Ok, the two quotes I was paraphrasing yesterday are:
I was torn between being sad that they killed off Tracy and happy that Ted and Robin got back together. I can’t say enough good things about the writers, this I believe will be remembered as one of the best written soapcoms ever. As skilled as the writers were, I wish they had spent an eppy showing some of the Ted/Tracy moments of their lives together- births of their kids would have been nice. And an episode of Tracy dies would have been memorable. Maybe some time with Barney and seeing Ellie grow up.
All that said, the show gave us 9 strong years, then topped it by introducing us to an incredible talent- Cristin Milioti. Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, the girl has great screen presence. I want to buy stock in her- it would skyrocket.
… “incredible talent”?
I’m with you here. She’s definitely charming and funny, but her screen time in HIMYM didn’t really require much more than that out of her.
Not to keep beating this horse, but extending things so that we actually got to see her have a marriage with Ted (even just highlights of a marriage), and conversations other than easy banter (maybe an argument?), would have told us a lot more about whether or not she’s an incredible talent.
She made a spectacular MacGuffin, though.
I think so. I’m not a talent scout by any means, but to me, she has star written all over her. I see some Emmys and Oscars on her mantle in the future.
Plus, she’s already got the Grammy, and a Tony nomination, which is a pretty terrific start for someone who’s only in her twenties.
I don’t agree with your other points - but I can see them.
But on this one - the whole point is that Ted/Tracy are each others One. They’re supposed to have more chemistry than Ted with anyone - even Robin. Robin really is the rebound/consolation prize here.
Both of them had their real loves, and now are moving on to their next stage.
This is probably the first time in history a series finale has been criticized because it introduced a character who turned out to be popular.
Probably! 
I retract none of my criticisms of the last episode (or last season), but you probably have a point.
She’s a reverse Oliver.
I think that’s my biggest disappointment. Tracy and Ted clicked. Barney and Robin did, too.
I also understand why they ended like they had. They shot the final conversation with the kids at the end of season two, when they thought Ted and Robin was the way to go. I remember reading an article at that time saying how disappointed the writers were that they were going to have to break up Ted and Robin because they had already established that Robin wasn’t The Mother.
I just wish they had not painted themselves into that corner seven years ago.
They didn’t. They filmed multiple versions with the kids. And if they wanted, they could have abandoned that footage anyway. Regardless, it’s their show, their decision - and I still like the ending.
I have seen the ending defended in various places by saying, essentially, “it’s the creators’ show, they could do what they want with it.” well, so what? How is that a point at all? I still have a right to my opinion (hate it) as do those who disagree with me. If creators don’t want a discussion of their work, then they should keep it in their basement.
Well, I’m bumping this because I just finished season 9 on Amazon, and have some thoughts to add. After reading this thread, I agree with many of the people’s reactions-- both the people on the “love” side and those on the “hate” side. After my wife and I burned through the final four episodes last night, we both felt like it was just “off.”
After reading this thread, and thinking about it a bit, I think the story was fine, but like others have said, the execution was shitty. Here’s how I would have done it differently:
The final season was basically a gimmick-- 20-odd episodes covering one wedding weekend. Then ten minutes after the wedding, Barney and Robin are divorced. I was like “What?! Fuck that!” It wasn’t so much that they *got *divorced, but that the writers just shit on us after having us become completely invested in the Robin-Barney thing for 20 episodes only to say, “Oh never mind, just kidding.”
In my re-write, my season 9 gimmick would be to have the season premiere be a two-parter consisting of the wedding and Ted’s titular meeting of Tracey, concluding with Ted’s line “And that, kids is how I met your mother.” Basically, close the first episode with the alternate ending. Then the remaining 20-odd episodes of the season would be an epilogue (there’s my gimmick). Each episode would cover a different year-- then we get to experience Robin and Barney’s struggles, divorce and aftermath (not rushed); Ted’s and Tracey’s birth of their kids, wedding and life together (gives us a glimpse at how perfect they are together); Tracey’s diagnosis and death (not glossed over, gives us the audience some closure); and finally a little of Ted’s life without Tracey (to make us appreciate Ted’s and the kids’ motivation for him going back after Robin).
Then the series finale: Cut back to Ted saying “And that, kids, is how I met your mother.” Then the camera goes to the kids on the couch saying "Dad, this has been the story about you being in love with Aunt Robin, etc. The rest of the episode is about Ted tracking her down and the two of them reconnecting. Will they become an item after all these years? Maybe, maybe not. And scene. Blue horn optional.
Basically, they shouldn’t have spread out the wedding weekend so much, and then rushed through Ted’s and Tracey’s life together. They should have done one (or two) episodes of the wedding weekend, and then done a season-long look into Ted’s (and the gang’s) life after meeting The Mother. A season-long epilogue. They could’ve even had episodes dedicated to fleshing out the other characters’ lives in the ensuing years (Marshall’s run for office, Robin’s globetrotting and love life, Barney’s fatherhood, etc).
What are people’s thoughts? Does this execution make things at all better?
No, not really. It still contains elements of the actual ending, and is therefore awful.
HIMYM’s final season was well-wrought, Happy, on a technical level. The problem wasn’t the execution; it was the very concept if Ted ending up with Robin (and thus, necessarily, Robin and Barney divorcing). To fix that, just end with Ted and Tracy at the train station. Adding the gimmick of Tracy dying and the Eros dd machina of Robin and Ted getting together is what makes people feel jerked around.
ETA: I’ll grant that having Ted be eaten by a fire-drake would also have worked.
So are you guys just against any whiff of Ted and Robin ending up together, even if it’s presented with a greater degree of context as a post-script to the “HIMYM” story?
Tobin was old before they ended it in whatever season that was. Then they spent a season or more having Ted get over her in that way, then smooshing Bobbin together, then pulling them apart just to smoosh Tobin back together…too much.
I am against any whiff of it that reads as though the writers stuffed it in at the end. I am not opposed to Ted and Robin ending up together on principle.
There was plenty of context. In retrospect you can see how they laid the groundwork. But as you yourself pointed out, they spent over a year setting up Barney and Robin, and then undercutting that as they did made many viewers feel fucked with. And not in the good, horny Lily Aldrin way, either.