I’ve read that the ending was disliked by fans, but I can’t figure out why exactly. I don’t know much about the show – I’ve seen maybe 6 random episodes – but I gather that …
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There was some sort of kids’ reaction filmed way back in season 2 that was somewhat relevant. The mother was introduced at the end of the penultimate season, and then another season was “tacked on” to show Ted spending time with her and having kids, and then she died and Ted ended up with Robin, who divorced from Barney but all the fans wanted to see her and Ted end up together anyway.
So correct my misinformation and then, in a nutshell, explain what was so disappointing about that. I’ve no interest in watching the show. Thanks.
It’s disappointing because after all that they shouldn’t have been together. They were together to begin with, they weren’t right for each other and, frankly, they’re just going to date for a year or so and break up again. Basically, we watched the show for 8 years to watch it cycle back around to the beginning.
To make it ‘worth it’ the writers, after all that time we invested in the show, shouldn’t have killed off The Mother. Ted should have found the one he’s been looking for after the parade of sluts and he should have finally been allowed to be happy for the rest of his days.
And the thing about the kids is that because they filmed their reactions so long ago it goes to show that the writers were planning this from day 1, it’s not like they just recently decided how to end the show, it was always going to be this way.
BTW, having Bob Saget do the narration was a bit of an inside joke. On Full house he was a widower which is what Ted ended up being. They said that was supposed to be a bit of foreshadowing (but I think it was just coincidence).
Bob Saget was doing the narration from the very first episode. I very much doubt that the writers always intended to make Ted a widower. And as for the scenes in the final episode with the kids, I assume that they filmed various endings, just to give themselves flexibility.
According to interviews, no. They only shot the one ending. (They’re claiming that they can cut it different ways and plan to release an alternate edit using the same film in the full series DVD release. But they only shot one final scene.)
To the OP, there were several tv writers & bloggers who have written long, detailed essays on what sucked about the finale. hereareafew.
I actually think that was kind of the problem. The ending they planned out probably would’ve been more satisfying if the show had only gone for five or six seasons. But since the show kept getting renewed, and they were locked into more or less a set storyline, stuff like the love triangle, Ted’s endless series of doomed relationships and the Mother as his Woman of Destiny just kept getting rehashed over and over again.
So when the finale basically hit the reset button on all of those things yet again, it didn’t work at all.
I personally loved the ending, having watched every single episode of the show. So did my boyfriend. So did my sister, who also watched every single episode. Lots of people loved the ending. Of course, the media loves a controversy so they play up how much everyone who hated it, hated it. But there were many diehard fans like myself who thought the ending was absolutely brilliant.
To sum up the entire series: A show runs for nine seasons, runs out of original ideas in three and the gives the bird to the entire viewing audience with a contrived ending so bad that would have been rejected by 1960s television producers.
The ending makes the title of the series meaningless as the eponymous **Mother **was , at best, a side character in the entire series and the writers seem to have known that from go. By introducing her last season and then barely making her fit into the ensemble cast, her death (SPOILER) when it comes is of no great importance or interest.