How I Met Your Mother TV Show Review

★★★★★ (5/7)

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"How I met your Mother" follows a father recounting to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother. The show is one of the most popular television sitcoms of all time and ran from 2005 to 2014.

The early seasons of "How I Met Your Mother" are incredibly enjoyable and funny. The adventures of Ted, Barney, Marshall, Lily, and Robin were always refreshing. I was emotionally invested in the personal lives of each character and the choices they made. Plus, Barney is extremely hilarious in the early seasons. The lives of this friend group in New York City seemed, as Barney would say, legendary. However, "How I Met Your Mother" falls into the trap that many popular television series do, it ran the series for far too long.

I really did care about how Ted met his wife initially and the side plots of his friends lives were able to keep me invested for a while too. However, when it got to the point that I had watched five+ seasons of the show and still new little to nothing about the mother, I began to grow frustrated. Many of the episodes did nothing to advance the plot. Ted specifically would make decisions that he had already made in past episodes. Many characters started to lose their appeal. It eventually got to the point where it felt as if I was just watching the show because I had started it and I needed to finish.

The most frustrating thing about the show, however, was the finale. I have never watched a television show that had a finale as disappointing as that of "How I Met Your Mother." In one single episode the show was able to destroy everything that I had been invested in since the beginning of the series. Many fans were extremely frustrated and the show eventually even released an alternative ending. A finale does not require a twist ending. "How I Met Your Mother" proves this to be true. Some fan service would have been much better.

Despite all my complaining, I am not saying "How I Met Your Mother" is a bad show. I have found myself even going back to rewatch episodes every once in a while. The show had an easy to love cast of characters and their dynamic and adventures in early seasons was very enjoyable. It provided with some laughs and lessons throughout. However, "How I Met Your Mother" was ultimately not able to maintain its greatness for all nine years.