THERE! I FIXED THE...SHOW? - Last Forever (How I Met Your Mother)
Hey, I never said we'd be solely focusing on fixing movies.
I absolutely love the show How I Met Your Mother. It may not have aged the greatest, but its relatable characters, great comedy and surprisingly deep emotional aspects elevate it to one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. With that said, the last episode, Last Forever, is where they really shat the bed. I'll get into more detail as we go on, but with how it’s presented, it feels like everything the show was building up to was entirely undone. And the worst of it all is that this episode could’ve been really great. So that’s what I’m here to do, I’m here to try and make this finale work. So, how would I fix the How I Met Your Mother finale? Let’s begin.
In order to make this work, I’d have to change the three biggest problems I had with this episode, but before that, I’m gonna change an element of the last episode, The End of the Aisle, in that I’d get rid of Marshall giving Barney the last slap. Why? We’ll get to that.
My first major fix would be the subplot regarding Swarley…wait, I mean Barney, becoming a father. On paper, this is a fantastic idea for the finale as it would bring his character arc in Season 9 full circle. The problem is the everything. Not only do we never meet the mother of Barney’s kid, but it would’ve been so easy and kinda clever to show that she was one of the ladies he slept with on the show already. But my idea stems from a different area: what if the mother of Barney’s child was Robin? I know, the episode Symphony of Illumination makes it clear that Robin can’t have kids, but what about adoption? Or even surrogacy? Have one of those women from before carry the baby, or even Lily. That way, the emotional speech Barney gives to his daughter would feel more heartwarming since, like I said, it brings his and Robin’s character arcs and developments full circle instead of bringing them back to square one. This section ran a little bit short, so I’m also gonna include my second biggest fix: Barney and Robin’s divorce. Because as I and many others have pointed out, if they were gonna get divorced in the last episode, then what was even the point of Season 9? Why even bother setting the whole season at their wedding if they were just gonna get divorced? And the weird thing is, they don’t really give a reason for their divorce. They just split up because…because. For this one, I’d set it so Barney’s daughter is born before the divorce. Maybe Ted gives them the idea of having a baby to fix their marriage. Insert previous fix here. But the two of them have conflicting ideas on how to raise her, Robin trying everything in her power to not raise the daughter like her dad raised her, and Barney trying to make her a walking embodiment of awesome (basically, a younger Barney). I’d even bring in Marshall and Lily to try and be the peacemakers in the conflict since they didn't really do anything in the episode. There could be a scene where their ideas for their daughter clash and that’s when they decide to call it quits, seeing as they clearly can’t work together to raise their daughter. See? Reason! And at the end, why not even set up that the two might, or better yet, do, get back together? That way, the season doesn’t seem pointless.
Alright, now onto the big one. The biggest reason this episode falls apart, the absolute worst two minutes of not just the episode, but the entire show: the ending. The mother dying and Ted going back to Robin. If Barney and Robin’s divorce rendered Season 9 pointless, then this ending rendered the entire show pointless. It practically undoes every last dollop of character development the two had in just two minutes. First off, I have to ask, why did they kill off Tracy? Not only was she a good addition to the cast, but she ironically shared more chemistry with Ted in one scene than he did with Robin in eight seasons. Why suddenly kill her off from “bad writing-itis”? The worst part is, Ted doesn’t even grieve her, a minute after he brings this up they jump back into him and Robin. So, how would I work around Tracy’s illness? Well…she could still have it. But she wouldn’t die from it. Maybe the last scene could reveal she’s making a full recovery. As for Ted and Robin getting back together…bye. Once again, all it does is undo every aspect of their character development, since the show made it crystal clear multiple times that Ted and Robin could never work. Hell, in an episode in this season, Robin says she doesn’t love Ted - so why even bring it back? They can still have them reunite, but here’s what I’d do: after learning that Tracy’s making a recovery, Ted could gather his friends to join him in picking her up or celebrating this news. In fact, you know that shot of Ted holding the blue horn? Why not expand it so Ted presents trinkets of the old days to everyone in the gang? Robin’s already sorted with the blue horn, but he could also show Barney the ducky tie, or Marshall one of the swords. That way, it could feel more like a satisfying conclusion to the series rather than just one that says "so this episode happened...I guess." But the thing to truly bookend the whole show? The last shot of this hypothetical rectifying of the finale would be Marshall delivering to Barney the final slap. Not only would it be a satisfying wrap-up of that little plot, but it'd just be really funny considering it would've been, like, 25 years since the last one. In fact, sell the intensity of the final slap even more? Have Barney's 'awesome mix' play as it happens. Boom; a satisfying conclusion.
So finally, here's a quick recap on how I fixed it: Barney and Robin's marriage is struggling, they have a surrogate baby thanks to the help of Lily, they argue over the right way to raise her, they split, fast-forward a few years, Tracy gets sick, things look bleak for Ted, he wraps up the story, the phone rings, he learns that Tracy's making a recovery, he goes out to celebrate with his friends, and Marshall gives one last slap to Barney as the series concludes. And with that, I think I fixed the episode.
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