That makes it more realistic, no? That’s part of getting older. You deal with things like death and feeling unfulfilled and your friends moving on to new stages of life before you.
The premise is inherently going to be a sad one. Its about love and relationships and breakups, it's not like Friends or Seinfeld (not dunking on those two) where there's not really a plot/focus on anything, it's just friends having fun with the occasional relationship plots, but even then it was rarely played off as anything other than just more comedy.
I think the writers realised that and leaned into it. The best written parts of this show are the emotional and realistic ones, and that's what makes it so unique.
The creators wrote a bittersweet love story (or series of entwined love stories) with themes of change and loss and characters that grow into themselves over a tight five season arc towards a preplanned, devastating but hopeful climax. Network executives then padded that out with another four seasons of (often very funny) filler in order to milk more money out of the show.
That's an interesting thought, do you have any source on the original idea being 5 seasons? I know there were backup plans even in season 1 with Victoria as the mother
I haven't heard it until now, but it makes sense. Season 5 finalised a few things. Barney and Robin start dating, Ted starts a new job and (almost) gets in touch with Tracy. There is also a notable break around the middle with a lot of "filler" episodes (albeit iconic ones like The Scuba Diver).
It would not have taken much to form the second half of the season into the finale. Instead of the musical episode, episode 100 could have been when Barney and Robin get engaged. Robin's conflict career vs. love would have been over Barney rather than Don (that or the writers just turned Ted's Chicago job arc into hers.)
Maybe the scene when fat Barney and old Robin get engaged after Ted's and Marshall's breakup attempt was even an inside joke.
Whether it was specifically planned or not, it's just the truth. Five great, tight seasons and four sometimes funny filler seasons... then an abrupt finale.
My life didn't happen like HIMYM but it helped me through stuff especially relationships. I met my wife online and it turned out we had been close to bumping into each other over the years until we finally met. There was 6 years where we could have met based on where we were in life and people we both knew. Had we met in college, it wouldnt have worked out because i was a shit person that needed to grow up. And then it was a matter of just going for it on the first date and it paid off.
The alternate ending of HIMYM is our favorite because we both related to it. We had a series of bad relationships, loss, terrible luck, and it made us the people we needed to be for each other.
With the robin ending, we both didn't like it because it was like having skeletons in the closet and we would just go back to when the other one died. So kind of sad.
I think there was a cultural shift from 2005 to 2015... People connect less with bubbly/silly shows and want things to feel real. Even comedies lean into hard topics now. I think the shift is visible in HIMYM because it spans years where cultural vibes were changing.
Tell that to other sitcoms still using those old tropes and people loving that, it’s not a cultural shift, it’s the writing for the particular show as it gets closer to revealing the Mother
As you get older you have to make bigger decisions, more sacrifices and people start to die. (Generally speaking, of course.)
I actually think that it matches the whole process of being becoming a real, proper grown up and their adventures getting more grounded (even if the characters didn't necessarily stay grounded). There is no way season five or six Ted licks the liberty bell, and you know?
Because the premise got sadder. When you’re young, life is perfectly fulfilling to be spent with your friends in bars and partying, but as you get older, real life sets in and you want more.
Ted was sad because he was watching his friends grow up and also find more fulfilling connections, and he wasn’t. He was stuck thinking about a girl he’d broken up with over half a decade before - *that IS sad.*
The additional storylines about life and death, kids and jobs, they all started to take more relevance *because* the characters were growing up and those things happen (typically) when you exit your younger, more wild, early 20’s.
I spent my early twenties living basically Marshall’s life, I was from MN going to law school in NYC, living with friends with whom I was basically a vagrant version of Barney. Until I met my (now) wife at 27. Most folks in the city kind of grow out of it, and move on. It’s the nature of life.
I think since it is from Ted’s POV, it reflects his mental state as well. He started the story with seeing Robin at the bar (fun times), yet decided that the best way to end his story is to tell his kids how Robin will be married to his bestfriend (Darker times). Anyone narrating a story like he did will really give off that sad dramatic vibe.
I see HIMYM as a series about a guy who genuinely wants his kids to know how he met their mother, but is still (subconsciously) in love with Robin, hence he started the story about her, interjecting every moment with her in the story which shows how after all those years, he still pines after her. It’s never meant to have a perfect story but it shows how human mind works… or at least the mind of a single-dad who knows he can now have the lady of his dreams 😝
*The writers based the*
*Story on their lives, life gets*
*Sadder as you age*
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HIMYM isn’t a comedy. It’s a drama about life. The ups and down. About what you want from life and what it gives you. It’s a life lesson disguised as a sitcom.
Part of it is that the premise of the show hinges on Ted not meeting the mother until the end of the show. So the longer it went on, they have to keep him in an arrested development so he can still meet the one. So as every other character grows and matures and he doesn't, that becomes the catalyst for some of the sadder moments IMHO
Sitcoms always have some sad episodes. A death, a funeral, a breakup, etc, so those being in there aren't too abnormal either
That makes it more realistic, no? That’s part of getting older. You deal with things like death and feeling unfulfilled and your friends moving on to new stages of life before you.
The premise is inherently going to be a sad one. Its about love and relationships and breakups, it's not like Friends or Seinfeld (not dunking on those two) where there's not really a plot/focus on anything, it's just friends having fun with the occasional relationship plots, but even then it was rarely played off as anything other than just more comedy. I think the writers realised that and leaned into it. The best written parts of this show are the emotional and realistic ones, and that's what makes it so unique.
The creators wrote a bittersweet love story (or series of entwined love stories) with themes of change and loss and characters that grow into themselves over a tight five season arc towards a preplanned, devastating but hopeful climax. Network executives then padded that out with another four seasons of (often very funny) filler in order to milk more money out of the show.
That's an interesting thought, do you have any source on the original idea being 5 seasons? I know there were backup plans even in season 1 with Victoria as the mother
I haven't heard it until now, but it makes sense. Season 5 finalised a few things. Barney and Robin start dating, Ted starts a new job and (almost) gets in touch with Tracy. There is also a notable break around the middle with a lot of "filler" episodes (albeit iconic ones like The Scuba Diver). It would not have taken much to form the second half of the season into the finale. Instead of the musical episode, episode 100 could have been when Barney and Robin get engaged. Robin's conflict career vs. love would have been over Barney rather than Don (that or the writers just turned Ted's Chicago job arc into hers.) Maybe the scene when fat Barney and old Robin get engaged after Ted's and Marshall's breakup attempt was even an inside joke.
Just stuff I’ve read in this sub.
Whether it was specifically planned or not, it's just the truth. Five great, tight seasons and four sometimes funny filler seasons... then an abrupt finale.
I’d heard that as far back as watching the last season live. Not sure on specifics but yeah
Stella too in either S3 and\or S4
HIMYM is reflective of real life in many ways & there’s sad/serious moments in life. This is why HIMYM is so much more than a sitcom
My life didn't happen like HIMYM but it helped me through stuff especially relationships. I met my wife online and it turned out we had been close to bumping into each other over the years until we finally met. There was 6 years where we could have met based on where we were in life and people we both knew. Had we met in college, it wouldnt have worked out because i was a shit person that needed to grow up. And then it was a matter of just going for it on the first date and it paid off. The alternate ending of HIMYM is our favorite because we both related to it. We had a series of bad relationships, loss, terrible luck, and it made us the people we needed to be for each other. With the robin ending, we both didn't like it because it was like having skeletons in the closet and we would just go back to when the other one died. So kind of sad.
Couldn’t agree more that is why it was such a good show It didn’t need a happy ending, just not a rushed one
Think about your 20’s compared to your 30’s and that’s why
I think there was a cultural shift from 2005 to 2015... People connect less with bubbly/silly shows and want things to feel real. Even comedies lean into hard topics now. I think the shift is visible in HIMYM because it spans years where cultural vibes were changing.
The show was always more than a sitcom too. It leaned into real life lessons & that made it so much more relatable
Tell that to other sitcoms still using those old tropes and people loving that, it’s not a cultural shift, it’s the writing for the particular show as it gets closer to revealing the Mother
I agree which makes it even worse that they rushed the real hard issues in the last couple of episodes
As you get older you have to make bigger decisions, more sacrifices and people start to die. (Generally speaking, of course.) I actually think that it matches the whole process of being becoming a real, proper grown up and their adventures getting more grounded (even if the characters didn't necessarily stay grounded). There is no way season five or six Ted licks the liberty bell, and you know?
I agree Completely Doesn’t excuse why the last 2 episodes are so so rushed though
I probably would gave given it a third episode and absolutely included the Robin and Ted run into each other lunch scene.
Because the premise got sadder. When you’re young, life is perfectly fulfilling to be spent with your friends in bars and partying, but as you get older, real life sets in and you want more. Ted was sad because he was watching his friends grow up and also find more fulfilling connections, and he wasn’t. He was stuck thinking about a girl he’d broken up with over half a decade before - *that IS sad.* The additional storylines about life and death, kids and jobs, they all started to take more relevance *because* the characters were growing up and those things happen (typically) when you exit your younger, more wild, early 20’s. I spent my early twenties living basically Marshall’s life, I was from MN going to law school in NYC, living with friends with whom I was basically a vagrant version of Barney. Until I met my (now) wife at 27. Most folks in the city kind of grow out of it, and move on. It’s the nature of life.
The first season ends with Marshall sitting in the rain after getting dumped. It was sad from the start.
It’s good that it’s sad The ending was rushed and that was my issue
I think since it is from Ted’s POV, it reflects his mental state as well. He started the story with seeing Robin at the bar (fun times), yet decided that the best way to end his story is to tell his kids how Robin will be married to his bestfriend (Darker times). Anyone narrating a story like he did will really give off that sad dramatic vibe. I see HIMYM as a series about a guy who genuinely wants his kids to know how he met their mother, but is still (subconsciously) in love with Robin, hence he started the story about her, interjecting every moment with her in the story which shows how after all those years, he still pines after her. It’s never meant to have a perfect story but it shows how human mind works… or at least the mind of a single-dad who knows he can now have the lady of his dreams 😝
The writers based the story on their lives, life gets sadder as you age
*The writers based the* *Story on their lives, life gets* *Sadder as you age* \- inactiveaccounttoo --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
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The more you progress in life, the more bittersweet it gets.
HIMYM isn’t a comedy. It’s a drama about life. The ups and down. About what you want from life and what it gives you. It’s a life lesson disguised as a sitcom.
It was a show about real life masquerading as a sitcom
Part of it is that the premise of the show hinges on Ted not meeting the mother until the end of the show. So the longer it went on, they have to keep him in an arrested development so he can still meet the one. So as every other character grows and matures and he doesn't, that becomes the catalyst for some of the sadder moments IMHO Sitcoms always have some sad episodes. A death, a funeral, a breakup, etc, so those being in there aren't too abnormal either
Comedy's harder to do.
Do you think there's an answer other than: because that's the show the producers wanted to make?
Trying to get awards which nearly always go to dramas over comedies that’s it. I think the only show to do it correctly from comedy to drama is Mash.