Last Forever

"Last Forever" is the final episode of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The episode serves as the 23rd and 24th episode of season nine, and the 207th and 208th episode overall; the episode's two parts are classified as two separate episodes. It aired on March 31, 2014.

This article is about the How I Met Your Mother episode. For the Naked and Famous song, see Simple Forms. For the Kim Petras song, see Kim Petras.

"Last Forever"
How I Met Your Mother episodes
Ted finally meets the Mother.
Episode nos.Season 9
Episodes 23 and 24
Directed byPamela Fryman
Written by
Original air date(s)March 31, 2014 (2014-03-31)
Guest appearance(s)

"Last Forever" received a polarized response from fans and TV critics, primarily in regard to the final twist ending, the relationship between Ted and Robin, and the fate of the series' titular mother.[1] Many viewers expressed considerable disdain for the apparent disregard for character development, while some praised it for tying up loose ends; an alternate ending would later be included in the ninth season's home media release.[2][3][4][5] However, additional praise was directed to the acting, especially Neil Patrick Harris's performance.

Plot

Part 1

In a flashback to September 2005, Ted (Josh Radnor), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) accept Robin (Cobie Smulders) into their group. Lily, optimistic about Robin's friendship, decrees that Ted and Barney cannot hook up with Robin unless they marry her, and Barney scoffs at the idea.

In May 2013, Ted discusses his move to Chicago with Marshall and Lily at Barney and Robin's wedding reception. Meanwhile, Barney recognizes the bass player—already introduced in previous episodes as the Mother (Cristin Milioti)—as the woman who advised him to pursue Robin. He approaches Ted with the intent to introduce her to him, but Ted declines the idea. After the group sadly bids Ted farewell, he goes to the Farhampton train station, where an elderly lady (Judith Drake) asks Ted many questions about destiny and spots the Mother standing nearby. Ted insists he cannot talk to her because he's moving. The next night, Marshall and Lily are surprised to see Ted sitting at their table in MacLaren's. He tells them that he met a girl, of which they approve after finding out that she is the bass player from the wedding.

In 2015, Ted, now engaged, meets Robin and Barney at MacLaren's to discuss wedding ideas. As Robin goes to buy drinks, Barney admits their marriage is suffering because of Robin's rising career, which requires her to travel frequently. The Mother arrives and tells Ted they have to delay their wedding because she is pregnant.

In May 2016, Ted and the Mother host a get-together with the rest of the gang. Marshall is miserable at his new job, having been forced to return to being a corporate lawyer. Barney and Robin reveal that after three years of marriage, they have divorced. The mood turns positive when Barney realizes that Marshall and Lily are expecting their third child, but Lily is worried about the group breaking apart. Together they promise they will all be there for the big moments and will remain friends.

In October 2016, Marshall and Lily decide to move out of their old apartment and put together a final Halloween roof party. Robin is sad to see Ted and the Mother with matching "hanging chad" outfits, alongside Barney who has returned to his womanizing ways. She decides to leave and confesses to Lily that she cannot be in the group any longer as she has outgrown them and still has unresolved feelings for Ted, which devastates Lily.

Part 2

In 2018, Barney gets ready for another night at MacLaren's, even though Ted and Lily, both being parents, are not intending to stay out late. Marshall arrives and announces he is replacing a retiring judge in Queens, which prompts a celebration. When Barney attempts to score with a young woman, Lily blasts him for fully regressing into his previous self. After Barney defends his behavior by telling her that he will never make it work with anyone except Robin, Lily relents and Barney leaves to enjoy his night.

In 2019, Ted, the Mother, Marshall and Lily are at Robots Versus Wrestlers. A depressed Barney shows up to say that while he recently completed a "perfect month" using a new Playbook, the last woman is pregnant with his child. Sometime later, Ted runs into Robin, now a famous news reporter, while showing Penny the GNB building he designed. Marshall, Lily, and Ted gather at the birth of Barney's daughter, Ellie. Despite his initial misgivings, Barney is moved to tears.

At Ted and the Mother’s house, Ted re-proposes to the Mother, five years after he first proposed, and says they are getting married the following Thursday. Before the wedding, the gang meets up at MacLaren’s, and Marshall announces he is running for the New York State Supreme Court. Barney sees two young women at the bar and scolds them for dressing inappropriately, which genuinely surprises Lily, who is even more surprised when Robin shows up. While reconciling with the gang, Robin admits to Ted that after initially declining to come, the Mother told her to reconsider. Lily gives a toast praising Ted for all he has been through, and for Ted and the Mother's future.

Broadcast ending

Future Ted narrates how he never stopped loving the Mother for a second, even when she became terminally ill and died in 2024.

In 2030, when Future Ted finishes his story, his children Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) and Luke (David Henrie) deduce that it was actually about how he still has feelings for their "Aunt" Robin, and give their blessings to continue his relationship with her. Ted decides to go to her apartment with the blue French horn from their first date, presenting it the same way he had 25 years earlier. Robin, who is revealed to be living alone, seems moved, and they both smile at each other. A deleted scene with Lily and Marshall confirm they become a couple.

DVD ending

At Ted's and the Mother's wedding, Barney and Robin nod to each other as Future Ted's narration implies they later get back together. Future Ted (Bob Saget) narrates how when he thinks how lucky he is to wake up next to the Mother every morning, he cannot help but be amazed at how "easy" it all really was, recalling his former relationships and expressing incredulity at how allowing Barney and Robin to fall in love led him to, at their wedding, "leave a little early, be in the right place at the right time, and somehow summon the guts to do the stupidest, most impossible thing in the world: Walk up to that beautiful girl standing under the yellow umbrella, and start talking."

Returning the story to May 2013, Ted gets the courage to introduce himself to the bass player, and she invites him underneath her yellow umbrella. The two engage in a conversation where she tells Ted she remembers him on his first day as a professor, and reveals her name is Tracy McConnell. Ted recognizes her umbrella as the one he had left at Cindy's, and the pair realize how they have narrowly missed meeting each other many times in their lives, before laughingly each saying "Hi." As their conversation continues and the train arrives, Future Ted narrates "See? Easy. And that kids, is how I met your mother."

Production

Before writing the episode, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas decided to watch the series finales of other sitcoms for inspiration. They said that they crafted the last ten minutes of the series right from the start. In February 2014, Bays tweeted that he found a rough draft of the series finale that he first wrote in 2006.[6]

The scene involving Ted's future children (Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie) was secretly shot in 2006 during the production of Season 2.[7] This was primarily done so the teenage characters would not age, since Fonseca and Henrie were adults by the time the final episode aired.[8] The scene was filmed on a set closed to everyone except Bays, Thomas, executive producer/director Pamela Fryman, a camera operator, and Fonseca and Henrie, who signed non-disclosure agreements. Fonseca stated that she had forgotten the details of the scene in the years since its filming, while Henrie said, "I do remember. I think I remember. We’ll see."[9][10] Josh Radnor was also told some parts of the finale from the start,[11] but neither he nor the rest of the cast were informed how the series would end.[12] Radnor, not Bob Saget, plays future Ted when he appears on camera. When asked whether he should have played the role, Saget said that Radnor doing so "felt appropriate to me. It's not The Matrix where Ted CGI's into a narrator of his voice that was done as a sweet way to tell his story from almost his conscience from the future of his own life".[13]

Before the airing of the series finale, debates raged amongst fans concerning the fate of Ted and the Mother, fueled by scenes from "Vesuvius" and other previous episodes that seemed to point to a tragic ending.[14]

According to tweets from Alyson Hannigan, approximately 18 minutes of the original episode had to be cut to fit the broadcast time. One cut sequence features Lily paying back Marshall regarding a bet on whether Ted and Robin end up together, first referenced in the episode "No Pressure".[15] Other cut scenes feature Robin, wearing her Robin Sparkles jeans jacket over her wedding dress, singing "Let's Go to The Mall" with the Mother's band at the wedding reception,[16] and a "one-second" montage showing Tracy's funeral.[17]

An alternative cut of the ending appeared on the season nine DVD and the box set. It did not contain any new footage, but is edited in a way that changes the fates of Ted, Tracy and Robin. The voiceover is performed by Saget, rather than Radnor, and is completely different.[18][19]

Everything but the Girl's acoustic cover of the Tom Waits song "Downtown Train" was used in the scene where Ted and The Mother meet at the Farhampton train station. Music supervisor Andy Gowan says that Carter Bays "basically put it in the script, and wrote that script with that song in mind"; Gowan described the song as "heartbreakingly beautiful" and captured both the "sweet and romantic" and the "somber, dark part" of the scene.[20]

"Heaven" by The Walkmen features in the final scene of "Last Forever". Gowan said that "it seemed like it was written for our show". Gowan had suggested the song before, especially for use in the season 8 premiere, and said that when he pitched it for use in the season 9 finale, "[the song] was just the one that resonated with all of us the most".[20]

Critical reception

"Last Forever" received a polarizing reaction from fans and critics alike, with the majority opinion being negative.[1] Many viewers expressed considerable dissatisfaction regarding the resolution of Ted's story, his relationship to Robin, and the fate of the titular mother.[2] Additionally, the season-long buildup for Barney and Robin's wedding and their divorce 10 minutes into the next episode was criticized. Fans took to social media, such as Tumblr and Twitter, to express their disappointment. Some fans joked that the episode was an early April Fools' joke, because it aired on March 31.[21][22]

Some fans of the show called on CBS to commission the creators of the show via a change.org petition to rewrite and reshoot the finale. As of April 2, 2014, the petition had received more than 5,000 signatures.[23] On April 5, 2014, Carter Bays announced on Twitter that an alternative ending, from the same filmed material, would be included on the Season 9 DVD.[24]

Bill Kuchman of Popculturology said that the success of Milioti as the Mother made it hard to write the character away so quickly, saying, "Thanks to the show’s writing staff and Cristin Milioti, HIMYM had a huge victory on its hands with The Mother. Asking fans to drop all of that with a simple line about The Mother getting sick and passing away was a very difficult request."[25] Kuchman noted that "[over] the course of this final season, HIMYM made us care about Tracy. It made us believe that she and Ted belonged together. It was earned. That's why it was sad to see HIMYM just brush Tracy away."[26]

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club graded the episode a B+, saying, "The hour finale was a strange ride, marvelous in some ways, confounding in others. Endings are difficult, and I don’t think any objective assessment would say they nailed this one."[27] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club was more blunt in saying that "Bays and Thomas simply looked like shitty long-term planners, unable to understand that getting the audience so invested in the Barney and Robin coupling or in Tracy as a character would make it all the harder when the series finale abruptly dissolved the former and treated the latter’s death as an aside in the narration. That the show never seemed to suggest Ted mourned her feels like a vital betrayal of his character."[28]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix cited three reasons why Bays and Thomas should not have stuck with the ending they had originally envisioned at the start: the show's lengthy run forced them to stretch out events like Barney's and Robin's wedding, which would have to be quickly undone in the finale; the chemistry between Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris caused many fans to become deeply invested in Robin and Barney's relationship more than Robin and Ted's; and the casting of Cristin Milioti as the Mother caused fans to become invested in that character as well.[29] Sepinwall stated that "so much of what was terrible here was terrible because Bays and Thomas had a very specific vision for the ending of their show and would not—or, perhaps, after they filmed the kids' reactions, could not—deviate from it. And based on the initial reaction I've seen to the episode, it's going to forever sour the opinion many fans of the show had for it."[29]

Joyce Eng of TV Guide said that she'd prefer Ted not to have ended up with Robin, but "as I consider the romantics that co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are, it's obvious they would bring this long, winding love story full circle back to the person Ted wanted to be with when we met him. And The Mother—excuse us, Tracy—is reunited with her first true love, Max, too." Though the Mother served as a "cheap plot device" to a degree, Eng said that "Ted's time with her also taught him nothing lasts forever, nothing's perfect. And he needs to move on with his life, but that doesn't make his relationship with The Mother any less important. I don't think the Ted of 2005 would've done the same."[30]

Andrew Meola from MStars praised the episode, saying "I couldn't believe that they actually killed the Mother. But I let it sit for a bit, and then I felt something profoundly beautiful come out of this last hour of How I Met Your Mother."[31]

Saim Cheeda from Screen Rant was critical of the episode, citing the low points to be the reversal of character development, Robin and Barney's divorce, and the Mother's death. His assessment was that "Fans weren’t given any moment to grieve, which undermined the impact of her passing". Cheeda singled out Ted using the Mother's death as a framing device to be "lame", stating that viewers "being forced to believe that Ted would use his wife’s death to justify chasing after “Aunt” Robin" was the main reason why the finale was disappointing.[32]

In the years succeeding its airing, it continued to be singled out as one of television's worst series finales,[33][34][35] e.g., topping USA Today's list of "Worst Series Finales of All Time".[36]

In an interview with David Letterman, Neil Patrick Harris declared himself a fan of the way the finale ended the series:

Some people just hated it, and I think that that's a compliment to the show in a weird way because it means that they have grown up with these characters and feel like they wanted it to go a certain way, though I think it's great. But our show really did cross the line between funny funny and really serious, and that was kind of the balance that this show had. And as the show grew up, and as we grew up in the show, it ended in a more adult way and I think it was a nice, reflective, kind of sad, but happy ending to a long, long story.[37]

References
  1. "HIMYM Tomatometer Watch: Series Finale Currently Rotten - Majority of critics disappointed by 'Last Forever'". Rotten Tomatoes. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  2. Akuna, Kirsten (March 31, 2014). "Fans Are Not Happy With The 'How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale". Business Insider. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  3. James Poniewozik (March 31, 2014). "How I Met Your Mother Watch: Mate and Switch". Time Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  4. "How I Met Your Mother: the latest show to fail in the search for a perfect ending". Guardian. April 1, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  5. Henry Hanks (April 1, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' ends a legendary run". CNN. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  6. Chris Harnick (February 7, 2014). ""First Look" at How I Met Your Mother Series Finale: Carter Bays Has Been Writing It Since 2006!". E! Online. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  7. "Barney writes a book, Barney + Robin, Ted + Stella and other 'How I Met Your Mother' news". Chicago Tribune. July 19, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2017. He did reveal that more than two years ago ... With only the two kids who play Ted's future children ... they shot a scene that directly relates to the identity of the mother. That scene will be included in the show's series finale"
  8. "'How I Met Your Mother's' Craig Thomas on Ted & Barney's Breakup, Eriksen Babies and The Future of Robarn". Zap2it.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  9. Vlada Gelman (September 29, 2013). "Farewell, How I Met Your Mother: Ted's 'Daughter' and 'Son' Spill 7 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets". TV Line. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  10. "Climatic End To 'HIMYM' Shot Eight Years Ago," from AP/TVNewsCheck, January 16, 2014.
  11. Michael O'Connell (March 24, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother': Josh Radnor Has Always Known (Part of) How It All Ends". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  12. Rachel Maresca (March 24, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' stars were left guessing about the sitcom's finale". The New York Daily News. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  13. Bob Saget (April 4, 2014). "I'm Bob Saget...comedian, actor and author of the new book DIRTY DADDY....ask me anything!". Reddit. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  14. Margaret Eby (March 4, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' hints at tragic series finale". The New York Daily News. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  15. "alyson hannigan on Twitter: ""@TMillz55: @alydenisof @HIMYM_CBS I do believe lily owes Marshall money though! @jasonsegel" YES & that scene was CUT!!! :(((."". Twitter. March 31, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  16. Erin Strecker (April 3, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' finale cut a Robin Sparkles performance". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  17. Matt Webb Mitovich (April 26, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother Star: "Heart-Wrenching" Funeral, Cut from Finale, May Have Softened Blow". TVLine. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  18. "Watch the Happier 'How I Met Your Mother' Alternate Ending". RollingStone.
  19. MacGregor, Rachel. "8 reasons why How I Met Your Mother should've used its alternative ending". Metro.
  20. Ashley Lee (April 1, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale: The Story Behind the Music (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  21. Caroline Westbrook (April 1, 2014). "How I Met Your Mother finally answers its own question in last ever episode – but fans aren't happy". Retrieved August 13, 2017. How I Met Your Mother’s ending left many fans wanting – and others suggesting it was all an April Fool's joke.
  22. Kaitlin Thomas (April 1, 2014). "How I Met Your Mother Series Finale Review: Well, That Happened". Retrieved August 13, 2017. I might eventually come around to accepting the fact "Last Forever" wasn't just a one-day-early April Fool's Day prank.
  23. Tierney McAfee (April 2, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' Ending Petition — Fans Want To Officially Change Finale". Hollywood Life. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  24. "Carter Bays on Twitter: "Update for those who've been asking: Alt #himym ending will be on s9 DVD and also in the series box set."". Twitter. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  25. Kuchman, Bill (April 1, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' 'Last Forever' Recap: A Divisive Finale and What It Means for 'HIMYM'". Popculturology. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  26. Kuchman, Bill (March 31, 2014). "'HIMYM' Finale Instant Reaction". Popculturology. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
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  28. Emily VanDerWerff (April 1, 2014). "Does How I Met Your Mother's finale ruin it for all time?". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  29. Alan Sepinwall (March 31, 2014). "Series finale review: 'How I Met Your Mother' - 'Last Forever': How they conned us all". HitFix. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
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  32. Saim Cheeda (May 28, 2020). "How I Met Your Mother: 5 Things Fans Hated About The Final Episode (& 5 They Loved)". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  33. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/end-game-tvs-best-and-worst-series-finales-170942/worst-how-i-met-your-mother-171680/
  34. https://www.businessinsider.com/12-worst-series-finales-of-all-time-seinfeld-girls-dexter-2018-6#how-i-met-your-mother-season-9-episodes-23-24-last-forever-3
  35. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/04/03/10-best-and-worst-tv-series-finales-through-years.html
  36. Kelly Lawler (May 31, 2018). "The 10 best (and five worst) TV series finales of all time". USA Today. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  37. "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
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