The End of “How I Met Your Mother”

This show, How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), premiered in 2005 when I was still living in Las Vegas.  It’s now ending 9 years later and it’s really really bittersweet, as while of course this is one of my favorite shows and a lot of emotional beats and closure were hit in tonight’s series finale, it’s also very hard to process that this show was basically an accompaniment to my life, especially the late 20s to mid-to-late 30s part of it.

Thinking about 9 years ago is a harsh thing to do.  2005?!  I’m still in the Air Force, I’m at Nellis/Las Vegas, and I’m fucking miserable at my job.  That was 9 years ago?  YEESH.  Follow that time with Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain, and while I loved the people I ended up working with and meeting, again miserable at the job.  Get out of the military, looking for something better, and the chance to actually live my life out.  What better place to do that than in NYC?  So there I go for 3.5 years, after which I have met the love of my life and we move out to Los Angeles together.   And now it’s been another 3.5 years….and during all that time, HIMYM has been on and cracking me up while also telling a wonderful story in an always clever and sometimes poignant manner.

These last 9 years have been an insane ride, and I mean that in all the best ways.  I wouldn’t be who I am now without all those experiences, people, and places in my life, and that seemed to be a through-line in the story told by the show too.  So much of where we end up is determined by how we make that journey.

So I’m sad that this particular show is over, as it seems to signal that a certain chapter in my life is closing.  I have a strong inkling I know what the next chapter will be about – and I’m ready for it.  But I still have to mourn a bit for a piece of pop culture that really entertained me and which is now over.  And having said that, HERE BE SPOILERS ABOUT THE END OF HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I just have to talk about some of the stuff that happened!

• So the theories about the mother (whose name was Tracy!) were true….it was heartbreaking to get that brief moment of seeing the mother sick and then getting confirmation that she did die.  I was reading a few articles and comments about the finale before writing this, and while I can understand people’s frustrations with that, especially the coda to it all, I still liked it and understood that it still was an ending I’m on board with
• Aunt Robin looks to become Stepmom Robin.  I always liked Robin and Ted together, and I think with there now being 20 years or so since they were together and with life and maturity hitting them, they’ll probably be a good pair.
• Barney and Robin’s divorce was sad.  Not totally unexpected, but still sad.  It felt so quick, but of course it did take place 3 years into the future after their wedding, but for us the viewers, it felt abrupt.
• Barney’s reaction to having a baby with #31 (that really felt wrong to not have some kind of person assigned to that – I was hoping it would be Quinn) was really emotional, although after that point and at Ted and Tracy’s wedding, we don’t see much more of Barney.  I guess we assume all goes well?
• I liked that there was a scene with the kids that was clearly filmed at what must have been some time around the 1st or 2nd season, seemingly locking the Robin story in a long time ago.  It’s possible and likely other scenarios were filmed but honestly, I’m good with this being the way it went.
• Lily and Robin’s goodbye at the Apartment Farewell had me bawling.  That felt so true about that point in your life when your friends all move on with their lives.   There is a point where “the gang” is no longer the gang.

So that’s the end of How I Met Your Mother.  I couldn’t bear to watch the new show premiering after it as it just looked fucking terrible.  So it’s a night of listening to music and writing.  I’m good with that.  I’m excited about the next chapter.