Why the Ending to 'How I Met Your Mother' Was the Right Ending

I'm way behind schedule on this one, I know. There are several reasons for that, but the main reason is, that for the first time, I really didn't know what to write about. Then it hit me - one of my favorite shows went off air last week! With its conclusion leaving many viewers with rather mixed feelings (though it was mostly hatred towards the show's creators), it was something I had to use as a subject for this post. By the way, it should already be clear at this point that this post has major spoilers (Major Spoilers - *salutes*) ahead so if you haven't seen the finale of How I Met Your Mother yet, you might want to watch that first. Consider yourself warned. 

How I Met Your Mother, a show that was beloved by many (or at least it was right up til the last few minutes in the show's history), came to an end last week on Tuesday. The final episode spans roughly sixteen years during which it's revealed Barney and Robin got divorced after three years of (according to Barney successful) marriage, we see Barney return to his old womanizing ways, oh and yes, Ted finally meets the titular Mother. But wait, there's more! Not only is it revealed how Ted met The Mother, we also get to see them at the altar. Aaand mere seconds after that we see The Mother in a hospital gown as Future Ted gives away she got sick and died after they spent some ten years together, six years prior to him telling his story. The entire series concludes with Ted, encouraged by his kids who by now realize their father "totally has the hots for Aunt Robin", asking Robin out. It all happens a bit quickly, it was quicker than even I liked at first. But it wasn't nonsense as some "fans" might suggest. Quite the contrary.

People upset about the ending are just projecting their own version of the story based on what happens in all the other romantic comedies – you meet the One, you marry him or her, and you live happily ever after, because of course you do. The problem is, though, that stories don't typically end happily. What's more, our life stories don't end at all. And we saw that Ted's story didn't end when he met The Mother. Yeah, the final bit went by fast. Wonder why? Because the kids already knew all that. They knew what happened after their mother died so why tell them about it? Ted was telling a story of how he met their mom, a story about all the things that lead up to that moment, and eventually the moment of her death.

How I Met Your Mother was always a bit different from all the other sitcoms, it was always somewhat realistic in the whole relationship aspect because let's be honest - life isn't a Disney fairytale. The finale stayed true to that fact and it's a shame a lot of people couldn't see through that. I'm glad I'm one of those who can honestly say that this show was and always will be legen- wait for it- dary! Legendary! (You know I had to.)