Carter Bays answers questions about the finale on Twitter

On Barney and Robin and their divorce:

Q: what about barney and robin's love? I really need to know for my sanity if all of this was a big lie or not
CB: They love each other too and did their best to make it work. Three years is an amazing achievement all things considered.

Q: I just find it odd that Barney and Robin stayed through so much(her infertility, etc) but broke up because there was no wifi?
CB: There's probably more to it than that.

On Ted and Robin:

Q: When do we actually ever saw Robin returning Ted's feelings? Love takes two people, and we never see her return his feelings.
CB: She almost ran off with him on the day of her wedding.

On Ted and Tracy (and Robin):

Q: Can I ask you a question? Has Ted ever really loved Tracy at all? I mean like really loved her? I really do need to know that...
CB: Of course. She's the love of his life. I mean it's all up for interpretation but that's my take on it.

Q: Ted ending up with Robin again makes it look as if Tracy was just a consolation price for not getting Robin in the first place.
CB: He's making the best of a bad situation. He was happy with T, but a terrible thing happened. He's trying to survive.

Q: so at the end of the day, in your intentions, who's "The One"? Tracy? Robin? Both? :)
CB: "The One" is a simplistic way of looking at it, but I'd say Tracy.

All these are in line with everything I wrote on this blog, which is kind of nice.

Final Thoughts and Observations

In summary, everyone got what they wanted in the end:

• Lily went to Italy and lived the bohemian lifestyle. She got her art career going and became a mother
• Marshall became a judge and a father
• Barney found the love of his life in his daughter
• Robin traveled the world, became a famous journalist, and rekindled her romance with Ted
• Ted found one of the loves of his life, had the children he wanted, and reconnected with the other love of his life
• Tracy won the lottery twice with Max and Ted, shared a beautiful life with the former, and in the end reunited with Max

I see this as a satisfying conclusion to the series.

 I would have done a couple of things differently if I ran the show:

• Show Barney and Robin's marriage breaking down due to irreconcilable differences and the inherent nature of both characters. The way it was done made it seem like they only divorced because of Robin's schedule, which isn't ideal.
• Show Robin playing a huge role in Ted and the kids' grieving. She helps them pull through those difficult times, and we get to see them actually mourn Tracy's death. This would give the audience time to process her death
• We see Robin becoming a part of Ted and the kids' lives as it was hinted in earlier seasons, making it more obvious why Ted would go after Robin six years later

 But obviously the major plot points wouldn't change. More random thoughts after the break.

Why the Ending Made Perfect Sense, Part Two: Ted and Robin

Many fans who disliked the ending said it was primarily because Ted and Robin ended up together in the end. According to them, this shouldn't have happened since the show spent so much effort showing how they didn't work as a couple. They were sick of the back and forth because apparently the relationship wasn't going anywhere.

As a die-hard Ted and Robin supporter, I saw things in a different light. Again, to accept the ending you will have to look at this with a different perspective. Knowing Ted and Robin was the endgame all along, you will have to see this as a Ted and Robin supporter.

Why the Ending Made Perfect Sense, Part One: Everything Else

This will discuss everything else other than Ted and Robin ending up together. I will dedicate a separate post to the final scene. This part is important though, because without Barney and Robin's divorce and Tracy's death, Ted and Robin wouldn't end up together.

Again, keep in mind you'll have to see things from a different perspective.

Why the Ending Made Perfect Sense: Preface

The ending was incredibly polarizing, and people who disliked did so for many different reasons. Most of them revolve around the following: Barney and Robin's divorce, the reversal of character development, the Mother's death, and perhaps most important of all, Ted and Robin reuniting in 2030.

I didn't have a problem with any of those. I have come not to expect, but actually hope it would all end exactly the way it did. The execution could have been better. But still I believe the story was leading to exactly this ending, and I would have kept the major plot points intact if I were in C&C's position.

Ted does meet the Mother

What I'll write here is from the perspective of someone who hoped it would end this way. This changed how I interpreted certain events. In the past my interpretations were unpopular. However, with the benefit of hindsight, you need to see it from this perspective to be able to appreciate the ending. Please keep an open mind.

Vindication

How I Met Your Mother's series finale aired on Monday. Would it live up to expectations? What fate awaited the characters we have followed for nine years? Bays and Thomas said there would be a message of hope, and fans who stuck around this long would be rewarded.

What I couldn't have known is, they meant fans like me. We have long been berated, scorned, and ridiculed for wanting Ted and Robin to end up together. Many deserted our ranks, but I was on Team Blue French Horn until the bitter end. And when all hope seemed lost, we were rewarded for persevering. We were finally vindicated after all this time.

The old adage "he who laughs last laughs best" rings so true. I have to admit: knowing the arrogant Ted/Robin detractors who ridiculed us for years finally got their comeuppance increased my enjoyment of the ending considerably. Here is a sample of the brilliant pieces of critique written by one of them:

"The [Ted/Robin] shippers refuse to see what's in front of them and somehow instead manage to see what isn't there.

I get the feeling some of these people are poorly skilled in symbolism, common sense, irony, reflection, introspection, spatial reasoning, general reasoning, memory recall, and general social interactions.

They somehow instead specialize in delusion, irrational chaining of information, and misinterpretation."

The same person also wrote:

"Yup. They [Ted/Robin fans] somehow ignore every single intention of the writers, completely miss the theme, purpose and message of the show....then come up with some wild theories they string together with bits and pieces of things that did or didn't, may or may not have happened."

This is the very definition of poetic justice.