I agree whole heartedly. It's oddly more cathartic this way with the final slap being anticlimactic. It wouldn't have as much gravitas if they tried to go big and dramatic with the final one after such a dramatic buildup of the previous slap episode. This works out really well and I think they did a good job on the slap arc conclusion.
They spent the first 5 seasons convincing us that ted and robin don't work. Spent four seasons convincing us why Barney and Robin work. They spent one episode telling us to forget all that, Ted and Robin.
Back in season 5 they told us they wouldn't work as a couple and they stuck to it. I'm just annoyed they spent the final few seasons selling us on them being the end game
I agree, but I also tell myself that it will work this time because they're past the stage of having children together. Robin got to travel and do what she always wanted. Ted got to have his two children, a boy and a girl, like he always wanted. They're still friends after all this time so they may as well give it another try now that they've achieved the things they wanted outside of their relationship.
Idk, I think the final actual last slap being anticlimactic and used as utility to calm Barney's nerves after such a big dramatic buildup of the previous slap episode feels oddlly cathartic and satisfying this way. In weird way I'd almost find it unsatisfying if they *tried* to go big and dramatic on the last one. I like the conclusion to the final slap. The.. slapsclusion slapnale
Me too me too! I love the Chinese aesthetic. I see it as an homage and not offensive at all. I Love when the little boy says, "The Slap of ten thousand suns." Great image and sonorous and delightfully over the top. I love "okay, I'll totally do it." Nora's reaction implying Barney's got submissive kinks, and I LOVE How Fast Robin is. And then Marshall too.
That’s one of my favorite episodes. The exaggerated story , the plot point of did Barney plan it from the get go or not, I loved it. I loved seeing how Barney is willing to go through what he did to get what he wants. I love the homage to kung fu movies as well.
i think people don t like it because its a little over the top and exagerated comedy, and i admit the first two slapsgiving episodes are better, but this episode its definitely not the worst episode the worst episode of the show its the last two episodes especialy the last episode
I mostly love the Slap Bet. When showing the show to my husband, it was one of my anticipated things for him to see. 😂 The psychological torture and horror of it is awesome. I love Barney over a barrel.
The fact that HIMYM did the impossible of sticking the landing with revealing the perfect mother and spent 9 seasons of character development and laying out why Ted/Robin do not work at all and Barney/Robin are perfect together to unravel that all in the span of one episode is one of the most baffling decisions I’ve ever seen. I genuinely can’t go back to the show because of that finale, just tainted everything else for me. Like s9 was bad, but if they ended the finale how they should’ve it would’ve been like “not great, but as good of an ending as we could expect” but instead they gave us one of the worst, least satisfying finales I’ve ever witnessed. I’ll never understand.
Omg, same. It’s like they ruined the show’s potential to live on for the fans. No one wants to pay for the HIMYM box set when they see the show just developed these stories to keep it going and not to make the character reach any kind of satisfactory ending. No is clamoring for the reboot, I see it in syndication and won’t watch it because, bleh.
It actually very simple. The show ending was written since ss1, everything was caculated, each ss finale leading to the next everything should be great. But the turning point is that CBS did himym dirty, originary the show is going to have 10ss and they cut it short. So craig and carter have 2 choice, went with different ending or force it. You can guess what they choose
The show should have only lasted 5 seasons with a clear goal of where it was going. Too many failed relationships with Ted. It started to become monotonous, but I loved the characters and wanted to spend time with them regardless. In the end they were our friends too.
It was the first full show I watched after moving out to live on my own. And the series I always had on in the background while studying. It will always have a special place in my heart :)
They could've made the 9 season run work had they not gone back to Robin and Ted all the time. We've moved on by season 7 at most (others moved on earlier). And we fell in love with Tracy. She should've been a regular in season 9.
The finale is the worst. Not even close. They literally created a whole season just focused in the relationship of Barney and Robin, and a whole series based on Ted searching the mother, then threw everything in 30 minutes. Just because the writers were not brave enough to change the original plan. That ending would be perfect for the season 1 and 2 characters, but by the time it reached the finale, the characters had revolved much beyond what they portrait in the last episode. It felt incredibly out of place for all the characters. Awful writing.
A buddy of mine summed it up best imo: "The Final Season turned the show from How I Met Your Mother to How I Met A Womb To Impregnate And Now Wanna Bone Your Aunt"
Freaking well said. And what I hated the most is that they had to kill the Mother so that the last season could happen. If it ended in a happy ending for everyone (Ted and Mother/Barney and Robin), they could have played it as if the Mother was just doing groceries or something... No need for her to die
I think the worst part is that they almost did it. They managed to find someone to meet the high expectations we built up over the nine seasons, then they screwed it up. They managed to find a satisfying resolution to Barney and Robin's relationship, then they threw it away for no reason other than to have Robin single for Ted. And because they realized that Barney's character was back to square one, they did a stupid half-assed storyline about him suddenly turning into a good guy after becoming a dad, just to give him some character growth. They really shot themselves in the foot a few inches away fron the finish line. I don't think the writers were not brave enough to change the ending, I think they were simply too stubborn.
I also disagree. The slap bet is a good time, and that episode genuinely made me laugh in a season that was too jumbled with stuff and cringe. I'm just going to point at Robin being hoisted upward set to a Bangles song that I can't listen to anymore, and I'm going o walk away.
Yes, the Slapsgiving 3 episode is absolutely ridiculous nonsense but I LOVED it. Despite how "out there" the episode may be, it still feels very in-character for Barney to be obsessed with the next slap while Marshall and Co. mess with him the whole time. The finale though? Now, THAT is an episode that just upends everything the show has built up towards to and thus, deserves the title "Worst Episode of HIMYM" ):
The final slap being used in the hope to benefit Barney is both natural & sweet. Also the 2nd to last being so extravagante is great, especially when Marshall reminds Barney (& the viewer) there's still another 1 to come. All with the goal of causing anxiety within Barney, cause it could only mean the final one will be even more painful. & then it being used as a good deed hit's even harder...honestly that pun wasn't intended.
I actually liked this episode. It felt pretty cartoonish, shows Marshall's creative side, and I think the writers were just giving us a wacky episode before addressing Marshall and Lily, a calm before the storm.
The last season didn’t need to be set as one wedding weekend extended out for 24 episodes the could’ve done what friends did do a regular season and have the wedding be closer to the end of the season and then do the final and have preparations for it mixed in throughout the season cause the seasons where lily is pregnant they didn’t halt the show to make pregnant lily the centerpiece of the season they just went on with the showin the finale season they pretty much halted the show to do and unnecessary extend look at robin and Barney’s wedding weekend then tell us in the 2 part finale the marriage didn’t work out anyway making the whole season pointless
Having 22 episodes around a wedding then having those characters get divorced 10 minutes into the next episode might be the biggest slap in the face to an audience ever
The finale was far and away the worst. Writing out the mother and wasting the talents of Cristin Milioti in favor of Ted ending up with Robin via divorce with Barney was just boneheaded. Even GoT's finale wasn't nearly as bad as HIMYMs.
The slap of a thousand exploding suns is one of my favourite episodes, Marshal slapped Burney at the end with boys to men signing in the background. I loved that episode 😭😭😅
Truthfully, I absolutely loved that episode, and it’s for the exact same reason others might not, it’s just comedy, no story, no advancement, no character development, just pure comedy, and it was incredibly funny, because up until that point the show’s really gotten grounded, the choice of relatable drama(unlike friends for example) was imo really appreciated, and it was more appreciated when the writers decide to give the viewers a break from it, I loved it, Marshal spends a year learning to harness the power of the slap of a thousand exploding suns, why not, they just doubled down on the joke so hard that it’s not funny anymore, to the point it’s gotten way too ridiculous it’s actually funny again, everything needs to take a break from time to time, establishing something so meaningless it actually become meaningful.
Yes, the slap bet (one of the iconic storylines of the show) is what kicked off the downfall of the show, and not the finale that complete undid 8 or so seasons of storytelling, the sudden death of the kids real mother (a beloved character), or the inconsistent relationship characterization.
Clues doesn't make storytelling good.. A good structure, with consistent set up and pay off does that. HIMYM, stalled it's story telling several times, as early as season 2 and 3, because it was in doubt that the show would even get renewed for another season. So rather than believing in their story and focusing on telling it how they actually wanted, the writers constantly tried to build in a safety net to have a way to end the story, in case the show got cancelled. Think back to all the times Ted and Robin's relationship was abruptly brought up again suddenly. Early in the show it wasn't that bad. In the last 4-5 seasons, it became more and more ridiculous and it hurt the show as a whole. And don't get me wrong i loved the show, especially the first 3 seasons. But i can also recognize that it had plenty of flaws
Sudden death? It wasn’t clues that she was dead. Hell, the Time Travelers episode may as well have written on a cinder block “THE MOTHER DIES” and whacked you repeatedly in the head with it
The original Slapsgiving, sure, but this final slap episode was offensive & unnecessary. They wasted time on Marshal's training that could've shown other characters doing other things for this timeline.
This is a rare occasion I have to disagree. Slap bet is one of my favorite running gags. I honestly don't hate the last season either. It wasn't great but I still enjoy it. I must be in the minority on this.
The last season is fun, but the last episode is why people hate it so much. I agree the last episode is downright terrible but the last season cutting out the last episode is really an homage to the rest of the series.
I like to think that the slap was essentially the last reminder of Barney's old life prior to marriage. Pushing him towards the next step in life no matter how temporary it was for Barney
Unpopular opinion: I didn't hate the ending of HIMYM. The story was always about Robin from the very beginning, and they filmed the kid's reactions for the finale in S1 in case it didn't pick up. My problem with the finale was the focus on Barney and Robin for 4 seasons. Sure, Barney and Robin could have tried it out and it not work and then they could have moved on and refocused on Ted. However they didn't. I don't know why, I presume it had to do with viewer response to the two characters, but the fact that it never stopped focusing on them got to a point where the ending seemed unsatisfactory to most. The original ending could have worked. The way that it was implemented didn't allow for it
I think the biggest problem is that they developed Ted and Robin so much individually that they couldn't convince us of how and why they would still work together. Along with that they essentially rendered Tracy as a footnote for allowing Ted to have his kids while being with Robin, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I have to disagree, the worst one is where Lily admitted to sabotaging Ted's relationships. 😑 She used to be so likable before that. That's why Marshall was the best character imo he's a bro.
I’m pretty sure the worst episode is the one where they completely undid 4 years of character development and having Barney and robin divorce in 2 minutes after an entire season dedicated to their wedding but to each their own.
The over-the-top nature of the episode is the best part. Also, I don't hate the finale like I did when I was younger. As mentioned here, the absurdity of telling your kids a story across nine seasons makes more sense when it's not about the mom at all. But also, the absurdity is also the funny part
They'd been foreshadowing Tracy's death since at least Stella, when, in the hypothetical present Ted is telling his (blonde) children the story and Stella comes out at the end (as opposed to the never seen mother). Moreover, the importance of Love in the Time of Cholera isn't just a cool character point for Ted; their plot structures mirror each other significantly. At the end of both, the main character's spouse dies and they rereturn to their "one who got away." They also share key motifs and symbols (particularly the color yellow)
I remember watching it as it came out. The thing people seem to forget is that throughout its TV run people were theorizing that the mother was dead. It was something the blogosphere chattered about at length. To me the mother's death was kind of a forgone conclusion. So though it hurt to see Tracy die, it wasn't a complete unforseen event. Someone in the comments mentioned that these were our friends. I think that is apt. By the end of the series I was just happy to spend 30 more mins with my 5 best pals of the past decade. I think they could have done more with the final season but when you remember that Jason Segel didn't want to be in the ninth season at all it kind of makes you realize that him missing from the group is really what felt off. Marshall was the heart of the group. With him missing the shenanigans seemed to fall flat. Also I feel like that last night with Robin that Ted had in episode 17 should have been with Marshall and Ted. With Marshall finally giving him the harsh truth that he had to let Robin go. Seeing him have the conversation with what I have to assume was a ghost? (I still don't know when real Robin left the beach.) Seeing Ted have that conversation gave the show something that it had largely avoided; surrealism. There were moments that were surreal but they always came home with a solid connection to the grounded characters of the show. That scene literally ended with Robin floating away... The reason I loved the ending was because their story never really ended. Ted and Robin were unfinished. The series hinted at it many times. "I really hope you get her." "Not yet." "It's called Love..." Ted made it clear that even him as the narrator of the story was dropping hints at how much Robin was his dream girl. That is not to say he didn't love Tracy. He absolutely loved her, but she passed away. Life happened, the show was always good at letting life happen throughout the decade we watched the gang. People were born, people died. HIMYM let life happen around the gang. We could have maybe been better serviced with a couple of episodes at the end showing Tracy's decline and passing but even that feels a little too morbid for what is meant to be a comedic show. The passion the audience feels only solidifies that the Carter Bays and Craig Thomas did a phenomenal job in making us care about what are obstensibly fictional characters. (A case could be made for the reality of a character being a byproduct of how it's manifestation affects the emotions of a sentient being. Looking at you religion.) I digress. I guess I was happy to know that Ted wasn't going to be alone. Because the thought of him being a widow for the rest of his life is not the ending I wanted for one of my good friends. Just my 2 pennies. If you read this whole thing Mazel Tov.
Watching the show, I had a feeling that something was up with Marshall not being that much in season 9. I thought maybe he was filming a movie. Do you know why he didn't want to be in season 9 or what made him come back for the last episodes?
@@ColorsBright so from what I found online he just wanted to work on other projects. Not the first time they've done that. While he was shooting forgetting Sarah Marshall he would work on that during the day and then film how I met your mother at night.
Love your point of view on the writing and I completely resonate with it. I am tired of convincing my friends on why I think the writers did what they did and why it made sense at some level. Only thing is they might not have expected Cristin Millioti to hit it out of the park spectacularly in such a short time and become an instant fan favuorite
I like your statement as a whole but the part that I don't necessarily agree with is showing a couple of episodes of the mother dying. Not necessarily because it's morbid (although it is) but because it would be really weird to have an 11 year time skip and two whole episodes taking place 6 years in the future of the time of broadcast. Flash forwards were great in the show as brief bits but I don't know if the show could've handled so much of it.
@@HyouVizer and then when she got with Ted they killed her off so quickly and threw all her meaning away because they wanted to shove the shitty Robin on everyone
There will never be anything worse in HIMYM than the ending. I am still baffled to this day how anyone could have been dumb enough to let that trash go to air. "Hey, won't this ending go against everything we've established over the last 9 years and retroactively ruin literally the entire show?" "Well what are we supposed to do? Air the alternate ending that makes sense and that people would like and which we already shot? Nah, better to stick with a half-baked idea that seemed good to some hacky writer 10 years ago."
If your audience stayed with you for 9 seasons they deserve to get what they want and have been expecting. It also ensures that the fans will keep talking about it, rewatching it and hyping it up for new viewers to come. HIMYM writers failed at this spectacularly and while there are some people who are defending the final, most hate it. And the fact that this is the main thing that is discussed about the sitcom in the first place is a tragedy on its own.
I will say that the finale had potential, but was executed in the worst way possibly. Maybe if the writers were focus on the wedding for 3 episodes tops and then tell us about ted and tracy's life together until her death, then it will be a better pill to swallow, but what we got was really a "congratulations, you wasted your time" ending.
How I Met Your Mother’s ending was worse because they undid nine years of character development in like 10 minutes. Yes Game of Thrones has problems, but if you actually think about it some of the characters did have endings that matched their growth. Arya’s and going west is something I can totally see her doing. What happened with Daenerys was predictable, and I think it goes in character with her family heritage, but the writers did a poor job presenting it and executing it. That’s why I think it turned out really sloppy.
I used how I met your mother to get my first girlfriend and the relationship lasted nearly 2 years. Way way back in grade nine when I met this girl she told me how much she liked the show so I watched it all the way through and we "dated" for a couple months, but it was also grade nine so it wasn't really dating, we were just kids. Anyways, after the grade 9 fling which ended pretty fast, we were just really good friends, for more then 2 years. Eventually I started to fall pretty hard for her again, and I took a lot of inspiration from Ted Mosby. Every once in a while I'd do some crazy romantic gesture. Eventually right before covid came around in January of 2020 we started hanging out a lot and she would warm right up to me but I was always super nervous and I remember one night, she cuddles up next to me when watching a movie and made it pretty obvious she was interested in going further with our feelings. When I left I didn't kiss her, I just nervously left to my car but before I got there, I started having a sappy movie moment and was able to convince myself to run back in there and just kiss her and it was a huge moment in my life. We then dated for 2 years, pretty much during the whole pandemic and for the most part it was a good time. Eventually she moved to the other side of the country whilst begging to do long distance, slept with another dude the next night, and just dropped me. Kind of. Every once in a while she'd call to talk about life but one day I just had enough and flipped my shit and I haven't talked to her since. Now I know Ted Mosby is actually a bit of a manipulative creep and will no longer follow in his footsteps. But I do have to thank the she show for showing me the way into a cute girls heart and giving me some okay sex for 2 years and and a broken heart. Well, a temporary broken heart. That was a while ago, stevo is all good now.
Ted's not a creep he has creepy moments in the show yes but he is always punished for them like in the saints Patricks day episode the actual problem "and the show talks about this all the time" is the game and by that I obviously mean the dating it has so many rules that end up hurting people.
There are so many things wrong with the choices in this show when you stop and think about it 1. Lilly is a HORRIBLE person that never deserved someone like Marshall and there are tons of examples as to why 2. Ted is terrible because of how he pursues a lot of women and is willing to go against his friends for women he barely knows as well as willing to screw women over for other women he likes (Victoria for example) 3. The show deciding to spend 9 seasons building up to the mother only to kill her off in the end is one of the most baffling decisions I’ve ever seen because it made the build up completely pointless 4. The decision of Ted ending up with Robin despite showing why they weren’t a good match was just another terrible choice and it also made the build up pointless
I loved this show, from start to finish. It has some flaws, more at the end of the series than the beginning but I love it all. And all Slap bet episodes are great imho.
slapsgiving is iconic! i agree that the final season was all over the place and make it a point to leave it out when i'm feeling "nerdstalgic", but the slap bet and all the thanksgiving episodes are fire
In my opinion, I liked the ending I think Robin and Ted were always destined for each other. Some might think this is unfair or that the mother deserved better but she got more than enough, if she hadn't passed away Ted would still love her and be with her and this is obvious but what's really obvious is the fact that they were basically telling the story about Ted a Robin the mother is shown in just a few of the last episodes and yes Ted got what he wanted but maybe what the writers wanted to tell us is that sometimes you can achieve what you really want but it may not last forever and Ted realized this by what his kids said. He did still have feelings for Robin and both of them were single at that point so the real question is, why not? Also watch the episode "time travelers" the ending supports my opinion.
No, this wasn’t the worst episode. It’s one of the worst in the final season though. There’s a lot more that are Far more terrible ones. Put a really old culminates down to Those final two seasons season, eight be nothing but a padding season. And season nine a complete waste of energy and then stuffing an entire seasons worth episodes into the last 30 minutes of an finale. Just to have Ted end up with Robin again, even though everybody knows, and even the shows been telling us for years, they don’t work together as a couple and they never will. I for me, this was like the worst television Finale until Game of Thrones. And years later, I’ve never gone back to how I Met your mother. I really have no desire to go back anymore. That’s how bad it was.
I get why people didn't like it but i actually don't mind it. It's nice that the show went full crazy and dumb for one episode, there are worst episodes that are just blend or forgettable. At least wer'e still talking about this one.
I would really love it if Hollywood stopped seeing "subverting expectation" as some sort of automatic measure of quality. It's something that should only be done if the story justifies it and if it benefits the story in some ways. There is nothing wrong with a TV show or movie reaching a natural conclusion point. When almost every show or movie si subverting expectations, it's become so common place that the audience begins to expect it and then it's no longer "subverting" anything.
Nahh you bugging, me and my bro loved the slap bet running for ages 😅 too funny. The last season, especially the last episode will forever be the worse episode
To Be Honest If Leave Aside 9th Season , Himym Had Some Of The Smartest Writers In The Sitcom History ,But What The Writers Was Thinking During 9th Season And Who Approved Those Scripts Especially For Last Two Episodes Only God Knows , Otherwise It Would Have Been One Of Greatest Shows Of All Time
I actually got excited that it became an integral element to the overall story. Especially with Barney's wedding, even though that marriage ended the way it did... but yeah padding out the slap a bit more was a dumb idea. It still should've stayed five total slaps over the years and used a bit more sparingly. AND that episode exaggerating Marshall's training for the final slap was over committing to a gag to its worst degree.
Seriously? I LOVE this episode!!!! I know it's got its detractors, but, to me, it's all loads of fun and a fun throwback to old kung-fu movies. What's not to love?
Personally, I actually really like the slapsgiving finale. You absolutely make valid arguments against it. But in the end, to me it's just a very entertaining episode, even if it doesn't progress the general story.
Totally wrong. Not the worst episode whatsoever. Actually it's one of the episodes I always come back to whenever I feel like watching just one or two episodes.
The criticism of season 9 and this episode are warranted. This show really shouldn't have made it beyond season 4 or so. If it ended there, the ending would have been a lot more satisfying as 9 seasons made the show outgrow the original ending idea. After 9 seasons of the relationships and the teases with Robin that literally had to fail as per the title of the show, the best ending and catharsis for the audience was just to meet the mother.
@@joshuasteward6097 Which is the problem. The show did too much will-they-won't-they with Ted and Robin when we know that they won't. The show came out and said "this story is about how I became the person I needed to be to meet your mother" and part of that could have been Ted realizing that he needed to let go of his security-blanket feelings for Robin to have a successful relationship. The weird part is they did that in one of the last episodes, and he meets the mother. Instead they wanted the show to be "How I Settled for Your Mother."
i hated the whole last season, the pacing was terrible, having it all occur in the week of the wedding made it boring. A movie length "finale" would have worked better
I always thought that they planned to have the final slap be the one at the altar but then realized they still had two left, and didn't want to have two slaps used in throwaway jokes in the final season - this episode wasn't a great solution, but I do think it was planned after they planned the altar slap. And I definitely thought this episode was going to be about the unintentional racism of this episode (which the writers have since apologized for)!
@@NattyBurz Some credit to the creators, I remembered seeing a statement, but I had forgotten they put it out literally the week the episode aired. I found it to save anyone else curious having to google it: "With Monday’s episode, we set out to make a silly and unabashedly immature homage to Kung Fu movies, a genre we’ve always loved. But along the way we offended people. We’re deeply sorry, and we’re grateful to everyone who spoke up to make us aware of it. We try to make a show that’s universal, that anyone can watch and enjoy. We fell short of that this week, and feel terrible about it. To everyone we offended, I hope we can regain your friendship, and end this series on a note of goodwill. Thanks."
@@Izzy-Maurer seriously??... They apologized for this?? That alone is absolutely ridiculous... They are making fun of king fu movies. It's so obvious , this is why we can't have nice things in this world anymore , for dumb shit like this.
Let's face it, the only horrible part of HIMYM is the original ending. It made NO sense whatsoever. Robin and Ted stopped working as a couple after season 3. Robin and Barney are the real will-they-won't-they in the show. They should've stayed together and Ted with Tracy. Definitely one of the worst finales in the history of sitcoms.
Ok I didn’t like how Tracey died off screen BUT let’s face it. If your wife (who your kids seem to adore) is NOT there to tell of their first meeting of you (the father) it more then likely she is dead or she left you. Just saying the premise was kinda there “something” happened to the mother from then very first season.
I disagree this wasn't the worst episode, the finale was. Friends has already done the will they won't they for 10 seasons. HIMYM could've shown us that you can be after the wrong person for years, but if it's not meant to be trust that someone BETTER will come along. I don't care if they had already shot the scene for the final episode with the kids, even if they were older, once you find the PERFECT mom you call them back and reshoot that scene.
I loved it. The finale gave to the story a structure, we all asked ourselves why the mother was barely in the story. I felt compelled to see HIMYM again knowing the ending.
I liked the ending. Having it end with just Ted finding his one true love would have been predictable and revealing Future Ted was telling the story to ask his kids if it would be ok to date Robin again was less predictable. It also explains why Ted's story begins with the day he met Robin and why he needed to explain all that extra stuff.
Was anyone else ever annoyed that Marshall in the slap bet episode not only slapped Barney prematurely but tried to lie about it and was only punished with 3 quick slaps but when Barney did it his punishment was either 10 quick slaps or 5 over eternity.
I didn't like how they rushed it after dragging out like two days for the rest of the season but him ending up with Robin was brilliant and it was emotional
I find that charm of this show is that it continually broke narrative rules and it didn’t give satisfactory resolution to how Ted med his kids’ mother.
Unpopular opinion, the ending to this show makes more sense if you binge the series. This show feels more like real life than a sitcom. Ted getting back with Robin is real and true. In real life, you have character development but it’s always important to acknowledge your true self, the unchanging self. Ted and Robin were always meant to be together. He was in love with her all the way up until the last episode, Ted is planning to move to Chicago because of this sole fact. The show was about Ted’s love for Robin.
l think this review largely exaggerated the disappointment and overlooked what the show is about. in the review, it has a very arrow perspective that excluded the friendship of the cast as well as many life lessons, character developments and stories, while only focus on the love life of ted as well as a stupid running joke (slap bet). how l met ur mother is mainly not about the "mother", the misunderstanding title is always a arguing point for people who watch the show and felt dissatisfied. how l met ur mother is a show about friendship, relationships and life lessons, which a lot of people fell victim to presume that its mostly about the love life of the protagonist ted and the mysterious mother, but in fact u are focusing on the wrong place. in the series, if u give more thoughts to the whole structure of the show, it is obvious that ted's romance with tracy(the mother) is not the main focus of the show as it only consist of 1 of 9 seasons. during the 8 seasons before ted officially met the mother, it is a series of misfortunes and fortunates in his life as well as his friend's life, which includes different encounters of lovers, conflicts between best friends as well as couples and different choices no matter good and bad. through the bitters and sweets of different events, the series goal is to provide a relatable, hilarious, dramatic, melancholic, eye catching plot that is a fruitful life, while the romance between tracy and ted is just a small portion that is the end goal of his suffer, which encourages viewers to keep searching for "the one" as he/ she is worth the search. at the same time, the ones that are truely irreplaceable, that provides invaluable support and share the happiness along the way are the good friends that walk besides u in this long and dreadful while also glamorous and joyful life, which is the lesson for ted- love is not everything in life. the characters and their encounters in the show all show us different perspectives of life. barney is the one that try his best to make his life as "legen- dary" as possible by giving his best to every possible opportunity to make things memorable and fruitful, no matter it look stupid or embarrassing. hence he is the spotlight of the group. Marshall and lily are the couple that wants stability in life while tries to make life not to stall as to become boring, at the same time they face conflicts between the maturity demanded from them and their inner child. their struggles can be seen in many occasions, including how they raise their child, dealing with debts, buying a house, dealing with family members, career vs intimate relationship... ted is the one of rationality and emotion, which tear him up in many encounters in life, no matter love life, friendship and worklife. the self doubt, failures, heartbreaks, stupid mistakes and rash decisions, they all stem from his struggle in following his heart or his brain. while during his journey, no matter how many times he stumbled and fall, he always stand back up. look back from the mountain peak he dreamt of, we can see the numerous sparkles of joy and accomplishments he achieved, with his friends. that is the true treasure of this show, and why it is one of the best sitcom ever.
This is the most painful filler episode ever and I'm glad you said it. The quality of the humor decreased noticeably towards the end but that was such a low point for me that I'll just skip it when I rewatch the show. Luckily, two episodes later we were blessed with possibly the best episode of the latter seasons, "How Your Mother Met Me".
The only flawed I have about Slap Bet is how its kinda unfair that Marshall always have the upper hand (no pun intended) against Barney bcs Lilly a.k.a his wife is the Slap Bet Committee... Marshall has so many privileges across the series bcs Lilly keep allowing his rules that put Barney in the corner most of the time
I am a longtime fan. Saw the pilot on eztv back when i would still borrow tv episodes off the internet. So, yea. I don't think i skipped a single episode. There were arcs i liked, like Victoria, Elliot Reed and Zoey/the Captain and arcs I hated Barney and Robin mostly and Lilly fleeing to SF. Having said all that, i hated the final season but i loved the season final.
I too hated Barney and Robin! Barney doesn't show enough change to really make an impact on me. I think he's just as slimy at the beginning as the end.
I'm tired of all the complaints about the ending. If you rewatch the show knowing the ending, you can actually see that they were building up to the Ted/Robin ending the entire time. It had been planned the entire time. What wasn't planned was the Barney/Robin relationship and how attached to that couple fans would be because of the chemistry between Niel Patrick Haris and Cobie Smulders
My dude NPH is gay. There’s no chemistry between Cobie is him. They were just friends. Meanwhile, Ted and Robin had so many episodes for an arc of him finally letting her go. That was a huge episode. Then in the finale they just pretended that never happened.
I didn't like this episode, but the final slap being used as Barney was getting cold feet at the altar was the perfect end to the slap bet.
100%, taking this long-running gag and ending it on a sentimental note like that was really touching.
I agree.
I agree whole heartedly. It's oddly more cathartic this way with the final slap being anticlimactic. It wouldn't have as much gravitas if they tried to go big and dramatic with the final one after such a dramatic buildup of the previous slap episode. This works out really well and I think they did a good job on the slap arc conclusion.
Agreed. Getting there could have been done better but that is exactly what it should have been used for
@@pyguy7 *gravitas*
They spent the first 5 seasons convincing us that ted and robin don't work. Spent four seasons convincing us why Barney and Robin work. They spent one episode telling us to forget all that, Ted and Robin.
And found the perfect mother that matched Ted perfectly making the ending feel even more out of place.
Yes. This is exactly why this was my least favorite ending of anything I've ever watched. All that character development for nothing.
Back in season 5 they told us they wouldn't work as a couple and they stuck to it. I'm just annoyed they spent the final few seasons selling us on them being the end game
Well Ted already had kids so that reason at least was solved.
I agree, but I also tell myself that it will work this time because they're past the stage of having children together. Robin got to travel and do what she always wanted. Ted got to have his two children, a boy and a girl, like he always wanted. They're still friends after all this time so they may as well give it another try now that they've achieved the things they wanted outside of their relationship.
Idk, I think the final actual last slap being anticlimactic and used as utility to calm Barney's nerves after such a big dramatic buildup of the previous slap episode feels oddlly cathartic and satisfying this way. In weird way I'd almost find it unsatisfying if they *tried* to go big and dramatic on the last one.
I like the conclusion to the final slap. The.. slapsclusion slapnale
the slapsclusion slapnale 🤣🤣
I respectfully agree to disagree. This episode doesn’t bother me at all, the finale DOES. Nothing is worse.
Well the finale does everything the maker of this video complains about except to an 11. So yeah, agreed that the finale is definitely worse.
Atleast i got to watch the whole finale. I really couldn't get thru that rhymes episode
@@maiconsilva4205 I loved that episode, I thought it was a pretty neat idea
@@DeadHead017 might check it again. But back in 2014, it was too much for me
@@maiconsilva4205 it definitely deserves a second chance in my opinion
Slap bet related episodes are some of the best. Being a fan of kung fu movies, i loved this episode.
I too love slapsgiving
I'm not a fan of any martial art and loved that episode.
Me too me too!
I love the Chinese aesthetic. I see it as an homage and not offensive at all.
I Love when the little boy says, "The Slap of ten thousand suns." Great image and sonorous and delightfully over the top.
I love "okay, I'll totally do it."
Nora's reaction implying Barney's got submissive kinks, and I LOVE How Fast Robin is. And then Marshall too.
@@slavakulishko3771
Cool. Me too. (See above). 😇
I Mean this episode comes with probably the best answer to anything "but I have much gold"
That’s one of my favorite episodes. The exaggerated story , the plot point of did Barney plan it from the get go or not, I loved it. I loved seeing how Barney is willing to go through what he did to get what he wants. I love the homage to kung fu movies as well.
It is hands-down the stupidest thing on TV I've ever seen. I fucking love it.
I didn’t even read the comment but I feel as though I have to agree with myself anyway
It was hilarious.
i think people don t like it because its a little over the top and exagerated comedy, and i admit the first two slapsgiving episodes are better, but this episode its definitely not the worst episode the worst episode of the show its the last two episodes especialy the last episode
I mostly love the Slap Bet. When showing the show to my husband, it was one of my anticipated things for him to see. 😂 The psychological torture and horror of it is awesome. I love Barney over a barrel.
The fact that HIMYM did the impossible of sticking the landing with revealing the perfect mother and spent 9 seasons of character development and laying out why Ted/Robin do not work at all and Barney/Robin are perfect together to unravel that all in the span of one episode is one of the most baffling decisions I’ve ever seen. I genuinely can’t go back to the show because of that finale, just tainted everything else for me. Like s9 was bad, but if they ended the finale how they should’ve it would’ve been like “not great, but as good of an ending as we could expect” but instead they gave us one of the worst, least satisfying finales I’ve ever witnessed. I’ll never understand.
Omg, same. It’s like they ruined the show’s potential to live on for the fans. No one wants to pay for the HIMYM box set when they see the show just developed these stories to keep it going and not to make the character reach any kind of satisfactory ending. No is clamoring for the reboot, I see it in syndication and won’t watch it because, bleh.
literally the only possibly satisfying ending is the one we got. you people make zero sense.
0:57
It actually very simple. The show ending was written since ss1, everything was caculated, each ss finale leading to the next everything should be great. But the turning point is that CBS did himym dirty, originary the show is going to have 10ss and they cut it short. So craig and carter have 2 choice, went with different ending or force it. You can guess what they choose
Barney and robin were toxic, at least ted never gained 50 pounds.
Worst episode is the finale, period.
You win the internet
Yep, it was the culmination of the shitty last season!
undeniably, but let's hear em out...
But why ? It explains so much
Hellsyeah!
The show should have only lasted 5 seasons with a clear goal of where it was going. Too many failed relationships with Ted. It started to become monotonous, but I loved the characters and wanted to spend time with them regardless. In the end they were our friends too.
100% agreed
Exactly! I always thought that after season 5 the show got repetitive, boring, and had no new ideas on how to stretch the "meeting your mother" plot
Completely agree and glad to see others feel the same. Season 6 had some ups and downs but the rest of the show is pretty hard to pin down.
It was the first full show I watched after moving out to live on my own. And the series I always had on in the background while studying. It will always have a special place in my heart :)
They could've made the 9 season run work had they not gone back to Robin and Ted all the time. We've moved on by season 7 at most (others moved on earlier). And we fell in love with Tracy. She should've been a regular in season 9.
The finale is the worst. Not even close. They literally created a whole season just focused in the relationship of Barney and Robin, and a whole series based on Ted searching the mother, then threw everything in 30 minutes. Just because the writers were not brave enough to change the original plan.
That ending would be perfect for the season 1 and 2 characters, but by the time it reached the finale, the characters had revolved much beyond what they portrait in the last episode. It felt incredibly out of place for all the characters. Awful writing.
A buddy of mine summed it up best imo: "The Final Season turned the show from How I Met Your Mother to How I Met A Womb To Impregnate And Now Wanna Bone Your Aunt"
Freaking well said. And what I hated the most is that they had to kill the Mother so that the last season could happen. If it ended in a happy ending for everyone (Ted and Mother/Barney and Robin), they could have played it as if the Mother was just doing groceries or something... No need for her to die
I think the worst part is that they almost did it. They managed to find someone to meet the high expectations we built up over the nine seasons, then they screwed it up. They managed to find a satisfying resolution to Barney and Robin's relationship, then they threw it away for no reason other than to have Robin single for Ted. And because they realized that Barney's character was back to square one, they did a stupid half-assed storyline about him suddenly turning into a good guy after becoming a dad, just to give him some character growth. They really shot themselves in the foot a few inches away fron the finish line. I don't think the writers were not brave enough to change the ending, I think they were simply too stubborn.
They filmed everything with the kids of ted at the beginning of the show so they sadly had no choice. They still could have done it better tho
@@jtoh6669 no choice? How about not using the footage? Lol
I also disagree. The slap bet is a good time, and that episode genuinely made me laugh in a season that was too jumbled with stuff and cringe. I'm just going to point at Robin being hoisted upward set to a Bangles song that I can't listen to anymore, and I'm going o walk away.
Yes, the Slapsgiving 3 episode is absolutely ridiculous nonsense but I LOVED it. Despite how "out there" the episode may be, it still feels very in-character for Barney to be obsessed with the next slap while Marshall and Co. mess with him the whole time. The finale though? Now, THAT is an episode that just upends everything the show has built up towards to and thus, deserves the title "Worst Episode of HIMYM" ):
The final slap being used in the hope to benefit Barney is both natural & sweet. Also the 2nd to last being so extravagante is great, especially when Marshall reminds Barney (& the viewer) there's still another 1 to come. All with the goal of causing anxiety within Barney, cause it could only mean the final one will be even more painful. & then it being used as a good deed hit's even harder...honestly that pun wasn't intended.
I actually liked this episode. It felt pretty cartoonish, shows Marshall's creative side, and I think the writers were just giving us a wacky episode before addressing Marshall and Lily, a calm before the storm.
Slapsgiving 3 and Bedtime Stories are both tied for worst episode imo
I dislike slap3 waaaaay more than Bedtime Stories. But that's just me
Who Wants To Be Godparents exists
The last season didn’t need to be set as one wedding weekend extended out for 24 episodes the could’ve done what friends did do a regular season and have the wedding be closer to the end of the season and then do the final and have preparations for it mixed in throughout the season cause the seasons where lily is pregnant they didn’t halt the show to make pregnant lily the centerpiece of the season they just went on with the showin the finale season they pretty much halted the show to do and unnecessary extend look at robin and Barney’s wedding weekend then tell us in the 2 part finale the marriage didn’t work out anyway making the whole season pointless
God, I *hated* that concept. It was so stupid and truly contrived that right there RUINED so many potential opportunities.
Yes. I feel like they just did this to be different.
....
i hated the last season being only the wedding, i remember watching it and thinking, "wait, all episodes are gonna be about the wedding?"
Having 22 episodes around a wedding then having those characters get divorced 10 minutes into the next episode might be the biggest slap in the face to an audience ever
The finale was far and away the worst. Writing out the mother and wasting the talents of Cristin Milioti in favor of Ted ending up with Robin via divorce with Barney was just boneheaded. Even GoT's finale wasn't nearly as bad as HIMYMs.
Ironically, Slap Bet is probably the BEST episode of HIMYM
what about the pineapple incident??🤣
@@lulusaur477or the playbook ofc
@@lulusaur477Swarley and Subway Wars as well
The slap of a thousand exploding suns is one of my favourite episodes, Marshal slapped Burney at the end with boys to men signing in the background.
I loved that episode 😭😭😅
Truthfully, I absolutely loved that episode, and it’s for the exact same reason others might not, it’s just comedy, no story, no advancement, no character development, just pure comedy, and it was incredibly funny, because up until that point the show’s really gotten grounded, the choice of relatable drama(unlike friends for example) was imo really appreciated, and it was more appreciated when the writers decide to give the viewers a break from it,
I loved it, Marshal spends a year learning to harness the power of the slap of a thousand exploding suns, why not, they just doubled down on the joke so hard that it’s not funny anymore, to the point it’s gotten way too ridiculous it’s actually funny again, everything needs to take a break from time to time, establishing something so meaningless it actually become meaningful.
I'd give it to the finale more than any other episode as the worst.
Yes, the slap bet (one of the iconic storylines of the show) is what kicked off the downfall of the show, and not the finale that complete undid 8 or so seasons of storytelling, the sudden death of the kids real mother (a beloved character), or the inconsistent relationship characterization.
There were clues the entire show that the mom was dead, Ted and Robin were endgame, and that Barney and Robin would not end up together.
Clues doesn't make storytelling good.. A good structure, with consistent set up and pay off does that. HIMYM, stalled it's story telling several times, as early as season 2 and 3, because it was in doubt that the show would even get renewed for another season. So rather than believing in their story and focusing on telling it how they actually wanted, the writers constantly tried to build in a safety net to have a way to end the story, in case the show got cancelled. Think back to all the times Ted and Robin's relationship was abruptly brought up again suddenly. Early in the show it wasn't that bad. In the last 4-5 seasons, it became more and more ridiculous and it hurt the show as a whole. And don't get me wrong i loved the show, especially the first 3 seasons. But i can also recognize that it had plenty of flaws
I disagree about the death of the mother. I think it adds a powerful context to the rest of the show, and enhances several of my favorite moments
Sudden death?
It wasn’t clues that she was dead. Hell, the Time Travelers episode may as well have written on a cinder block “THE MOTHER DIES” and whacked you repeatedly in the head with it
@@Tsweeney12584 ok
Slapsgiving was a pretty awesome episode, not even remotely the worst episode by any metric in anyway, shape or form.
The original Slapsgiving, sure, but this final slap episode was offensive & unnecessary. They wasted time on Marshal's training that could've shown other characters doing other things for this timeline.
I watched this show like 40 times. I really like the first 4 or 5 seasons!
40 times dude are joking or being cant tell because of the number
@@pratham3537 my older sister has probably watched it about that many times, although not always in order
The slap bet episodes are great. Swing and miss big guy.
This is a rare occasion I have to disagree. Slap bet is one of my favorite running gags. I honestly don't hate the last season either. It wasn't great but I still enjoy it. I must be in the minority on this.
The last season is fun, but the last episode is why people hate it so much.
I agree the last episode is downright terrible but the last season cutting out the last episode is really an homage to the rest of the series.
I like to think that the slap was essentially the last reminder of Barney's old life prior to marriage. Pushing him towards the next step in life no matter how temporary it was for Barney
Unpopular opinion: I didn't hate the ending of HIMYM. The story was always about Robin from the very beginning, and they filmed the kid's reactions for the finale in S1 in case it didn't pick up. My problem with the finale was the focus on Barney and Robin for 4 seasons.
Sure, Barney and Robin could have tried it out and it not work and then they could have moved on and refocused on Ted. However they didn't. I don't know why, I presume it had to do with viewer response to the two characters, but the fact that it never stopped focusing on them got to a point where the ending seemed unsatisfactory to most.
The original ending could have worked. The way that it was implemented didn't allow for it
The finale would’ve been fine if it wasn’t rushed. I don’t hate the ending as much as everyone else does but they rushed it.
I agree :)
I think the biggest problem is that they developed Ted and Robin so much individually that they couldn't convince us of how and why they would still work together. Along with that they essentially rendered Tracy as a footnote for allowing Ted to have his kids while being with Robin, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I agree, it could’ve worked. I think the show got away from them in a way the writers didn’t want to allow, so the ending always had to be what it was
@@chestercheetoe2397 exactly. having ted’s kids is literally the only reason tracy existed and it will piss me off till the end of time
Woah you guys missed the mark with this one
Especially when the series finale is right there
I have to disagree, the worst one is where Lily admitted to sabotaging Ted's relationships. 😑 She used to be so likable before that. That's why Marshall was the best character imo he's a bro.
I’m pretty sure the worst episode is the one where they completely undid 4 years of character development and having Barney and robin divorce in 2 minutes after an entire season dedicated to their wedding but to each their own.
The over-the-top nature of the episode is the best part. Also, I don't hate the finale like I did when I was younger. As mentioned here, the absurdity of telling your kids a story across nine seasons makes more sense when it's not about the mom at all. But also, the absurdity is also the funny part
They'd been foreshadowing Tracy's death since at least Stella, when, in the hypothetical present Ted is telling his (blonde) children the story and Stella comes out at the end (as opposed to the never seen mother). Moreover, the importance of Love in the Time of Cholera isn't just a cool character point for Ted; their plot structures mirror each other significantly. At the end of both, the main character's spouse dies and they rereturn to their "one who got away." They also share key motifs and symbols (particularly the color yellow)
I remember watching it as it came out. The thing people seem to forget is that throughout its TV run people were theorizing that the mother was dead. It was something the blogosphere chattered about at length. To me the mother's death was kind of a forgone conclusion. So though it hurt to see Tracy die, it wasn't a complete unforseen event. Someone in the comments mentioned that these were our friends. I think that is apt. By the end of the series I was just happy to spend 30 more mins with my 5 best pals of the past decade. I think they could have done more with the final season but when you remember that Jason Segel didn't want to be in the ninth season at all it kind of makes you realize that him missing from the group is really what felt off. Marshall was the heart of the group. With him missing the shenanigans seemed to fall flat. Also I feel like that last night with Robin that Ted had in episode 17 should have been with Marshall and Ted. With Marshall finally giving him the harsh truth that he had to let Robin go. Seeing him have the conversation with what I have to assume was a ghost? (I still don't know when real Robin left the beach.) Seeing Ted have that conversation gave the show something that it had largely avoided; surrealism. There were moments that were surreal but they always came home with a solid connection to the grounded characters of the show. That scene literally ended with Robin floating away...
The reason I loved the ending was because their story never really ended. Ted and Robin were unfinished. The series hinted at it many times. "I really hope you get her." "Not yet." "It's called Love..." Ted made it clear that even him as the narrator of the story was dropping hints at how much Robin was his dream girl. That is not to say he didn't love Tracy. He absolutely loved her, but she passed away. Life happened, the show was always good at letting life happen throughout the decade we watched the gang. People were born, people died. HIMYM let life happen around the gang. We could have maybe been better serviced with a couple of episodes at the end showing Tracy's decline and passing but even that feels a little too morbid for what is meant to be a comedic show. The passion the audience feels only solidifies that the Carter Bays and Craig Thomas did a phenomenal job in making us care about what are obstensibly fictional characters. (A case could be made for the reality of a character being a byproduct of how it's manifestation affects the emotions of a sentient being. Looking at you religion.) I digress. I guess I was happy to know that Ted wasn't going to be alone. Because the thought of him being a widow for the rest of his life is not the ending I wanted for one of my good friends. Just my 2 pennies. If you read this whole thing Mazel Tov.
Watching the show, I had a feeling that something was up with Marshall not being that much in season 9. I thought maybe he was filming a movie. Do you know why he didn't want to be in season 9 or what made him come back for the last episodes?
@@ColorsBright so from what I found online he just wanted to work on other projects. Not the first time they've done that. While he was shooting forgetting Sarah Marshall he would work on that during the day and then film how I met your mother at night.
Love your point of view on the writing and I completely resonate with it. I am tired of convincing my friends on why I think the writers did what they did and why it made sense at some level. Only thing is they might not have expected Cristin Millioti to hit it out of the park spectacularly in such a short time and become an instant fan favuorite
I like your statement as a whole but the part that I don't necessarily agree with is showing a couple of episodes of the mother dying. Not necessarily because it's morbid (although it is) but because it would be really weird to have an 11 year time skip and two whole episodes taking place 6 years in the future of the time of broadcast. Flash forwards were great in the show as brief bits but I don't know if the show could've handled so much of it.
I agree I love this show so much
5:48 martial arts more like marshall arts haha
Real
I think that whole final season is T R A S H
except for how your mother met me. amazing episode in a sea of bad ones.
Not the whole season
Tracy was literally the only good thing about it
@@HyouVizer and then when she got with Ted they killed her off so quickly and threw all her meaning away because they wanted to shove the shitty Robin on everyone
Too many fantastic moments to be trash IMO.
It was a great season. The ending is just what ruins it.
There will never be anything worse in HIMYM than the ending. I am still baffled to this day how anyone could have been dumb enough to let that trash go to air.
"Hey, won't this ending go against everything we've established over the last 9 years and retroactively ruin literally the entire show?"
"Well what are we supposed to do? Air the alternate ending that makes sense and that people would like and which we already shot? Nah, better to stick with a half-baked idea that seemed good to some hacky writer 10 years ago."
If your audience stayed with you for 9 seasons they deserve to get what they want and have been expecting. It also ensures that the fans will keep talking about it, rewatching it and hyping it up for new viewers to come. HIMYM writers failed at this spectacularly and while there are some people who are defending the final, most hate it. And the fact that this is the main thing that is discussed about the sitcom in the first place is a tragedy on its own.
I will say that the finale had potential, but was executed in the worst way possibly. Maybe if the writers were focus on the wedding for 3 episodes tops and then tell us about ted and tracy's life together until her death, then it will be a better pill to swallow, but what we got was really a "congratulations, you wasted your time" ending.
The last episode is the worst. Cause at least the last slap episode didn't destroy 9 seasons of character development
i personally think that there is only one bad episode of himym and we can all know which one
Which finale was worst How I Met Your Mother or Game of Thornes?
How I Met Your Mother’s ending was worse because they undid nine years of character development in like 10 minutes. Yes Game of Thrones has problems, but if you actually think about it some of the characters did have endings that matched their growth. Arya’s and going west is something I can totally see her doing. What happened with Daenerys was predictable, and I think it goes in character with her family heritage, but the writers did a poor job presenting it and executing it. That’s why I think it turned out really sloppy.
How I Met Your Mother for sure
Game of Thrones by far.
I think this episode is alright actually but the finale is way worse.
This is one of the absolute BEST episodes of the show. The FINALE is the worst.
I wouldn't go that far but the episode is one I enjoy quite a bit, I'd hardly say it's a bad episode
I used how I met your mother to get my first girlfriend and the relationship lasted nearly 2 years. Way way back in grade nine when I met this girl she told me how much she liked the show so I watched it all the way through and we "dated" for a couple months, but it was also grade nine so it wasn't really dating, we were just kids. Anyways, after the grade 9 fling which ended pretty fast, we were just really good friends, for more then 2 years. Eventually I started to fall pretty hard for her again, and I took a lot of inspiration from Ted Mosby. Every once in a while I'd do some crazy romantic gesture. Eventually right before covid came around in January of 2020 we started hanging out a lot and she would warm right up to me but I was always super nervous and I remember one night, she cuddles up next to me when watching a movie and made it pretty obvious she was interested in going further with our feelings. When I left I didn't kiss her, I just nervously left to my car but before I got there, I started having a sappy movie moment and was able to convince myself to run back in there and just kiss her and it was a huge moment in my life. We then dated for 2 years, pretty much during the whole pandemic and for the most part it was a good time. Eventually she moved to the other side of the country whilst begging to do long distance, slept with another dude the next night, and just dropped me. Kind of. Every once in a while she'd call to talk about life but one day I just had enough and flipped my shit and I haven't talked to her since. Now I know Ted Mosby is actually a bit of a manipulative creep and will no longer follow in his footsteps. But I do have to thank the she show for showing me the way into a cute girls heart and giving me some okay sex for 2 years and and a broken heart. Well, a temporary broken heart. That was a while ago, stevo is all good now.
She didn't deserve you. Glad you're over it. You'll get the queen you deserve king 👑 we all will
Ted's not a creep he has creepy moments in the show yes but he is always punished for them like in the saints Patricks day episode the actual problem "and the show talks about this all the time" is the game and by that I obviously mean the dating it has so many rules that end up hurting people.
She didnt deserve you
You deserve happiness
And so is stevo
And ted
There are so many things wrong with the choices in this show when you stop and think about it
1. Lilly is a HORRIBLE person that never deserved someone like Marshall and there are tons of examples as to why
2. Ted is terrible because of how he pursues a lot of women and is willing to go against his friends for women he barely knows as well as willing to screw women over for other women he likes (Victoria for example)
3. The show deciding to spend 9 seasons building up to the mother only to kill her off in the end is one of the most baffling decisions I’ve ever seen because it made the build up completely pointless
4. The decision of Ted ending up with Robin despite showing why they weren’t a good match was just another terrible choice and it also made the build up pointless
I loved this show, from start to finish. It has some flaws, more at the end of the series than the beginning but I love it all. And all Slap bet episodes are great imho.
When you realise the whole rant was not about the slap but about the disappointment of the finale
slapsgiving is iconic! i agree that the final season was all over the place and make it a point to leave it out when i'm feeling "nerdstalgic", but the slap bet and all the thanksgiving episodes are fire
In my opinion, I liked the ending I think Robin and Ted were always destined for each other. Some might think this is unfair or that the mother deserved better but she got more than enough, if she hadn't passed away Ted would still love her and be with her and this is obvious but what's really obvious is the fact that they were basically telling the story about Ted a Robin the mother is shown in just a few of the last episodes and yes Ted got what he wanted but maybe what the writers wanted to tell us is that sometimes you can achieve what you really want but it may not last forever and Ted realized this by what his kids said. He did still have feelings for Robin and both of them were single at that point so the real question is, why not?
Also watch the episode "time travelers" the ending supports my opinion.
No, this wasn’t the worst episode. It’s one of the worst in the final season though.
There’s a lot more that are Far more terrible ones.
Put a really old culminates down to Those final two seasons season, eight be nothing but a padding season. And season nine a complete waste of energy and then stuffing an entire seasons worth episodes into the last 30 minutes of an finale.
Just to have Ted end up with Robin again, even though everybody knows, and even the shows been telling us for years, they don’t work together as a couple and they never will.
I for me, this was like the worst television Finale until Game of Thrones.
And years later, I’ve never gone back to how I Met your mother. I really have no desire to go back anymore. That’s how bad it was.
Don't let the subpar finale ruin the brillance of the first 5 seasons.
This finale is so much worse than Game of Thrones.
We spend an entire season building to a wedding and a marriage that doesn’t last
Just adding to the chorus of people saying the slap bet episodes ranged from fine to great. The finale was the only truly unacceptable episode.
I get why people didn't like it but i actually don't mind it. It's nice that the show went full crazy and dumb for one episode, there are worst episodes that are just blend or forgettable. At least wer'e still talking about this one.
This is show is a good example of being dragged out too long.
I would really love it if Hollywood stopped seeing "subverting expectation" as some sort of automatic measure of quality. It's something that should only be done if the story justifies it and if it benefits the story in some ways.
There is nothing wrong with a TV show or movie reaching a natural conclusion point. When almost every show or movie si subverting expectations, it's become so common place that the audience begins to expect it and then it's no longer "subverting" anything.
Nahh you bugging, me and my bro loved the slap bet running for ages 😅 too funny. The last season, especially the last episode will forever be the worse episode
To Be Honest If Leave Aside 9th Season , Himym Had Some Of The Smartest Writers In The Sitcom History ,But What The Writers Was Thinking During 9th Season And Who Approved Those Scripts Especially For Last Two Episodes Only God Knows , Otherwise It Would Have Been One Of Greatest Shows Of All Time
I actually got excited that it became an integral element to the overall story. Especially with Barney's wedding, even though that marriage ended the way it did...
but yeah padding out the slap a bit more was a dumb idea. It still should've stayed five total slaps over the years and used a bit more sparingly.
AND that episode exaggerating Marshall's training for the final slap was over committing to a gag to its worst degree.
God, the finale was terrible enough to sour the rest of the series for me.
The main four characters were so unlikeable by the end. Just… yikes.
Seriously? I LOVE this episode!!!! I know it's got its detractors, but, to me, it's all loads of fun and a fun throwback to old kung-fu movies. What's not to love?
1:55 ist that Young Amy ?!???
Personally, I actually really like the slapsgiving finale. You absolutely make valid arguments against it. But in the end, to me it's just a very entertaining episode, even if it doesn't progress the general story.
I just remember rain and how comforting it was to watch how i met your mother with a pleasing, cold weather. good old times
Totally wrong. Not the worst episode whatsoever. Actually it's one of the episodes I always come back to whenever I feel like watching just one or two episodes.
The criticism of season 9 and this episode are warranted. This show really shouldn't have made it beyond season 4 or so. If it ended there, the ending would have been a lot more satisfying as 9 seasons made the show outgrow the original ending idea. After 9 seasons of the relationships and the teases with Robin that literally had to fail as per the title of the show, the best ending and catharsis for the audience was just to meet the mother.
I agree the show title should not have been a red herring, but they kept the clues about the actual ending coming the whole show.
@@joshuasteward6097 Which is the problem. The show did too much will-they-won't-they with Ted and Robin when we know that they won't. The show came out and said "this story is about how I became the person I needed to be to meet your mother" and part of that could have been Ted realizing that he needed to let go of his security-blanket feelings for Robin to have a successful relationship. The weird part is they did that in one of the last episodes, and he meets the mother. Instead they wanted the show to be "How I Settled for Your Mother."
i hated the whole last season, the pacing was terrible, having it all occur in the week of the wedding made it boring. A movie length "finale" would have worked better
I loved it. I don't know what you're talking about.
I always thought that they planned to have the final slap be the one at the altar but then realized they still had two left, and didn't want to have two slaps used in throwaway jokes in the final season - this episode wasn't a great solution, but I do think it was planned after they planned the altar slap. And I definitely thought this episode was going to be about the unintentional racism of this episode (which the writers have since apologized for)!
Yeah I was really surprised by the lack of acknowdgement of the yellow face in that episode
@@NattyBurz Some credit to the creators, I remembered seeing a statement, but I had forgotten they put it out literally the week the episode aired. I found it to save anyone else curious having to google it: "With Monday’s episode, we set out to make a silly and unabashedly immature homage to Kung Fu movies, a genre we’ve always loved. But along the way we offended people. We’re deeply sorry, and we’re grateful to everyone who spoke up to make us aware of it. We try to make a show that’s universal, that anyone can watch and enjoy. We fell short of that this week, and feel terrible about it. To everyone we offended, I hope we can regain your friendship, and end this series on a note of goodwill. Thanks."
@@Izzy-Maurer seriously??... They apologized for this?? That alone is absolutely ridiculous... They are making fun of king fu movies. It's so obvious , this is why we can't have nice things in this world anymore , for dumb shit like this.
@@ColorsBrightstill yellowface
Wait a minute this is just a list of every episode of How I Met Your Mother
Ngl, really liked the slaps.
i always thought it weird how a groom got slapped at his own wedding & none of the people who weren't in on the bet questioned it
Let's face it, the only horrible part of HIMYM is the original ending. It made NO sense whatsoever. Robin and Ted stopped working as a couple after season 3. Robin and Barney are the real will-they-won't-they in the show. They should've stayed together and Ted with Tracy. Definitely one of the worst finales in the history of sitcoms.
I don't care about anything else... I would be sooooo happy with the finale without those final 10 minutes.
Slapsgiving was great. The last slap episode was dull... but nothing will top the abomination of the series finale. Freeking horrible ending.
Ok I didn’t like how Tracey died off screen BUT let’s face it. If your wife (who your kids seem to adore) is NOT there to tell of their first meeting of you (the father) it more then likely she is dead or she left you. Just saying the premise was kinda there “something” happened to the mother from then very first season.
I disagree this wasn't the worst episode, the finale was. Friends has already done the will they won't they for 10 seasons. HIMYM could've shown us that you can be after the wrong person for years, but if it's not meant to be trust that someone BETTER will come along.
I don't care if they had already shot the scene for the final episode with the kids, even if they were older, once you find the PERFECT mom you call them back and reshoot that scene.
Slapsgiving isn't a bad episode
The worst episode? This is my favourite episode of the whole show.
The Office nailed its finale perfectly - a good example of giving the viewers what they wanted
I loved it. The finale gave to the story a structure, we all asked ourselves why the mother was barely in the story. I felt compelled to see HIMYM again knowing the ending.
I don't remember this episode at all. Honestly, I don't remember anything from season 9 except that god-awful finale.
I liked the ending. Having it end with just Ted finding his one true love would have been predictable and revealing Future Ted was telling the story to ask his kids if it would be ok to date Robin again was less predictable. It also explains why Ted's story begins with the day he met Robin and why he needed to explain all that extra stuff.
agreed
Not to mention this was considered offensive by the audience, particularly the Asian American community.
Quickly? The show was great for years and although I didn’t like the finale I enjoyed the final season
Was anyone else ever annoyed that Marshall in the slap bet episode not only slapped Barney prematurely but tried to lie about it and was only punished with 3 quick slaps but when Barney did it his punishment was either 10 quick slaps or 5 over eternity.
I feel like I'm one of the few people alive who actually enjoyed himym's ending 😂
I liked it too.
Barney and Robin sucked together.
I didn't like how they rushed it after dragging out like two days for the rest of the season but him ending up with Robin was brilliant and it was emotional
I find that charm of this show is that it continually broke narrative rules and it didn’t give satisfactory resolution to how Ted med his kids’ mother.
Unpopular opinion, the ending to this show makes more sense if you binge the series. This show feels more like real life than a sitcom. Ted getting back with Robin is real and true.
In real life, you have character development but it’s always important to acknowledge your true self, the unchanging self.
Ted and Robin were always meant to be together. He was in love with her all the way up until the last episode, Ted is planning to move to Chicago because of this sole fact. The show was about Ted’s love for Robin.
The problem is not the finale, it's Barney getting with Robin. It's made even worse if you binge the series, it makes no fucking sense.
l think this review largely exaggerated the disappointment and overlooked what the show is about. in the review, it has a very arrow perspective that excluded the friendship of the cast as well as many life lessons, character developments and stories, while only focus on the love life of ted as well as a stupid running joke (slap bet).
how l met ur mother is mainly not about the "mother", the misunderstanding title is always a arguing point for people who watch the show and felt dissatisfied. how l met ur mother is a show about friendship, relationships and life lessons, which a lot of people fell victim to presume that its mostly about the love life of the protagonist ted and the mysterious mother, but in fact u are focusing on the wrong place.
in the series, if u give more thoughts to the whole structure of the show, it is obvious that ted's romance with tracy(the mother) is not the main focus of the show as it only consist of 1 of 9 seasons.
during the 8 seasons before ted officially met the mother, it is a series of misfortunes and fortunates in his life as well as his friend's life, which includes different encounters of lovers, conflicts between best friends as well as couples and different choices no matter good and bad. through the bitters and sweets of different events, the series goal is to provide a relatable, hilarious, dramatic, melancholic, eye catching plot that is a fruitful life, while the romance between tracy and ted is just a small portion that is the end goal of his suffer, which encourages viewers to keep searching for "the one" as he/ she is worth the search. at the same time, the ones that are truely irreplaceable, that provides invaluable support and share the happiness along the way are the good friends that walk besides u in this long and dreadful while also glamorous and joyful life, which is the lesson for ted- love is not everything in life.
the characters and their encounters in the show all show us different perspectives of life.
barney is the one that try his best to make his life as "legen- dary" as possible by giving his best to every possible opportunity to make things memorable and fruitful, no matter it look stupid or embarrassing. hence he is the spotlight of the group.
Marshall and lily are the couple that wants stability in life while tries to make life not to stall as to become boring, at the same time they face conflicts between the maturity demanded from them and their inner child. their struggles can be seen in many occasions, including how they raise their child, dealing with debts, buying a house, dealing with family members, career vs intimate relationship...
ted is the one of rationality and emotion, which tear him up in many encounters in life, no matter love life, friendship and worklife. the self doubt, failures, heartbreaks, stupid mistakes and rash decisions, they all stem from his struggle in following his heart or his brain. while during his journey, no matter how many times he stumbled and fall, he always stand back up. look back from the mountain peak he dreamt of, we can see the numerous sparkles of joy and accomplishments he achieved, with his friends. that is the true treasure of this show, and why it is one of the best sitcom ever.
This is the most painful filler episode ever and I'm glad you said it. The quality of the humor decreased noticeably towards the end but that was such a low point for me that I'll just skip it when I rewatch the show.
Luckily, two episodes later we were blessed with possibly the best episode of the latter seasons, "How Your Mother Met Me".
The one where Marshall sings lullabies about the group to Marvin to get him to sleep outside that bus was probably the most painful for me
The only flawed I have about Slap Bet is how its kinda unfair that Marshall always have the upper hand (no pun intended) against Barney bcs Lilly a.k.a his wife is the Slap Bet Committee... Marshall has so many privileges across the series bcs Lilly keep allowing his rules that put Barney in the corner most of the time
I really value your analysis but if it isn't the last episode, it's not a valid opinion.
Some things are not negotiable, sorry.
😂
This is one of my favourite episode, I can show this to my friends who don't know the characters not the back story and they still enjoy it
This episode and the one where Marshall is on the bus and with marvin and starts rhyming while telling a story
I am a longtime fan. Saw the pilot on eztv back when i would still borrow tv episodes off the internet. So, yea. I don't think i skipped a single episode. There were arcs i liked, like Victoria, Elliot Reed and Zoey/the Captain and arcs I hated Barney and Robin mostly and Lilly fleeing to SF. Having said all that, i hated the final season but i loved the season final.
I too hated Barney and Robin! Barney doesn't show enough change to really make an impact on me. I think he's just as slimy at the beginning as the end.
The worst episode is the one where Robin is talking about her imaginary kids.
The only "worst episode" of HIMYM is the last episode.
I hate this episode so much, but Ted turning around and saying "bro" gets me every single time.
I loved that episode 😂 wasn't a fan of the last season though
Lily was the absolute worst slap bet commissioner ever
I'm tired of all the complaints about the ending. If you rewatch the show knowing the ending, you can actually see that they were building up to the Ted/Robin ending the entire time. It had been planned the entire time. What wasn't planned was the Barney/Robin relationship and how attached to that couple fans would be because of the chemistry between Niel Patrick Haris and Cobie Smulders
Not really the show spent 9 seasons telling us that Ted and Robin just don't work as a couple and are kind of toxic.
My dude NPH is gay. There’s no chemistry between Cobie is him. They were just friends. Meanwhile, Ted and Robin had so many episodes for an arc of him finally letting her go. That was a huge episode. Then in the finale they just pretended that never happened.