldn't have been clear, all of the themes necessary to this finale are being conveyed. He talks about how from the moment he met Tracy, he knew he had to love this woman as much as he could and never stop loving her even for a second. And that is so important because you never know when your time here will be over, as shown by Tracy suddenly falling ill and passing away. Also, Ted thanks god and the universe that he was able to stand up, walk over to Tracy and speak to her that night when they finally met. This conveys that life is all about choices: if Ted didn't make the choice to stand up and talk to Tracy that night, they wouldn't have experienced 11 happy years together. You have to take risks in life, because often, they do indeed work out. And finally, although Tracy dying was like taking an arrow through the heart (for me anyway because I had grown so attached to her), it is a realistic ending and it further enforces the lesson of loving and being kind to those that are close to you while they are here. And to be honest, Ted and Tracy were happy together for 11 years which is a long time.
Overall, I am very happy with the finale. The ending to a series like this should be a bit sad to add emotional drama and there should also be an upside to it all and many different themes should be conveyed. This finale accomplishes all of that.
RATING: 9.5/10
~MJ Aufiero
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