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just got to watch the finale. after reading through everyone's reactions, I think we can all agree on one thing, Redstone is still a tool.

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I came to the entertainment board to find a new series to watch, got caught up in the last few days worth of this thread, and pretty much came to the realization that I will never look at any tv series the same due to this terrible, worse than dexter ending to what was formerly by far my favorite TV series of all time.

For EVERYONE that hated the finally, what would have been better? If you wrote it, how would you end this story and wrap everything up?

Given more time and devotion to the mother dying for one. They spent more time on Marshall's dad dying and Barney's daddy issues than the titular character's death and how it impacted the storyteller and those hearing the story. They shouldn't have focused so much time on the wedding.

Agreed with chipotle below, the big twists just felt rushed and weren't given the appropriate amount of time for the big moments they were/should have been.

[This message has been edited by Fenrir (edited 4/9/2014 8:51a).]

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For EVERYONE that hated the finally, what would have been better? If you wrote it, how would you end this story and wrap everything up?

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I guess they wanted to shock people with the divorce and dead mom. But given they spent a season dealing with the wedding and a series building up meeting them mom it was more than rushed to just drop those bombs off. Just like most of their shows the execution was off.

Really easy. There are some other things you'd ideally change in the series like scrapping the last season, but just changing the finale:

-The mother doesn't die and the show ends on "and kids, that's how I met your mother" just like the fan-made ending
-Spend time in the episode showing their near misses. Ted teaching in the wrong class, the St. Patrick's day party, Cindy's apartment
-Robin and Barney get divorced, but Robin is revealed as #31* and they end up getting back together
-Lily and Marshall end up staying in New York when they find out Ted isn't moving to Chicago


But then why did Ted spend so much time talking about Robin?

I said it earlier in the thread, but I think this would be a semi-legitimate complaint. However, it just wouldn't bother me for the same reason that the raunchiness and the unrelated stories never bothered me. If you're really scrutinizing the show from the standpoint of Ted talking to his kids, there are lots of holes that open up other than Ted focusing so much of the story on Robin.


*I don't remember the details of the episode about Robin not being able to have kids, but if it was 100% stated that she couldn't do it, then it still works that Barney had a daughter with someone else, he changed and settled down and then they got back together.

I think it ended perfectly, but only because I paused the show, turned to my wife, and told her the following:
"I'm calling it - Ted's wife dies, and he ends up with Robin."

Then, after Ted's kids told him to get with Robin, and Robin is looking down at him from her window, I said:
"Blue French horn! He's got the blue French horn!"

Nailed it. Unfortunately, I'm a middle-aged man, so that makes me a pretty big loser.

[This message has been edited by Trident 88 (edited 4/9/2014 8:55a).]

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For EVERYONE that hated the finally, what would have been better? If you wrote it, how would you end this story and wrap everything up?

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Meeting the mother at the train station was played up as the penultimate moment of the show. Ever since he found the yellow umbrella, met stella, taught the class, hired the band, etc.

Instead of using that moment as they should have, it was a small footnote in the series that was completely overshadowed by the death of the mother AND ted going back to Robin...again.

I understand that life doesn't always work out perfectly. But it is hard to root for the main character when he keeps going back to a woman that never wanted him in the first place, married/divorced his best friend, repeatedly dissapeared for years and finally was content to be with him when she didn't have anybody else and needed a security blanket.

To juxtapose that against the mother, that was pretty much perfect for Ted in every annoying way is very hard to swallow.

I don't understand how some people are mad that some of the events may not have followed the storyline, but at the same time wanted Robin to be #31. Didn't we learn that she is physically unable to have kids?

What is #31?

And while they failed in execution, this was the plan, all along.

#31 is the last chick barney banged in his "perfect month"

Awe. Gotcha.

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I don't understand how some people are mad that some of the events may not have followed the storyline,

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Which critiques are you referring to here? I think everyone agrees that they stuck to their storyline pretty well.

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but at the same time wanted Robin to be #31. Didn't we learn that she is physically unable to have kids?

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Like I mentioned above, if they definitively made that not an option, it doesn't rule out Robin and Barney getting back together after Barney is changed by having a kid.

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And while they failed in execution, this was the plan, all along.

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This is the biggest reason I don't think the finale throws away the entire series like some others who didn't like the finale. In Sepinwall's review, he talked about an interview with Bays and Thomas where they mentioned that good writing creating its own constraints. I completely agree with that and that's why I think this ending would have been really good after 3 or 4 seasons. But you have to be able to step back and realize that what you have after 9 years isn't the same thing that you had when you came up with that ending. What they had after 9 years was a beaten down, worn out relationship that everyone hated and someone else who was a perfect match for Ted. They pulled the latter out from under us in favor of the former.

Definitely a difference in Robin being #31 vs. Robin and Barney getting back together after #31.

As far as being off the stroyline, I probably could have stated it a better way. I was thinking more of the situations like Ted waiting so long to get married after meeting the mother, Robin and Barney getting divorced, etc...

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This is the biggest reason I don't think the finale throws away the entire series like some others who didn't like the finale.

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After watching the finale it pretty much ruined the series for me.

However, after watching the fan made finale I have decided that I like that ending better and that is how I will always remember it whenever I watch the show again.

CBS has decided to pass on "How I Met Your Dad."

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CBS has decided to pass on "How I Met Your Dad."

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I just saw that too.

Not sure if I'll give it a chance or not if it gets picked up by someone else. Probably will just because I loved HIMYM so much (even though I hated the ending).

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/met-dad-not-going-forward-cbs-went-wrong-135633551.html

I think HIMYD would be a tough sell since viewers already know the main character would be killed off

Great call by CBS the show writers deserve to be in television hell for that finale...

^
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genius

So awesomely true

Link

Pineapple incident explained in deleted scene.

YAYAYAYA

lame....

Here is an alternate to use

I've been wanting to rewatch the series lately, but my wife is very reluctant because of the finale.

There is at least one deleted scene that shows Ted chose the mother over Robin that makes the ending slightly better in my eyes, but I still think it was a mistake for the them to end it that way.

All they needed to do was cut the finale five minutes early. Ending with the mother dying would've been a solid ending.

I realize I'm late to the party but I just felt so disgusted and cheated as though it completely took away all of the character development. My wife and I watched the alternate ending, that's the real one in our minds otherwise we couldn't rewatch any of the episodes.

"What mother is going to miss her daughter's wedding"

Just rewatch seasons 1-4. No reason to watch after that.

I really enjoyed this show. It may have ran a little long, and not really nailed the landing, but when it was good it was GOOD.

Quinn said:

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Just rewatch seasons 1-4. No reason to watch after that.

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Umm. Wrong.

The Playbook alone make season 5 worth it and the many related recalls of it after that.

Slapsgiving 2

Dopplegangers

The karate kid stuff in Bro Mitzva and the way the bachelor party for Barney played out and all the rest of William Zabka's appearances.

The laser tag / ice rink rehearsal dinner.

A bunch of the more serious stuff was done really well - Marshall's dad's death, Robin not able to have kids, Lily giving birth, etc.

So much more.