Written by Elisha Frazer
A young and devoted fan base has followed the journey of Ted Mosby over the years. Actor Josh Radnor’s character on the hit television show “How I Met Your Mother” resonated with young adult audiences, who since 2005, the year of the show’s pilot, have enjoyed their own journey with Marshall, Lilly, Robin, and Barney, all characters on the show. For fans like myself, who binge-watched the show on Netflix, Ted’s story was a foreshadowing, a guide to what lies ahead after college graduation.
On March 31, as a collective unit we faithful fans came together to watch the final episode with only one thing in mind: How did Ted meet the mother of his children?
While my excitement was tempered in part by having already seen what Tracy looked like – she made appearances in both season eight and nine – I could not wait to see how the show’s creators might wrap everything up together.
Ultimately, what viewers received was a combination of closure and nostalgia, with a dash of “Fudge” jokes, high-fives and tears.
Marshall and Lilly delivering baby number three wasn’t surprising, nor was Marshall’s climb to Judge Supreme. Not even Ted and Tracy’s relationship seemed all that shocking, since news of her death in the series finale had already been leaked. The event that really hit me in the gut was when Robin and Barney announced their divorce. I flung my journal across the room and broke my pen as they said the words.
After that, Robin made it big as a news reporter, even though it meant parting from her MacLaren’s family. And Barney ended up … becoming a dad? It happened due to his careless womanizing. Disconcerting, but necessary. After holding in his arms his baby girl for the first time, he promised to be a devoted father despite his imperfect past. Only then did I experience Barney’s true, legendary change.
I’m not alone in admitting that the final episode failed to impact me as strongly as I had hoped. Yet it gave me what I expected: a conclusion resembling an echo of how life really works.
However, we must remember this. “How I Met Your Mother” provided us with more than what we initially asked for. Our fast-paced, forward-thinking world craves product and too often forgets the process. This goes for our expectations with love and success as well.
We got to see not just Ted, but additionally his friends evolve through his narrative. Different viewers found each of these characters to be highly relatable, and their individual stories impacted the audience. Lilly and Robin’s stories were especially influential to me. To be given the privilege to see these women decide between marriage and career, motherhood and goals, was like facing an unbearable truth. And I was able to experience that thanks to Ted Mosby.
Ted respected the process it took to get to Tracy, to become the man, the husband, and the father he was meant to be. It took a lot of failed relationships and career blunders, but he never lost faith in love. And he never took those bar nights at MacLaren’s for granted. He cherished every day.
Told six years after Tracey’s passing, Ted’s story came to a sorrowful close. Nevertheless, his willingness to rekindle a relationship with Robin with that tacky, blue French horn, reminds us all that while the story of our past has already been written, we still hold the pens to write new chapters.
