Why I Didn't Like The Ending To "How I Met Your Mother"

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For those who haven't seen "How I Met Your Mother" and want to (it's available on Netflix), or if you haven't gotten to the ending yet, you might want to stop reading now to avoid spoilers. For those who have watched the show or have no desire to watch the show, you may or may not choose to continue reading.

Let's start with a little recap, in the last episode, it is revealed that Tracy (aka "The Mother") has been dead the entire time. The kids call Ted out claiming that this whole story he just told them wasn't about their mom, but about Robin. The kids basically give Ted the okay to be with Robin, and it ends with Ted standing under Robin's apartment with a blue french horn (so cheesy right?).

This ending was a mix among the people I follow on social media when it first aired, some loved it, others hated it. As you can tell from the title of this post, I wasn't a fan of the ending and haven't been able to re-watch the series because of it (it is sad how a bad ending can ruin a good show). Anyway, here is why I didn't like the ending to "How I Met Your Mother":

Ted and Robin were on and off again in the beginning of the series and they went their separate ways (eventually), only to end up back together in the season finale. It's like Tracy never mattered. She was just Ted's free pass at having the kids/family he wanted because Robin didn't share those ideals (remember all those times they broke up because she didn't want kids). Now that his kids are all grown up, his wife conveniently dead, he ends up with Robin (who we assume has done everything she wanted in life). Ted and Robin basically get everything they want. Ted got his kids, Robin got her career, and so they can now be together.

It's kind of like the novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, except Ted supposedly had a happy marriage with his wife, whereas Edward (from Jane Eyre) was tricked into marrying a crazy lady (also Jane wasn't Edward's former lover). I think Ted ending up with Robin might have made more sense if his marriage wasn't great, but since the show made a big deal about how much he loved Tracy, this comes off as more of an insult to Tracy, in my opinion.

If my husband decided to go back to his first girlfriend after being married to me, I would be devastated. I'm supposed to be the love of his life! This ending makes me feel sorry for Tracy. Was Ted harboring feelings for Robin all that time? Did Tracy even matter? The way the show ends, it comes off as Robin being Ted's true love and sure, maybe he cared for Tracy, but apparently, she was just a stepping stone on the way to Robin. It makes you wonder what would have happened if Tracy didn't die, would they have divorced because of Robin? But that's a whole other can of worms...

But hey, it's a TV show, it's not supposed to match up with what happens in real life. If this scenario happened in real life, Ted probably would have been considered a jerk instead of a romantic. Then again what do I know, maybe there are some happily married couples out there who would not mind if their partner went back to their ex if he or she happened to die.