Tag Archives: Josh Radnor

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Last episode creates real-life HIMYM experience

How I Met Your Mother has ended after nine long years. It was a crazy journey, and one that ended quite controversially.

The show has gone down a windy road full of situations that were relatable and situations that seemed completely implausible. For every tragic moment about the loss of a loved one, there were several moments involving robots fighting wrestlers. But sometimes, even the craziest moments of our favorite shows can come to life.

In the most amazing instance of life imitating art, I found myself in the role of the gang in the season 2 episode, “Monday Night Football.”

In the episode, the gang realizes at the last minute that they will be unable to watch the Super Bowl live. Still, they all want to experience the game as everyone else did: with all of the thrill and uncertainty of a live viewing. To accomplish this, the entire gang had to find ways to avoid every spoiler that could come their way. No news, no talking to anyone, and no televisions that might give away the results.

Replace the Super Bowl with the series finale of How I Met Your Mother, and you will understand my Monday night experience.

I was called in to work at 8:30 p.m. on the night of the finale. With How I Met Your Mother running from 8 to 9, there was no way I could catch the show. Even worse, I work at a CBS affiliate.

Prior obligations held me up until 8 p.m., and immediately upon arriving at CBS, I had to keep myself occupied and away from television for half an hour. That’s pretty much impossible inside a television station. Then, when the finale was over, I had to preface every conversation with, “No spoilers!”

Co-workers had tears in their eyes and wanted so much to talk about the finale. All social media was off-limits until after I could finally watch the show. And to top off the wonderful humor of my night, the news did a segment on the How I Met Your Mother finale.

In a scene practically identical to Robin’s in “Monday Night Football,” hearing that How I Met Your Mother was in our rundown caused me immediate panic. I begged the producers not to run the story, but with no such luck. I fell just short of putting hands over my ears and shouting nonsense to drown out the sound of spoilers.

Luckily, the conversation on-air remained vague, and I was able to make it home, spoiler-free, to watch the finale of a show that took me on a journey: a show that made me feel wonderful and terrible — that was relatable to me, while still reminding me of the sitcoms of my childhood.

The final episode of How I Met Your Mother was difficult for many of us to watch. All shows naturally have a difficult time wrapping up all of their stories in a way that is acceptable to the fan base. The creators of How I Met Your Mother made the task even more difficult by using the finale as an epilogue of sorts, to show where every member of the gang would end up. Unfortunately for this fan, their journeys were unsatisfying. Spoilers ahead.

An entire season was built around the wedding of Barney and Robin. After years of development and tremendous growth, these characters finally felt like they were gaining a measure of happiness and closure. Barney and Robin were each other’s perfect foils: a man and woman who loved each other, warts and all, and brought out the best in each other. The last two seasons of the show were dedicated to showing fans why Barney and Robin deserved to be together. But that doesn’t matter anymore, because they will only be together for three unhappy years.

Ted’s journey has always been the center narrative of the show. The final season was dedicated to the tragedy of Ted and Robin. Ted had spent years imagining a world in which, against all odds, he and Robin would somehow end up together. The idea that he was wrong, and his need to find love was so strong that it was distorting his judgment, made the show better than any other traditional sitcom of the day. Ted’s difficulty in moving on from an unhealthy and unhappy relationship was something every one of us could relate to. But he had to move on because there was still something better out there for him. There was someone waiting for him who would love his calligraphy hobby, his long-winded stories, and the way he pronounced “renaissance” faire. It was a lesson in patience and self-respect. By not settling for a poor match, Ted was able to finally find a woman who wasn’t perfect, but was perfect for him. Ted was able to accept the love he deserved.

But that doesn’t matter anymore because they will only be together for 10 years. Robin is the happy ending. By shifting to the ending that saw Ted and Robin back together, the show abruptly changed from one about false hope and overcoming preconceived ideas about our future to one that said, “Yeah, you totally will end up back together.” Was Tracy, The Mother, just a consolation prize? And is Ted going to spend the rest of his life with a woman who doesn’t even appreciate his interests?

Despite my misgivings, I am thankful for what Carter Bays and Craig Thomas gave to us. Even when the show was not at its peak, it was still enjoyable. The creators of How I Met Your Mother created a television classic that was unafraid to take risks, a show that knew how to play with the classic sitcom formula in a way that felt both familiar and unique. I may not be happy with the ending of the show or its final message, but that is only because I am able to relate to it so well. We’ve all had a Robin in our lives that we just can’t shake. And we all hope one day to find our Tracy. We need to appreciate every single second we get with those we love and remember why they were so special even after they’re gone.

How I Met Your Mother reminded us that love stories are often messy, and happy endings are only a matter of when the story cuts off. If nothing else, the show will always be relatable, even in the most obscure and seemingly impossible situations.

After all, I never thought I would ever need the Sensory Deprivator 5000, but it certainly would have made last night a lot easier.

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HIMYM favorite episodes: ‘Slap Bet’

After nine seasons, the final episode of How I Met Your Mother airs in the United States on Monday, March 31. Curiata.com is reliving the series this week by looking back at our favorites of the 208 episodes.

Chuck Cunningham and Judy Winslow vanished. Cory Matthews aged three years in one season. Jerry and Elaine dated for one episode and it was never mentioned again. Sitcoms are notorious for shaky continuity. Perhaps the writers believe these fictional characters only exist to make us laugh, so continuity should be no issue.

But How I Met Your Mother shows us why continuity is important. Besides creating an amazing narrative story that transcends the simple sitcom formula, it also creates a web of jokes that make the show appreciably better to longtime fans. Many shows make callback jokes, but rarely does a show dedicate an entire episode of its final season to a gag started seven years prior. And no show has done it in a way that feels relevant quite like How I Met Your Mother.

The perfect example of this is the season 2 episode, alternately called “Slap Bet” or “Robin Sparkles,” the second title originally being dropped to withhold the secret reveal. The two different titles give away exactly why the episode is so important. It created two strong running jokes that would be referenced straight through to the finale.

Spoiler alert! Robin Scherbatsky was a Canadian pop star in the 90s. And an awesome one at that. She even rapped.

The Robin Sparkles reveal is one of the funniest moments in any sitcom. “Let’s Go to The Mall” was my ringtone for a time. And who can forget all of the later jokes this reveal spawned? There was the time when Robin Sparkles made mathematics quite erotic. Alan Thicke certainly enjoyed it. Then there was the absolute classic Behind the Music joke about Robin as Alanis Morissette, including, surprisingly, the first Full House reference, when Dave Coulier made his always-awesome “cut it out” joke. None of these late series jokes would have been possible without the foundation laid out in season 2.

Then, of course, there is the Slap Bet. After a series of events involving a wager over Robin’s past, Marshall gained the right to slap Barney five times, any time, for the rest of their lives. After gaining three at a later date, Marshall ended up with eight slaps, often doled out in episodes dedicated entirely to the impending slap. Remember “Slapsgiving”? Or “Slapsgiving 2”? Or “Slappointment in Slapmarra” from the final season? Maybe it’s best we don’t remember much from the final season, except for the final slap, delivered to Barney at the altar on his wedding day.

Even without acknowledging the later impact of this episode on the series, the episode is fantastic in its own right. The episode showcases the comedic gold-mine combination of Marshall and Barney, while going far in establishing who Ted and Robin are as individuals and as a couple. Robin’s reserve conflicts harshly with Ted’s openness about who he is. It’s difficult for Ted to accept the secrets Robin wants to keep, though his goodhearted side ultimately wins out, and he accepts her decision. Robin, too, grows, deciding that her past should be known by the people she loves, no matter how terrible, or bubblegum pop-ish, it is.

Continuity is difficult to maintain, but when done right, it can create a rich history to build upon and add anticipation to the big moments of the show. How I Met Your Mother has mastered this craft and I’m sure the finale will show us why it’s been worth the ride.

Best Line:
Ted: You’re afraid of the seven dwarfs?
Robin: Just Doc. He’s creepy. I mean, he’s got a medical degree. Why is he hanging around a bunch of coal miners?

Best Cutaway:

Mother Lore: None.