Lily’s words from the grand finale of one of the most successful TV shows of all time accurately describe what every HIMYM fan is going through right now. But for how the finale episode unfolded and what it held, Lily’s exclamation is not my favourite quote from it.
“Do you know who the gang is to me, Lily? Here’s what the gang is: The gang is a married couple who I never see anymore about to have a third kid, it’s my ex-husband hitting on slutty cops right in front of me and it’s the guy I probably should have ended up with, with the beautiful mother of his child. Who in their right mind would call that group of people ‘the gang’?”
If anyone could punch realisation on our faces as hard as it did, it had to be Robin. For years, the gang remained a not-so-happening affair. Robin was cornered in the show for years because of her frequent travels. Are these 5 really the 5 we knew? How did they get from sharing their happiest moments together at MacLaren’s Pub to this?
The viewers of How I Met Your Mother have all fallen major victims to the what we wish could be called the most cruel April Fool’s joke ever. The wedding, Barney and Robin’s wedding, around which the entire of the final season was woven, ended in a divorce. The mother of Ted’s children, ‘the one’, the beautiful woman everyone was crazy about with the yellow umbrella, died.
We all know how much can happen in just one year with this gang, don’t we? What happened in the 3 years Barney and Robin were married? How could Robin choose her job at WWN over her wedding? What happened in the 6 years between Tracy’s demise and the time Ted showed up at Robin’s house with the blue French horn? Nothing? That’d be one hell of an awkward show-up! The creators promise to release more video in the DVD.
One character I specifically feel sad about, apart from Tracy (the mother), is Barney Stinson. Robin had earlier betrayed him when she was dating Kevin in Season 7 and had promised Barney to come clean in front of Kevin about her having feelings for Barney, under the impression of which Barney broke up with Nora. Robin didn’t do so. In the series finale, Barney can be continuously seen cringing at the name or sight of Robin because of their failed marriage, which was revealed early in the episode. “Look, I know there was a time when it seemed like I was capable of going the distance, but if it wasn’t gonna happen with Robin, then it’s just not gonna happen with anyone.” Among all the loose ends the creators of How I Met Your Mother have left, why Barney’s romantic life was the only one that did not end well, is the most maddening one.
All in all, the series had had all of us laughing, crying, taking sides and also taking dating lessons from Barney over 200 times ever since the show premiered in 2005. It has taught us to value friendship over every other thing because it’s what keeps us going. It has become a cultural phenomenon. For the Playbook, Ted’s driving gloves, the Bro Code, Robin Sparkles, the 8 slaps, Robin’s locket, the mystery of Barney’s occupation, Linus’ Kennedy package, the yellow umbrella, the blue French horn, Ted being left at the altar and the shattered bottles of Glenn McKenna, let’s all raise one final toast!
Image courtesy: www.timeslive.co.za, forum.purseblog.com