How I Met Your Mother was one of the most popular shows of its kind, filling the void that was left by Friends the year prior. They had their own style and they worked in their own rhythm, and for nine seasons, the show continued to serve as one of the more intriguing sitcoms on television.
However, as they entered the ninth and final season, it became clear that they were running out of ideas in a big way. The decline of HIMYM was dramatic, to say the least, and today we’re going to try and figure out what it was about those final episodes that really put the nail in the coffin.
Telegraphed Humor
Have you ever had that sensation of knowing a joke is coming because it’s just so obvious? That’s how fans felt through pretty much the entirety of How I Met Your Mother’s final season.
While the scenes involving some drama and suspense were great, people seemed to forget the fact that this was a show based on comedy. It wasn’t a soap opera, and whenever the comedic moments were inserted into otherwise meaningless scenes, the canned laughter felt more forced than ever before.
It was actually more sigh-inducing than anything else.
The Mother’s Death
After spending an entire decade building up to the reveal of who the mother was going to be, they actually had the stones to feature her for one season before killing her off.
It was a plot device that just didn’t really make any sense, because it’s not like they were being forced into a corner in which they had to end the show so badly. It was one of the biggest slaps in the face in the history of television and while that may sound over the top, it really isn’t.
Robin & Barney Break Up
In another “what a waste of time” moment, Robin and Barney got a divorce after quite literally spending years building their relationship up brick by brick.
The scene in which Barney proposed to Robin was one of the best moments of the entire series, and now when we look back on it, the whole segment feels more hollow than anything else.
There’s more to this that we’ll come on to a little bit later but to sum it up, this felt like we were being offered a raise for months before it was ripped away from us.
“Thank You, Linus”
The Farhampton Inn quite clearly has a lenient policy on handing out drinks, so fair play to the guests that stay there.
Aside from that, though, there’s just nothing at all that makes sense about the whole “thank you, Linus” storyline. In fact, it wasn’t even a storyline, it was just one of those running jokes that stopped being funny on the second mention – and yet it just went on and on and on and on.
Then they wound up revealing that Lily was pregnant the whole time anyway. Brilliant.
Poor Writing
From some of the dialogue to the recycled jokes from years gone by, to that utterly woeful episode with Marshall on the bus with the baby, the writing on this show really did drive off the edge of a cliff in season nine.
The writers used to be so witty but at this stage, it just felt like they were at the end of a twelve-round war with a heavyweight boxing champion and they just wanted to give up. In the end, they didn’t make the final bell, and giving up is exactly what they did.
Marshall’s Decline
Marshall was arguably one of the funniest things about the show for most of its run, mainly because he was a character with real layers that was warm and friendly. By the end of the final season, though, he felt like a shadow of his former self.
We’re not sure how much of that comes down to Jason Segel himself but either way, it wasn’t the Marshall we all once knew and loved. There were moments of great comedy sprinkled into the show here and there, but nothing turned our world upside down.
It Was The Creators’ Original Vision
One thing we absolutely hate about the ending to the show is that it was supposedly the idea from the creators and writers from the very beginning. Anyone could’ve seen that it was a mistake to continue going down that path, but their own stubbornness wouldn’t allow them to change trajectory to something better.
There’s something to be said for the positive impact that comes with actually listening to the fans, but they really, really didn’t do that. Not even close.
Over One Whole Weekend
Instead of giving us a traditional season that featured great scenes and moments from all of our favorite spots throughout New York City, they decided to stretch out Robin and Barney’s entire wedding across a whole weekend – and by whole weekend, we mean an entire season.
Some would call it brave but we’d actually prefer to call it lazy because it didn’t really force them into any intriguing storylines. It was different, certainly, but the way in which the final episode transpired wound up ruining the entire concept for us.
Lily/Marshall Tease
We’ve been down the road of Lily and Marshall breaking up or nearly breaking up in the past, and the fact that they decided to go back to the playbook with that one in the final season really does just hurt our soul.
It was so played out and nobody in their right mind would’ve thought that them breaking up was a feasible possibility. Hell, Marshall wasn’t actually even there for half of the season, which only served to further increase our frustration regarding the whole situation. It just didn’t make any sense.
Ted Goes Back To Robin
Ted and Robin had a lot of great chemistry once upon a time, but when we got around to the final season, pretty much everyone was okay with the fact that they’d both moved on and it was Barney who was going to end up being with Robin forever.
The complete 180 that they threw at us was the the final straw, which felt appropriate, considering it was the final scene in the entire show.
A part of us actually thought it was a parody, and another big part of us wishes the alternate ending was real.
