This episode, Marshall’s father dying, and the episode where Robin is talking to the kids she will never have are truly some of the most devastating things I’ve ever watched
The best part of that episode was how everyone kept it a secret from Jason Segal that his dad was going to die at the end of the episode, that way his reaction would be as honest as they could get. And, his comment that he wasn't ready for it was 100% honest. He felt like he would have more scenes with him, the story line wasn't finished, and he had nothing prepared, either. All of which are basically how it works in reality, too. We feel we should have had more scenes, that that part of the story wasn't finished... and that we never thought about it, never prepared or practiced our 'lines'. So, they got it perfect.
This epiode was brutal, you spent like 20 minutes with jokes and sudenly enter a very dark space, specially when Barney said "Look around Ted, you're all alone"
@@d1jacobhansen987 I can understand her. She herself decided she doesn't want kids but the diagnosis that she can't have them anyways makes it feel like she never had a choice at all. It got decided for her without her knowledge. It's hard to face an absolute that you can't do anything about. This is different from a sterilization where she would have a say. Her decision to not want kids made the whole situation easier to accept but it still hurts
I agree. I had a coworker who had 2 children, but had to have surgery which involved removing her womb. I tried to comfort her about the fact that she had 2 children but, the fact of not being able to have more children really drove her to depression, her life went down hill for her from there. Some can really be affected by that.
A common theme in How I Met Your Mother is how setbacks and failures can often lead to something far more incredible than success could, but we just can't see it in the moment. That's what this episode was all about.
Most of the commenters, plus never nothing are a younger crowd who as of yet have had these life experiences and why they can’t see it. I agree with what you wrote.
I remember watching this episode and I can still remember the tears rolling down my cheeks, when Ted confesses to “the mother” how we are going to meet and fall in love in 45 days and how he wants those extra 45 days.
The episode was dark at the time, but only after the series ended did we see how dark it truly was. Ted is all alone at the bar, and in his voiceover said he'd rather run to his wife's place and introduce himself, and at the time what he said at her doorstep sounded crazy, but when we find out in the finale that she died of cancer, it hits home so, so hard. He'll never get those extra six weeks to spend with her, and he realized that no matter how lonely he was then, it's nothing compared to missing his wife. He's telling this to his kids, that he'd give anything just for a few more weeks with their mom. That makes this the darkest episode of the show.
@@prathiusharun in the series finale, last 20 minutes when Ted was in the hospital with her when she was sick. Also the flashbacks when she’s talking about what kind of mother would miss her daughter’s wedding and Ted breaks down. They both know she’s dying, but it overwhelms him.
I can't watch the one where Marshall's dad dies. I watched it once and it hit me hard. I won't watch it again, especially after losing my dad this year.
Even back in Season one: Marshall sitting in the rain on the steps outside their apartment building, looking forlorn and holding Lily’s engagement ring after Lily had dumped him to go to San Francisco. That was pretty sad. This series is filled with hard hitting sad episodes.
This is a very intelligently written episode. Ted’s character is well-developed as a sappy, overly emotional romantic character by this point, so when he runs to the mother’s apartment to meet her earlier, it’s very much in keeping with his personality. However, the writers knew she was going to die when they wrote this. You’re being tricked into believing it’s simply the act of an overly romantic character. When you rewatch it knowing she died, his wanting to capture every moment with her is a completely different gut-punch.
Even more to this. Goes into the line tracy told him of “dont live in your stories remember to keep moving forward” as he has been living in his stories while retelling them and him wanting to go earlier knowing she dies plays into that even more.
There's nothing "overly" romantic about it, you use "overly" as if it is a bad thing but it's not. Even without the mother's medical complication, everyone dies. Everyone loses their loved ones at one point or another, simply being wise enough to see that fact of reality and act on it isn't "overly" romantic, it's what romantic should be which is why I don't think it matters that the mother ended up dying in the final season. Saying that plot point has any bearing or feedback on this plot point completely devalues the notion of love and time that the episode is trying to convey.
@@McLovin208 I never talked about general, I wrote about the meaning behind this scene, this episode specifically. And I doubt “overly romantic” is the best word for in general, in the beginning he cheats and the guy is basically a man-slut for most of the show… not “romantic” in my books.
I've always appreciated the fact that HIMYM was willing to show a lot more emotional heart than other shows. Marshall losing his dad, Barney dealing with his dad, Ted losing Tracy, Robin finding out she couldn't have kids, etc., all made for really heartbreaking and gripping moments that made the characters feel real. This episode especially was the peak of the shows emotional risk taking.
Don't forget that time where Ted comes home after hooking up with Robin, and finding Marshall sitting on the front stairs holding Lilly's engagement ring...
There is a life lesson to be learned, whether from HIMYM, another media property, another person, or your own experience: To love is to lose. You could lose a greater part of yourself, for the sake of love, and some of us do resist the creeping totality of that. You could certainly lose assets; look at the divorce-related numbers. Look at the highs, too. They are the dragon we all chase. The fundamental question for each individual becomes, "is love worth it." Note how many times Ted said, "worth it," in the show. Note also the current landscape: Only 6 out of 1K men want to marry, in this current climate. That amounts to an economic killer: Rings and dresses un-bought, halls un-rented, ministers and bands/DJs un-booked. The MGTOW movement, a response to modern feminism amounts to socio-economic Jenga for our society as a whole, unless the change that it desires to spur takes place. Are the ladies listening?
What makes this episode even darker is that the episode’s most heart warming moment, where Ted imagines what he’d say if he went to see the mother right then, was also the moment that many of us were (correctly) convinced that the Mother was definitely dead.
It makes this episode the saddest rewatch, honestly. While I hated the finale at the time, it made every rewatch a little bit better. The hints, the emotions, Ted and Robin's complications. Everything felt better knowing the end of the show.
This episode actually gave me goosebumps! It hit me hard when barney said "Look around Ted, you're all alone"! And then you realize that, the whole gathering was nothing but only Ted's imagination. The ending of this episode was really heartbreaking!!
@@silviabeatricevaretto9449 i had been suspecting the mother was dead all along, but this episode to me confirmed it. i still feel they could have wrapped up the show better, but im glad they stayed true to their vision regardless of how mad people were - the signs of ted and robin being end game were there all along.
I mean, the episode where Robin was talking to her fake kids was pretty dark. “And that’s why I’m happy you don’t exist” was on of the most chilling lines ever
You have no idea how much this episode changed my life when I binged HIMYM in college. The amount of people I have told about this episode is embarrassing. It is so deep and beautiful and went completely unnoticed by most. I still sob every time
Feel the exact same Sydney. Every time I watch it it brings me to tears but in the best hopeful way possible. I think that's why we shared it with everyone we care about. Fantastic show!
I have a yearly tradition of binging HIMYM and I just finished it last week and now YT is suggesting me these vids and they are making me emotional all over again.
He didn't meet Tracy 1 year later. He met Tracy 45 days after The Time Travelers episode. Everything that happened after that day, to the Wedding night, was only 45 days. Which makes this episode even more sad, because after knowing Tracy's destiny, all what he wanted was at least 45 more days with her, to that day when he felt alone.
I disagree. I find it inspiring. I think this episode shows Ted at one of his (if not his most) low points. In literally less than two months that completely reversed. Sometimes life sucks but sometimes happiness is literally right around the corner. You just have to be looking for it.
@jambrown1397 I think it's a mixture. Most people like me don't like the aired ending, so I'll explain with the amazing alternate ending instead. The episode was obviously the most dark because Ted (in the moment) was at his lowest and loneliest. Everyone moved on but him. In the scene with Tracy, he wants the extra days with her because of that. Also, though not because she died, but because he thought she was going to die. Everything that happened with her illness is still present in the alternate ending (at least that's the assumption based on Vesuvius' ending), it's just that she thankfully recovers. That's why Ted is so emotional here. Past those 45 days he and Tracy both thought she was going to die. Plus, Ted says he'll keep loving her "until the end of my days and beyond. You'll see" which could hint that he will die first (which doesn't happen yet in the show). And who doesn't want more time with their significant other, dead or not? We humans constantly take things for granted until they're gone or we fear to lose them.
@S-Mania It's the narration of Future Ted saying if he could go back to that night, he'd want those extra 45 days. The mother's death was written during the first season because they had to have the kids look exactly the same in the final episode. Sadly, they painted themselves into a corner with the "Ted still ends up with Robin" because after watching them for 8 years, they had become toxic.
Being late 30s and the only single friend in my group, this episode always hit deep, realising everyone is moving on with life and you're still in the same shit state you were 15 years earlier just wishing you could change your life
@@liisan3769 well its not inevitable, you have 12-15 years to prevent is, socialising is a muscle you need to exercise it, not online go out then you'll never have that problem!
You forgot to mention the aspect of the kind of teased death of the mother in this episode! Ted says he would never go to robots vs reslers that night and he wants even the few month with his wife and we later completely learn why.
Yeah, that ending makes this episode even darker and deeper. And honestly, I relate so much to this, this is one of the reasons why I love HIMYM so much.
4 of the darkest episodes - Marshall's dad dying, Robin talking to her "kids", "Barney's time stops, Ted wanting those "extra 45 days" . Funny that I haven't felt sad for lilly ever in this entire series.
i also think that the girl at the bar represents ted's anxiety. i think she was indeed there, but her future versions were obviously hallucionations from him - he overthinking what would happen if he talked to her. at this point of the series, he had so many failed relationships that he's scared of being alone (the "i grew tired of you" ending), but also dont trust himself anymore to dont mess things up with someone special (the "you grew tired of me" ending) at the same time. she could very well be the one, but he dont have confidence to try anymore. this is probably the lowest we see ted in the entire series
Fine analysis, and yes, confidence is of high importance for a guy, when dating. If it is at a low ebb, it becomes a misery multiplier. Happily ever after does remain possible, even in late middle age. You just have to come to your own reasonable definition of what it can be. Sadly, most women under 30 are still stuck in a princess mentality. Only when reality and the wall catch up to them do they actually come to their senses, but only to a degree. They still seek the possimpable.
For me the problem was throwing away Ted's development in the first 8 seasons, as for many. But I have another complaint. The problem of not having the mother alive is not because it's sad, as most fans who liked the ending acuse us of being. The problem is it feels like neither Ted or us spent time with her. If they were going to kill her off, then she should have been part of the gang in the final season. That way we could fully appreciate why she was Ted's perfect match. And when she died it would be sad not only for Ted, but for us as well. She shows up and vanishes too quickly, so it feels rushed and empty.
@@gabrielpetroni8347 yes, my biggest problem with the ending isnt exactly the storylines, it just felt very rushed and anticlimatic specially in a season where so much happened in so little time. if they developed more of her relationship with everyone and her ilness, it would've been very bittersweet and kinda insane, but not actually bad. its even worse when you realize they had the ending planned since the beggining and just did it in the worst way possivle
When you said Dark Episode, I was sure you were talking about this one. I felt so uncomfortable watching that episode, I cried instead laughing. And you don't cry while watching a sitcom. End of the sitcoms are always sad but it was so scary and awful to relate to Ted's loneliness.
I watched that episode for the first time alone after I missed alot of activity invitations and friend hang outs and plans, boy how it hit me hard and made me cry my heart out Ended up replaying it and watching it everyday for the next week Really a masterpiece of a work
I feel like there are 3 episodes that hit you the absolute hardest. "Bad News" is the biggest shocker in the series. It was actually a pretty comforting episode and then it just hits you like a truck. "Symphony of Illumination" overall was packed with this empty feeling, that got to a new high at the end of the episode. "Time Travelers" seems to be the one that really plays with your feeling by playing with the basic premise of the show. All three episode are heartbreaking, but each in a different way.
@@sanjalimukadam7211 Good point and definitely 4th place. The way they performed it was absolutely amazing and really heartbreaking. It seemed so real and all. I just guess that one thing this episode had was a somewhat happy ending, which wasn't the case with the others I've listed. In the end Barney seemed to be better than he was before and during the fight, meanwhile in the others it ended on the saddest note.
Everyone obviously knows about the "countdown" to Marvin Eriksens death, but if you really look right before Lily tells Marshall, the sign on the cab says "Expired"
Time travelers had me in tears.. iv seen the show a good 60 times and it hits every time. Lot of life lessons were taught through out the show. Show was absolute perfection even the ending.. it was inevitable in a way.
"Look around Ted, you're all alone" Barney, of all people, said this to Ted. It must've been a huge blow to him since he's been doing the same thing for over a decade without any change at all. The same useless process of trying to find the love of his life, where he could've used that time to spend more time with the actual love of his life.
I don’t think some people understand that dark doesn’t automatically mean there’s this super edgy and creepy episode of HIMYM and it can be more like, there’s this really deep, lonely and emotional episode of HIMYM, that for certain people could be even downright unsettling.
Many of us are dark, just below the surface, despite maintaining sunny outward facades. Pagliacci is legion. Just scratch my emotional surface; you'll find out.
In this episode, Barney became what Ted always wanted, i.e. somebody who found "The One" and is about to settle down. And, Ted is trying to be like Barney, i.e. someone who is not settling down, but seizing every moment that presents itself.
How traumatic and very real was this episode? I read the title and knew exactly which one you were going to be talking about. Thought maybe Robin's kids or Marshall's dad, but no, "Because I'm not here" hits harder than almost any other moment in the series.
The fact that it gets more depressing when Ted goes to see Tracy and breaks down the moment he sees her, saying he'd like one last moment to see her if given the chance, explaining the same to his kids
When I first watched this episode in college, I was worried I'd end up like Ted in the episode. Little did I know I'd end up being in Marshall and Lily's shoes and be the first of my friends to have a baby. Surprisingly enough though, I found out being the first one to "advance" in life out of your friends can be equally as lonely and scary. Having a baby often made me feel left out and miss my past life while all my other friends kept doing the stupid shit we always used to do together. All part of growing up though! I think this episode really touched on something we all go through at one point or another in our lives.
Я тоже стала мамой первая из подруг. Ты на самом деле остаёшься один на один с новой жизнью. И подруги тебя просто не понимают. Так я пережила послеродовую депрессию. И будто до сих пор ее переживаю
I'm the first of both my friends and my siblings to have kids. It's really isolating at times because no one really understands what it's like to have an entire other person who depends on you. Of course they'll never be mad at you for having to change, for having miss out on so much of what used to be, but it doesn't mean they get it. I now have a few other friends that are moms and now a handful of high school friends are having kids, but I spent the first 4 years of motherhood pretty much alone.
Well, I found out about this series six months ago and just finished watching it today. Of course I'm shocked by the ending. Of course I began to google all the information about this series. And I came across this video. ... Just no comments. Words can't describe the depth of my feelings. This series touched me. I live in Ukraine and I have a war literally outside my window. I don't have a job for several months, I often don't have electricity and internet. And this series is all that I have now and all that has supported me for the last months. And now it has come to an end. I can't hold back the tears. How I Met Your Mother is an outstanding series. One of the best I've ever seen. I would like to express my gratitude and respect to the authors and actors. And thank you, the author of this video. Rest In Peace, Tracy McConnell. Ted loves you. Ted will always love you. To the end of his days. And beyond.
After rewatch HIMYM 10 times, i love Marshall. He is a man of family. Also is the best friend whom anyone want to have. He never made mistake with wife, friends...
This episode was an absolute masterpiece, I'd go as far as to say it's one of the all time great pieces of culture ever created. The emotion and relatability it provokes as well as how it challenges convention and forces you to confront an uncomfortable reality is just *chef's kiss*
I think it's very good from an artistic point of view. But there is nothing uncomfortable about it, the whole idea of "moving on" idea is actually kind of a cliché
what makes himym truly great is the writers’ immaculate storytelling. the techniques they use.. the time traveling, the point of view as being told to his kids in the future, the interconnecting storylines, among so much else. as a writer & a watcher, this show has both inspired me & made me return & binge countless times over the years
The worst episode was when Marshall's dad died. I've had the friend group and I was the female Barney and I'm still single and 44. I had a high pressure career that actually afforded me my apartment in NYC and I worked long hours everyday. I make a difference, I'm not in finance but in law working with victims so the hours are purposeful. I've lost siblings and friends to tragedy. I lost my mom. But my dad was my rock and when Lily tells Marshall his dad didn't make it, I felt my heart stop. The show did such a good job with the storyline with all the characters. The last message on Marshall's voicemail, I have one as well. It's nothing epic, he's telling me to stop at Whole Foods and not to forget dog food but at the end he says I love you. After my sister died young we always told each other 'I love you' on the phone or when we left so if anything happened our last words wouldn't be in anger or something stupid. I know when the episode comes on within the first seconds but I always watch. I'll never get over my dad's death but I'll get through it. And a good cry never hurt anybody.
I keep the last message from my mom, too. It says keep an eye on the temperature for when we go to the Air BnB. Something so small and random. You don't expect it to be the last thing they'll tell you. For me, it made this episode hit even harder.
@@exalt7787 they're always watching out for us. Everytime something happens and it's a dad thing my first thought is to call and ask him for help and then I stop and get sad. But I think what would dad tell me to do? And all that advice and information he gave does come back. I know he's watching from wherever he is thinking I was listening.
This is my favorite episode of the whole show. It is excruciatingly painful to watch every single time and I am always left sobbing. But it also gives me a weird sort of hope that has carried me through some very difficult times. The idea that what I’ve been striving for may be only 45 days away…it may not happen in 45 days, but it also might. And it gives me a reason to keep going for 45 days to see.
You are not alone in this sentiment, but my angle is different. I had always been able to view this episode from a position of comfort, having found my partner...until shortly after the above post. We're separated now. There was no hope during November at all. There is hope, now. We are reconciling, but will remain twain for a bit, doing the weekend visit thing until my 6-month lease ends. I could not survive watching this episode in November of 2022. I can handle it now, but can also feel a tear on my cheek as I type. We feel like this because the writers have made us CARE about Ted. We can heighten the relate-ability by plugging our own experience and memories into the situation. I want those extra 5 days/week. I get them back, come April.
Community's ending was quite interesting given their aim was "Six seasons and a movie", so I mean having it go on makes sense so that the movie can feel familiar.
Agreed. I think the movie might show the stuff that the fans wanted to see at the end of the show. Like Jeff and Annie for an example. You can do that after a time jump in a creative way. So I quiet liked the ending.
I wonder what that movie would look like… knowing Dan Harmon though, it’d have to fit some sort of narrative sentiment spelled out both within the context and the subtext, probably in a back and forth manner… that’s probably too much pressure on a single project if I’m being honest. Either way, it’d have to be Harmon’s magnum opus.
I like the ending of community, but I also agree with this channel that Jeff was a talented lawyer with a lot of people skill. They could done something better than becoming a Homer Simpson
I'm SOOO glad someone made a video on this episode. we have rewatched this show so many times, and this episode never fails to make an impact. I've almost considered making a channel myself just to make a video on this episode because of how impactful and unique an episode like this is in a sitcom. You can even expand on everything you said to give it that much more context. ever since the Barney/Robin engagement happened, the show started teasing how hard this was for Ted. Marshal and Lily had already started moving on to their next stage in life, and Ted went through his last, heartbreaking rejection by Robin not too long ago. The feeling of loneliness and emptiness was only growing within Ted ever since then. His longtime best friends had become parents, his new friends had chosen each other over him, he truly was alone in this stage of life. and this was all blown wide open for Ted and the audience in that single, gut-punch of a line. "Look around Ted, you're all alone" AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, the ending shows that not only was he too far past the stage where they were all just friends hanging out, BUT he also was too early for the stage where he meets the love of his life, losing out on precious time with her before she dies. he was stuck in this empty middle ground by himself. the audience is just left with such a hollow feeling from the last couple minutes of the episode, especially once you know the significance of the ending.
One of the best episodes in the series. I cried every single time I saw the scene, and you know what, it hurts that they hinted that the mother died here subtly considering Ted was technically saying if he would be around even just for 45 days with the mother, he would as he loves her until the end of the days.
ive seen this show i dont know how many times and this episode (along with others like marshalls dad dying) always hits me right in the gut. the writers of this show had an uncanny ability to have everything come together in the end and make you go holy shit
ive watched this show more times than im proud to admit. literally every time i get hit with either seasonal depression or regular depression i watch this show because the theme of "dont judge yourself by anybodys timeline. no matter what. it gets better and things turn out okay", really gives me hope. this episode is always hard to watch because it accurately describes the root of most of my anxieties. the very dreadful feeling of "this is your life you messed up and you should be terrified", hurts but the ending where he talks to tracy and tells her hes appreciative of their time always gets to me and makes me feel better due to the fact that ive found my tracy and life has gone no where but up since then. dont give up friends. life is absolutely what you make it and theres so much more potential then where you are at in this moment.no matter how bad you feel in the moment you will be okay and it will work out and i hope everyone reading this realizes they are loved and are capable of truly great things
Aww yeah, this episode broke me. Not only is everything already relatable, I was actually in that time of my life, so I wasn't looking back on anything, I was actively living it. It was devastating
My favorite dark HIMYM Episode remains the one of Robin talking to the Kids she'll never have. I've been talking about it regularly for years. Robin doesn't feel like she can talk about it to anyone, because she never wanted kids so it's hard to explain why she's still heartbroken. It's because she wanted to have a CHOICE. I to this day feel like whoever wrote this episode went though a Lot, it feels so specifically Personal. The conflict is so complex and deep for a TV Show.
Man, this show, and especially this episode, hit me hard. When I first watched it, it was the end of the summer right before I went to college. The group of friends I had in high school were extremely tight knit. Other than family, I have never been closer to another group of people. We spent our summer together like we always had. They were some of the best days of my life. But my college began a month later than theirs, so they moved away and I was left alone. It was hard watching them leave me behind. It still stings a little. I miss those guys. I no longer have many friends at all, let alone ones as close as that. It's too difficult. Being an adult just gets in the way. Times change. People change. They aren't the same as they were 8 years ago. Neither am I. It's sad to say, but we can never go back. Maybe that loneliness is just something we all have to get used to.
Brilliant analysis borne of your story. The old saying is that no man is an island (he's a peninsula, LOL), yet many of us ARE de facto on our own emotional islands, with only the narrowest of causeways connecting us to the mainland. When the tide of adversity rises, swamping these causeways, is our moment of greatest danger...to ourselves. This is an honest insight into why middle-aged men now lead the USA in suicides. I've been close to that edge, recently, but the waters are receding. In reaching out to my emotional support network, I found that a majority of them needed it more than I did. Being able to reciprocate, helping them, also helped me. Take from that what you will.
This episode is actually one of my favorites in all series, and whenever I watch it, it touches me deeply. I like how you focused on the part where he realizes he's all alone, and that everything that is actually funny in the entire episode is only a figment of his imagination, even if part of it actually happened 5 years ago. I don't know why you didn't mention that he actually imagines, yet again, going to his future wife's apartment and telling her that he would meet her 45 days from that day and that he wants those extra 45 days, which we later understand was a foreshadowing for her death. Maybe you didn't wanna add to the already-bleak episode, but I think it would have been the cherry on top of the cake, and I bet it would have made some shed tears.
I think there’s another part of Time Travellers that is even harder to watch, but only with the hindsight of the end of the last series: Ted fantasises about using that time to spend a little longer with Tracy. When you first see it it’s just kinda sweet, but with what happens in the last two episodes of the show it becomes even more of a tear-jerker.
HIMYM ended when I was in my early 20s (in fact I graduated from college the same year it ended, 2014) and I LOVED the show, it was just a relatable, fun sitcom that I have rewatched many times because it's so comforting. As I get ready to turn 31 this year, I find myself relating more and more to this amazing show. The ups, downs and twists and turns of life are so unpredictable and shows like this make you appreciate any semblance of stability you can maintain (i.e. the presence of friends and/or family) amidst the chaos. Thanks for an AWESOME explanation of a really sad episode.
This was a brilliant episode, it HITS you. For me, it addresses a very real fear of mine. I didn't have much in the way of friends when I was younger, and now my two best friends are married to each other. I identify with Ted a lot, being a hopeless romantic (though possibly burnt-out). I've adored HIMYM since I started watching it, I've watched through the series about three or four times now. But I will never approve of the ending: The group drifting apart, Tracy dying and Ted just going to Robin. I just believe that all of that build-up should have ended in a happy ending for Ted, everything that happened and all the heartbreak leading to meeting Tracy on the platform. Part of my objection is that we turn to television, especially stuff like Friends and HIMYM, to escape from how ridiculous real life can be. Is it so much to ask that one guy in a TV show that spends the entire time looking for the love of his life get exactly that and have a happy ending?
We tend to relate our lives to tv shows. Everyone has struggles with their life, so when you see some happy ending on tv you start to complain about why your life is not that way. HIMYM with its ending perfectly stated that there is no perfect story. Life is nowhere close to perfect, but you need to move on and have peace with it. And also Tracy did not die right after that meeting at the Farhampton right? Ted and Tracy spent 11 years together even though we didn't see much things about that. So Ted got his happiness for some time. He faced a reality of life when Tracy died, and then he will start to be happy again with Robin. Sequence of events is exactly like how our lives work. That's what I love about this tv series.
This is why this is one of my favorite episode: 1 - Involves time travel in some sort. 2 - Involves the eternal and internal battle that Marshall always struggled with, wich is his masculine energy vs his feminine energy. 3 - Involves one of the greatest lessons of ALL TIME: Live your present moment, thats all we have, today, now, because time does pass really fast.
I started college 4 weeks ago and I feel so much like Ted in this episode. I'm finding it hard to let go of my bestfriend whos going far away. I don't know how to move on and I already miss them so much. A lot of my highschool life has already ended and I find myself clinging onto those memories too.
I feel ya, my best friend from high school cut me and EVERYONE else out suddenly around sophomore year of college...I'm 29 now, it is weird, but it doesnt break my heart or anything that we dont talk. My best years and friendships were absolutely after college though so chin up. 25-27 has been my favorite so far
I am kinda going through the phase right now myself this year. One of my best friends just cut me out of his life. All I got now are the memories we shared in college when hanging with our crew. Sometimes I feel a ghost version of himself comes back time to time to haunt me Xx
There's always an adjustment period, not too dissimilar to a breakup, but more often than not, after a little time you find your groove in and its great.
Should've mentioned that ending. I teared up at the ending of that episode. I never thought about this episode in this way and you are right, it is dark. Well done, sir! Marshall's dad dying, as mentioned by several viewers, is also hard to watch. Not so much the first time but revisiting it and noticing the countdown is rough.
I know that most people prefer the earlier seasons, since they’re funnier (which I agree with btw).. But this episode is one of the examples of why I love the latter seasons more.. The show isn’t afraid to get real and emotional, and it hits hard.. HIMYM is amazing and my favourite sitcom..
The problem is that in the last seasons there were a lot of filler storys to make the story of the mother and wedding last longer, so we had to pass through a lot to finally reach episodes like this, the one about tracy and more. They have some of the best episodes ever, but that makes us look the other episodes of the last seasons even worse than what they actually are.
With community I think the fact that Jeff stayed at Greendale actually showed change. The fact that Jeff was able to be happy at Greendale showed he wasn’t the same person anymore
Thank you for such a thoughtful discussion of this episode. I think HIMYM is a rarity, a sitcom that is a unified work of art. There are so many things in the first few episodes that let you know the mother is already deceased. To me it was obvious. Fifty years ago, my father told me a story about how he met my mother. I can compare many similarities and many more differences in the how and why the stories are being told. One thing about the last episode is that Ted has been ambivalent about why he is telling the story. His motivations are complex. This is one of the things that makes the series compelling. We are seeing everything through Ted's eyes but there is ultimately an honesty in his telling his story.
One of the thing that got me was, when ted realised that all his friends were happy couple and he when went back to his empty room . Aah i can't express it good.
I remember watching this episode live. I was excited for a pre season finale episode called the time travelers. The lessons were so raw. Then Barney and Ted end with drinking at the bar and then the end happens. The end shook me to my core because a little over a year later i knew what was coming. Watching Ted realize he was grieving alone was such a reset in tone.
That one episode where he's on a date with the mom and he just stands there and she asks "what are you doing?" And he says "remembering this". That part really got me.
In my first watch, the ending of this episode gave me chills- I thought how sweet it was he wanted to get their lives started already. Second watch (and all subsequent watches) after knowing the ending, made me BAWL MY EYES OUT
I swear, this episode was amazing when I was watching the full series a yr ago. I had to rewatch it after it finished because of all the hints that showed the past tense moments.
This episode is my exact situation. I moved back to South-Africa because I missed my friends, now they all graduated, 2 are getting married, another is moving to Australia and the other to Europe, we're just drifting apart. Now I decided to leave the country again, because the pain is just too much.
I'm so glad you made a video on this episode, it's one of my favourites given how sudden the shock hits you. Not to mention him telling his kids how he'd like nothing more than to get even one more look at his tragically doomed wife, heartbreaking.
The worst experience I had watching this show for the first time was the Countdown episode. I spent that whole episode waiting eagerly for the countdown and anticipating what the big thing would be. Lilly got out of that cab and said that Marshall's dad died I cried for nearly an hour. It was the saddest episode of any show I've ever seen
When this episode came out I was convinced that Ted would die at the end of the series and he was telling the children this story essentially at his death bed because it defined so much of his life that he wants his kids to learn to pursue happiness the way he did or whatever. To this day I still think that would have solved a lot of issues that people had with the real ending, that the alternative ending from the blu-ray release didn't address.
I cried when Marshall's dad died, but nothing comes close to this. This is the most heartbreaking episode in a comedy show ever. I've seen a lot of sitcoms but nothing ever comes close to this
Great use of Tiny Cities by Flume. I love storytelling so much and this song is always such an inspiration for me. Hope to see more great music choices!
thank you! one of my favorite songs. always felt like it had a bittersweet "moving on" vibe to it, so i instantly thought of it when i was making this video
This episode was absolutely brilliant. And it made me cry more than once. "Look around, Ted. You're all alone." will forever be etched into my mind. While it's the opposite of a comfort episode, it's by far my favorite.
This episode is just a showcase of what makes HIMYM an amazing show: It's a silly over the top comedy that can be also dark and sad without ever feeling like it's forcing these moments, they always feel genuine and earned
HIMYM was a comedy show but it often hits dark moments. Except of hanging out together all the time, the stuff inbetween was very relateble, f.e. Lily about making mistakes that needed to be done anyway, Barney angry at his dad for being a lame dad because that's what he wanted
I still think about how ted said some mistakes should be made and shouldn't be avoided, honestly the "advice" throughout the show has really let me live in the present and in the moment rather than stressing so much or brooding from the past
I think one of the most devastating episodes/scenes are this one, Marshall losing how father, Robin talking to the is kids she never has, and in season 9, the episode titled ‘how your mother met me'. That episode was heartbreaking.
So many people missed the ending of this episode. They were furious about the mother dying but it's foreshadowed so beautifully in the ending of this episode and absolutely wrenches your heart out. Beautiful writing.
Great essay. The bar scene has had the ENDING tradition in literature for ages. T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land has the lines "HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME" and the last call for drinks or people getting up and leaving in the background as the lights dim has been symbolic of everything from death, end of youth and naivety, and even the end of the world. How we cling to seemingly endless nights of wasted time to even utter the words "All I wanted was one last sip before it was all over" as a nuclear bomb levels Rome.
That's silicon valley for me(the show I've watched way too many times and is basically my comfort show. That and most of the star trek series.. especially original/next gen and DS9.
Oh God I forgot about that. Scrubs could be so so brutal. Maybe that's why I haven't rewatched it like so many other sitcoms. I'm glad HIMYM wasn't ever *that* sad, but this was still sad enough imo.
Your explanation of why we love and rewatch sitcoms so much is spot on. Ive always felt like that but never knew how to put this feelings i to words..well done!
13:41 "to one year after that when he finally meets Tracy" Little correction: Season nine takes place over a weekend so when Ted meets Tracy, it's not a year later, it's 45 days. Which is the whole point of him going to her apartment that night (metaphorically) because he wanted those 45 days too. Just wanted to point that out 😊
Thank god! I thought I was the only one who felt this episode was hard to watch again. This show was beautifully written and this is one of the episodes where the writers really put us in Ted's shoes. I could feel what Ted was going through
the last 5 minutes of this episode is the period of time that i cried the most watching HIMYM. Especially remembering that Tracy died on the last episode, seeing Teddy running through NYC to find her at her apartament so he could have some more time with her in his lifetime is so heartbreaking... i just can't watch this shit without lay down and cry
It hits deep for real this episode, and it hits more now feeling like I’m in that exact same boat, all my friends are with someone and I’m just still there alone
Damn. You didn’t even take any audio from the show, but I still teared up watching this. The “Look around, Ted. You’re all alone.” always gets me. But Barney looking at his newborn daughter is what had me tearing up now. Neil Patrick Harris’ face as he looks at her is amazing acting. We’ve known Barney for so long, and he doesn’t have many moments where he’s really REAL like that. He’s someone who is spontaneous and impulsive and (as much as I love the character) self-centered, so him looking at his daughter and having his world view shift so drastically in that moment is such a hit to the feels.
this video gave me so many chills, It's literally every little thought that I had in mind about this topic but just couldn't put together. And you just took them and put them into an incredible video. Thank you so much, this really made my day!!!
How I Met Your Mother is a show about moving on. From the first moments of the show Ted decides that Robin is the woman he will marry and settle down with. Despite all the rejection it never really hits him until this episode that he can't decide his fate. Now that Robin is engaged to Barney, the one constant that Barney would never change is twisted, making Robin no longer available. This episode is essentially Ted reflecting on how he needs to move on from his past life and accept his situation. It's not that Ted can't find the right person, it's that he thinks he can't. He doesn't approach the girl because he thinks she'll either get sick of him or he'll get sick of her. He still thinks Robin is the only person for her. Like Lily says to him in later episodes, Ted is still in love with Robin, and this episode is Ted realizing that he needs to move on from that.
Yeah but Ted never really moved on tho, I feel like the show just threw the whole moving on topic out of the window with that last episode, especially when the kids tell Ted that he made them listen to the whole story just to see if they're okay with him asking Robin out
@@draxe1943 that's my problem with the series. The show does such a great job with the whole theme, and for some reason it just botched it during the finale.
@@draxe1943 He did move on tho. One of the biggest thing in HIMYM is timing being a Bi*ch. Years after the mother is dead (something everyone seems to forget), they finally get their timing. The thing is Robin and Ted always did work, just that Timing was wrong, they were never in the same phase in life. Ted never betrayed Tracy. He loved him fully, but she is dead for years. Ted get to move on. Can't expect him to stay a widowed husband or whatever, i mean he can but he has that choice.
@@draxe1943 - In those later years, especially after divorce or becoming widowed, life is different and people see things differently. It becomes less about romantic infatuation and more about companionship, and its clear, at that point in both of their lives they were just happy to have someone around that they generally love (not specifically "in love"), and trust.
How I met your mother is more about the story of life. Meeting your best friends, meeting your significant other. Making sure you live life to the fullest before the moment is gone. Great video! makes me want to rewatch the show again for the third time!
5:28 That's not a himym thing. It's like most sitcoms at one point or another. Not to mention, this is very close to the end. Sitcoms are *expected* to change in the last one or two seasons. I've also always seen Barney's ending as an actual reversion, not progression, because he goes from changing to the same constant sleeping around.
This episode, Marshall’s father dying, and the episode where Robin is talking to the kids she will never have are truly some of the most devastating things I’ve ever watched
And the one where barney goes to dinner with his dad and tries to steal the basketball hoop
that episode was the same time my Dad passed away I think that was the worst only started next season again
The best part of that episode was how everyone kept it a secret from Jason Segal that his dad was going to die at the end of the episode, that way his reaction would be as honest as they could get. And, his comment that he wasn't ready for it was 100% honest. He felt like he would have more scenes with him, the story line wasn't finished, and he had nothing prepared, either. All of which are basically how it works in reality, too. We feel we should have had more scenes, that that part of the story wasn't finished... and that we never thought about it, never prepared or practiced our 'lines'. So, they got it perfect.
also both moments when Robin says no to Barney and stays with Kevin instead, and where Robin says she doesn't love Ted
I’d say those were more depressing I know the lead up to the Marshalls dad dying episode was almost a happy ending.
This epiode was brutal, you spent like 20 minutes with jokes and sudenly enter a very dark space, specially when Barney said "Look around Ted, you're all alone"
I had to go for a walk after I watched it, just to process...
I swear that scene alone hit like a truck
I remember watching this for the first time... it gave me chills and I couldn't stop thinking about it
Honestly the whole last 2 seasons are a pretty brutal emotional roller coaster. One of my all time favorites tho
This episode hits different... i felt that to much
I think the Episode with Robin talking to her “kids” was one of the saddest
I agree
those two and the episode where marshall dad's passed away
all three episode started out well, but all of a sudden turned dark at the end
I mean she did it to herself, she always said she didn’t want kids and wanted to focus on her job and this is indeed what she got
@@d1jacobhansen987 I can understand her. She herself decided she doesn't want kids but the diagnosis that she can't have them anyways makes it feel like she never had a choice at all. It got decided for her without her knowledge.
It's hard to face an absolute that you can't do anything about.
This is different from a sterilization where she would have a say.
Her decision to not want kids made the whole situation easier to accept but it still hurts
I agree. I had a coworker who had 2 children, but had to have surgery which involved removing her womb. I tried to comfort her about the fact that she had 2 children but, the fact of not being able to have more children really drove her to depression, her life went down hill for her from there. Some can really be affected by that.
A common theme in How I Met Your Mother is how setbacks and failures can often lead to something far more incredible than success could, but we just can't see it in the moment. That's what this episode was all about.
Same with the finale, which I feel a lot of people miss or don’t understand the core themes of the show.
Most of the commenters, plus never nothing are a younger crowd who as of yet have had these life experiences and why they can’t see it. I agree with what you wrote.
Everytime I feel like everything is going wrong I see this episode. It gives me hope despite all
AHEM just like Jeff in community but not everyone gets that, obviously 😂
Thank you man I needed to read this today
I remember watching this episode and I can still remember the tears rolling down my cheeks, when Ted confesses to “the mother” how we are going to meet and fall in love in 45 days and how he wants those extra 45 days.
Fuck I just realised that he wanted every moment with her because she dies. Damn that hits hard
Yes it’s so subtle but it’s about how he wants the time before she dies. But almost too subtle to the point you don’t realize she is dead.
When you know her fate, this episode hits even harder...
How I met your mother was a work of art
@@un_belli_vable5506 took me 3 rewatches to realize that
The episode was dark at the time, but only after the series ended did we see how dark it truly was. Ted is all alone at the bar, and in his voiceover said he'd rather run to his wife's place and introduce himself, and at the time what he said at her doorstep sounded crazy, but when we find out in the finale that she died of cancer, it hits home so, so hard. He'll never get those extra six weeks to spend with her, and he realized that no matter how lonely he was then, it's nothing compared to missing his wife. He's telling this to his kids, that he'd give anything just for a few more weeks with their mom. That makes this the darkest episode of the show.
Where did it say that he she died of cancer?
@@prathiusharun in the series finale, last 20 minutes when Ted was in the hospital with her when she was sick. Also the flashbacks when she’s talking about what kind of mother would miss her daughter’s wedding and Ted breaks down. They both know she’s dying, but it overwhelms him.
@@chrislewandoski3383 yes. it just was never specified it was cancer that she died from
@@notsofestive true but I think we use a lot of context clues and common sense here. Not tryna be a dick, just love the show and wanna interact lol
even more reason why the ending sucked
"Look around Ted, you're all alone" will always be the rawest line in any sitcom
“Where do you think we are?”
@@HansPeterErasmus that one was devastating.
@@HansPeterErasmus yeah, fair enough
@@HansPeterErasmus too soon
@@HansPeterErasmus where is that from?
This always hits me like a truck. Like Robin finding out she can't have kids and Marshall's dad dying. Heartbreaking
Lily leaving Marshall crushed me.
I feel a bond with you guys and your comments ❤
I can't watch the one where Marshall's dad dies. I watched it once and it hit me hard. I won't watch it again, especially after losing my dad this year.
yes :(
@@jono1761 I always skip that episode or skip the end. Too hard to watch.
Even back in Season one: Marshall sitting in the rain on the steps outside their apartment building, looking forlorn and holding Lily’s engagement ring after Lily had dumped him to go to San Francisco. That was pretty sad. This series is filled with hard hitting sad episodes.
This modern love bloc party is playing and the pairing of music and emotion is too good
@@sam3610 So many great needle drops throughout the show!
like death of marshal's father.
Barney asking his father why he couldn’t be there for him. That’s the hardest one for me
This is a very intelligently written episode. Ted’s character is well-developed as a sappy, overly emotional romantic character by this point, so when he runs to the mother’s apartment to meet her earlier, it’s very much in keeping with his personality. However, the writers knew she was going to die when they wrote this. You’re being tricked into believing it’s simply the act of an overly romantic character. When you rewatch it knowing she died, his wanting to capture every moment with her is a completely different gut-punch.
Exactly! The writing on this show was so good.
Even more to this. Goes into the line tracy told him of “dont live in your stories remember to keep moving forward” as he has been living in his stories while retelling them and him wanting to go earlier knowing she dies plays into that even more.
There's nothing "overly" romantic about it, you use "overly" as if it is a bad thing but it's not. Even without the mother's medical complication, everyone dies. Everyone loses their loved ones at one point or another, simply being wise enough to see that fact of reality and act on it isn't "overly" romantic, it's what romantic should be which is why I don't think it matters that the mother ended up dying in the final season. Saying that plot point has any bearing or feedback on this plot point completely devalues the notion of love and time that the episode is trying to convey.
@@alphamineronTed is an overly Romantic person in general
@@McLovin208 I never talked about general, I wrote about the meaning behind this scene, this episode specifically.
And I doubt “overly romantic” is the best word for in general, in the beginning he cheats and the guy is basically a man-slut for most of the show… not “romantic” in my books.
I've always appreciated the fact that HIMYM was willing to show a lot more emotional heart than other shows. Marshall losing his dad, Barney dealing with his dad, Ted losing Tracy, Robin finding out she couldn't have kids, etc., all made for really heartbreaking and gripping moments that made the characters feel real. This episode especially was the peak of the shows emotional risk taking.
Its why imo this is the best sitcom out there. Its funny, but it can be so emotional and meaningful at times aswell.
Barney breaking down and screaming at his dad; “why couldn’t you be that for me?!” really gets me every time.
Don't forget that time where Ted comes home after hooking up with Robin, and finding Marshall sitting on the front stairs holding Lilly's engagement ring...
There is a life lesson to be learned, whether from HIMYM, another media property, another person, or your own experience: To love is to lose.
You could lose a greater part of yourself, for the sake of love, and some of us do resist the creeping totality of that. You could certainly lose assets; look at the divorce-related numbers.
Look at the highs, too. They are the dragon we all chase. The fundamental question for each individual becomes, "is love worth it." Note how many times Ted said, "worth it," in the show.
Note also the current landscape: Only 6 out of 1K men want to marry, in this current climate. That amounts to an economic killer: Rings and dresses un-bought, halls un-rented, ministers and bands/DJs un-booked. The MGTOW movement, a response to modern feminism amounts to socio-economic Jenga for our society as a whole, unless the change that it desires to spur takes place. Are the ladies listening?
"It's in the things I do and say
"If I ever wanna live gotta die to myself some day."
~U2, 1983
What makes this episode even darker is that the episode’s most heart warming moment, where Ted imagines what he’d say if he went to see the mother right then, was also the moment that many of us were (correctly) convinced that the Mother was definitely dead.
I mean, ppl say there's also hints throughout the show from Ted at the time hinting that she'd die early.
It makes this episode the saddest rewatch, honestly. While I hated the finale at the time, it made every rewatch a little bit better. The hints, the emotions, Ted and Robin's complications. Everything felt better knowing the end of the show.
I’ve rewatched the whole series 6-7 times and I’ve cried at that speech and the the ending like a little bitch, every time lol.
I can't believe he didn't talk about the ending of the episode. Like he left out what makes this episode great
@@matthewferraro8020 at the very beginning when he talks to his kids. If she were alive, she would be telling him with it
This episode actually gave me goosebumps! It hit me hard when barney said "Look around Ted, you're all alone"! And then you realize that, the whole gathering was nothing but only Ted's imagination. The ending of this episode was really heartbreaking!!
This was the episode that got the Internet talking about the then-unnamed mother dying.
When you watched it, did you suspect that his wife died?
@@silviabeatricevaretto9449 i had been suspecting the mother was dead all along, but this episode to me confirmed it. i still feel they could have wrapped up the show better, but im glad they stayed true to their vision regardless of how mad people were - the signs of ted and robin being end game were there all along.
as I rewatched the sitcom, I found out that there was already a hint of the mother dying in season 2.
@@hoangminhphuongtrancan you say which episode was it?
I mean, the episode where Robin was talking to her fake kids was pretty dark. “And that’s why I’m happy you don’t exist” was on of the most chilling lines ever
You have no idea how much this episode changed my life when I binged HIMYM in college. The amount of people I have told about this episode is embarrassing. It is so deep and beautiful and went completely unnoticed by most. I still sob every time
I cried like a fucking baby watching this
Feel the exact same Sydney. Every time I watch it it brings me to tears but in the best hopeful way possible. I think that's why we shared it with everyone we care about. Fantastic show!
look at sidney thinking she is a sitcom character
I have a yearly tradition of binging HIMYM and I just finished it last week and now YT is suggesting me these vids and they are making me emotional all over again.
Yes i still cry 😭
He didn't meet Tracy 1 year later. He met Tracy 45 days after The Time Travelers episode. Everything that happened after that day, to the Wedding night, was only 45 days. Which makes this episode even more sad, because after knowing Tracy's destiny, all what he wanted was at least 45 more days with her, to that day when he felt alone.
This is the true poignancy of the episode, distilled into 4 sentences.
I disagree. I find it inspiring. I think this episode shows Ted at one of his (if not his most) low points. In literally less than two months that completely reversed. Sometimes life sucks but sometimes happiness is literally right around the corner. You just have to be looking for it.
@jambrown1397 I think it's a mixture. Most people like me don't like the aired ending, so I'll explain with the amazing alternate ending instead. The episode was obviously the most dark because Ted (in the moment) was at his lowest and loneliest. Everyone moved on but him. In the scene with Tracy, he wants the extra days with her because of that. Also, though not because she died, but because he thought she was going to die. Everything that happened with her illness is still present in the alternate ending (at least that's the assumption based on Vesuvius' ending), it's just that she thankfully recovers. That's why Ted is so emotional here. Past those 45 days he and Tracy both thought she was going to die. Plus, Ted says he'll keep loving her "until the end of my days and beyond. You'll see" which could hint that he will die first (which doesn't happen yet in the show).
And who doesn't want more time with their significant other, dead or not? We humans constantly take things for granted until they're gone or we fear to lose them.
@@GrizrazRex thank you
@S-Mania It's the narration of Future Ted saying if he could go back to that night, he'd want those extra 45 days. The mother's death was written during the first season because they had to have the kids look exactly the same in the final episode.
Sadly, they painted themselves into a corner with the "Ted still ends up with Robin" because after watching them for 8 years, they had become toxic.
Being late 30s and the only single friend in my group, this episode always hit deep, realising everyone is moving on with life and you're still in the same shit state you were 15 years earlier just wishing you could change your life
You are the only person in the whole world who can change your life. Nobody else.
that's gonna be me in 12-15 years 'd
@@liisan3769 well its not inevitable, you have 12-15 years to prevent is, socialising is a muscle you need to exercise it, not online go out then you'll never have that problem!
@@liisan3769 if you think its cool than you have a real problem
@@ThomasBomber one of many shallow sentences
You forgot to mention the aspect of the kind of teased death of the mother in this episode! Ted says he would never go to robots vs reslers that night and he wants even the few month with his wife and we later completely learn why.
I thought this episode was a flashforward after his wife died, and he has no one there for him when he's grieving
And the song is titled "you're all alone".
But then we learn that he doesn't, he just wants to be with Robin and 9 seasons of Character development goes down the drain.
Yeah, that ending makes this episode even darker and deeper. And honestly, I relate so much to this, this is one of the reasons why I love HIMYM so much.
They teased her death a lot through the series
The series is filled with sad episodes like this, but this one just breaks you, easily one of the best and relatable episodes on tv
4 of the darkest episodes - Marshall's dad dying, Robin talking to her "kids", "Barney's time stops, Ted wanting those "extra 45 days" . Funny that I haven't felt sad for lilly ever in this entire series.
Nah I get for Lilly trying to stay with robin in the end and she’s like no
i also think that the girl at the bar represents ted's anxiety. i think she was indeed there, but her future versions were obviously hallucionations from him - he overthinking what would happen if he talked to her. at this point of the series, he had so many failed relationships that he's scared of being alone (the "i grew tired of you" ending), but also dont trust himself anymore to dont mess things up with someone special (the "you grew tired of me" ending) at the same time. she could very well be the one, but he dont have confidence to try anymore. this is probably the lowest we see ted in the entire series
And we can see this when he decided not to talk to tracy until that woman remembered him to have hope in the destiny as he had always done
Fine analysis, and yes, confidence is of high importance for a guy, when dating. If it is at a low ebb, it becomes a misery multiplier.
Happily ever after does remain possible, even in late middle age. You just have to come to your own reasonable definition of what it can be. Sadly, most women under 30 are still stuck in a princess mentality. Only when reality and the wall catch up to them do they actually come to their senses, but only to a degree. They still seek the possimpable.
For me the problem was throwing away Ted's development in the first 8 seasons, as for many. But I have another complaint. The problem of not having the mother alive is not because it's sad, as most fans who liked the ending acuse us of being. The problem is it feels like neither Ted or us spent time with her. If they were going to kill her off, then she should have been part of the gang in the final season. That way we could fully appreciate why she was Ted's perfect match. And when she died it would be sad not only for Ted, but for us as well. She shows up and vanishes too quickly, so it feels rushed and empty.
@@GrizrazRex which is why I had always been single. Girls’ expectations are simply impossible to meet.
@@gabrielpetroni8347 yes, my biggest problem with the ending isnt exactly the storylines, it just felt very rushed and anticlimatic specially in a season where so much happened in so little time. if they developed more of her relationship with everyone and her ilness, it would've been very bittersweet and kinda insane, but not actually bad. its even worse when you realize they had the ending planned since the beggining and just did it in the worst way possivle
When you said Dark Episode, I was sure you were talking about this one. I felt so uncomfortable watching that episode, I cried instead laughing. And you don't cry while watching a sitcom. End of the sitcoms are always sad but it was so scary and awful to relate to Ted's loneliness.
I watched that episode for the first time alone after I missed alot of activity invitations and friend hang outs and plans, boy how it hit me hard and made me cry my heart out
Ended up replaying it and watching it everyday for the next week
Really a masterpiece of a work
The ending of it is great though
I feel like there are 3 episodes that hit you the absolute hardest.
"Bad News" is the biggest shocker in the series. It was actually a pretty comforting episode and then it just hits you like a truck.
"Symphony of Illumination" overall was packed with this empty feeling, that got to a new high at the end of the episode.
"Time Travelers" seems to be the one that really plays with your feeling by playing with the basic premise of the show.
All three episode are heartbreaking, but each in a different way.
What about the episode with barney's father. If you were going to be a lame suburban dad why couldn't you be that for me. 🥲
@@sanjalimukadam7211 Good point and definitely 4th place. The way they performed it was absolutely amazing and really heartbreaking. It seemed so real and all.
I just guess that one thing this episode had was a somewhat happy ending, which wasn't the case with the others I've listed. In the end Barney seemed to be better than he was before and during the fight, meanwhile in the others it ended on the saddest note.
@@sanjalimukadam7211 especially that last line of the episode, "A kid needs a hoop" referring that a kind needs a father
Everyone obviously knows about the "countdown" to Marvin Eriksens death, but if you really look right before Lily tells Marshall, the sign on the cab says "Expired"
@@sanjalimukadam7211i agree totally that is so sad how barney is so vulnerable at the time
Time travelers had me in tears.. iv seen the show a good 60 times and it hits every time. Lot of life lessons were taught through out the show. Show was absolute perfection even the ending.. it was inevitable in a way.
Same
The ending was my favorite tho when teds and Barney’s do that song!!
"Look around Ted, you're all alone"
Barney, of all people, said this to Ted. It must've been a huge blow to him since he's been doing the same thing for over a decade without any change at all. The same useless process of trying to find the love of his life, where he could've used that time to spend more time with the actual love of his life.
I don’t think some people understand that dark doesn’t automatically mean there’s this super edgy and creepy episode of HIMYM and it can be more like, there’s this really deep, lonely and emotional episode of HIMYM, that for certain people could be even downright unsettling.
Many of us are dark, just below the surface, despite maintaining sunny outward facades. Pagliacci is legion. Just scratch my emotional surface; you'll find out.
In this episode, Barney became what Ted always wanted, i.e. somebody who found "The One" and is about to settle down. And, Ted is trying to be like Barney, i.e. someone who is not settling down, but seizing every moment that presents itself.
Marshall’s dad dying hit me the hardest as i’d just lost my own dad a few months before I binged the show.
Sorry for your lost, stay strong
My condolences
This episode comes at the right time for us all, we've all felt that feeling of being "behind" our friend's.
How traumatic and very real was this episode?
I read the title and knew exactly which one you were going to be talking about. Thought maybe Robin's kids or Marshall's dad, but no, "Because I'm not here" hits harder than almost any other moment in the series.
The fact that it gets more depressing when Ted goes to see Tracy and breaks down the moment he sees her, saying he'd like one last moment to see her if given the chance, explaining the same to his kids
When I first watched this episode in college, I was worried I'd end up like Ted in the episode. Little did I know I'd end up being in Marshall and Lily's shoes and be the first of my friends to have a baby. Surprisingly enough though, I found out being the first one to "advance" in life out of your friends can be equally as lonely and scary. Having a baby often made me feel left out and miss my past life while all my other friends kept doing the stupid shit we always used to do together. All part of growing up though! I think this episode really touched on something we all go through at one point or another in our lives.
Я тоже стала мамой первая из подруг. Ты на самом деле остаёшься один на один с новой жизнью. И подруги тебя просто не понимают. Так я пережила послеродовую депрессию. И будто до сих пор ее переживаю
8 or higher, bro!
I'm the first of both my friends and my siblings to have kids. It's really isolating at times because no one really understands what it's like to have an entire other person who depends on you. Of course they'll never be mad at you for having to change, for having miss out on so much of what used to be, but it doesn't mean they get it. I now have a few other friends that are moms and now a handful of high school friends are having kids, but I spent the first 4 years of motherhood pretty much alone.
Well, I found out about this series six months ago and just finished watching it today. Of course I'm shocked by the ending. Of course I began to google all the information about this series. And I came across this video. ... Just no comments. Words can't describe the depth of my feelings. This series touched me. I live in Ukraine and I have a war literally outside my window. I don't have a job for several months, I often don't have electricity and internet. And this series is all that I have now and all that has supported me for the last months. And now it has come to an end. I can't hold back the tears. How I Met Your Mother is an outstanding series. One of the best I've ever seen. I would like to express my gratitude and respect to the authors and actors. And thank you, the author of this video.
Rest In Peace, Tracy McConnell. Ted loves you. Ted will always love you. To the end of his days. And beyond.
Hope you're doing okay!
@@jeagerjeager9171 I'm trying my best. Thank you!
After rewatch HIMYM 10 times, i love Marshall. He is a man of family. Also is the best friend whom anyone want to have. He never made mistake with wife, friends...
The “look around ted, youre all alone” line hit me harder than a truck, I didn’t see it coming at all but it was beautiful
This episode was an absolute masterpiece, I'd go as far as to say it's one of the all time great pieces of culture ever created. The emotion and relatability it provokes as well as how it challenges convention and forces you to confront an uncomfortable reality is just *chef's kiss*
I think it's very good from an artistic point of view. But there is nothing uncomfortable about it, the whole idea of "moving on" idea is actually kind of a cliché
what makes himym truly great is the writers’ immaculate storytelling. the techniques they use.. the time traveling, the point of view as being told to his kids in the future, the interconnecting storylines, among so much else. as a writer & a watcher, this show has both inspired me & made me return & binge countless times over the years
you're going to love the video that i'm posting this week lol. thanks for the comment!! stay tuned!!
@@never.nothing yesss!! looking forward to it!
The worst episode was when Marshall's dad died. I've had the friend group and I was the female Barney and I'm still single and 44. I had a high pressure career that actually afforded me my apartment in NYC and I worked long hours everyday. I make a difference, I'm not in finance but in law working with victims so the hours are purposeful. I've lost siblings and friends to tragedy. I lost my mom. But my dad was my rock and when Lily tells Marshall his dad didn't make it, I felt my heart stop. The show did such a good job with the storyline with all the characters. The last message on Marshall's voicemail, I have one as well. It's nothing epic, he's telling me to stop at Whole Foods and not to forget dog food but at the end he says I love you. After my sister died young we always told each other 'I love you' on the phone or when we left so if anything happened our last words wouldn't be in anger or something stupid.
I know when the episode comes on within the first seconds but I always watch. I'll never get over my dad's death but I'll get through it. And a good cry never hurt anybody.
I wish you the best, my friend. Thank you for sharing your story.
I keep the last message from my mom, too. It says keep an eye on the temperature for when we go to the Air BnB. Something so small and random. You don't expect it to be the last thing they'll tell you. For me, it made this episode hit even harder.
@@exalt7787 they're always watching out for us. Everytime something happens and it's a dad thing my first thought is to call and ask him for help and then I stop and get sad. But I think what would dad tell me to do? And all that advice and information he gave does come back. I know he's watching from wherever he is thinking I was listening.
Female Barney? Hmu 😉
This is my favorite episode of the whole show. It is excruciatingly painful to watch every single time and I am always left sobbing. But it also gives me a weird sort of hope that has carried me through some very difficult times. The idea that what I’ve been striving for may be only 45 days away…it may not happen in 45 days, but it also might. And it gives me a reason to keep going for 45 days to see.
exactly, you never know what might happen tomorrow, in a week, or in a month. it keeps me going as well.
You are not alone in this sentiment, but my angle is different. I had always been able to view this episode from a position of comfort, having found my partner...until shortly after the above post. We're separated now. There was no hope during November at all. There is hope, now. We are reconciling, but will remain twain for a bit, doing the weekend visit thing until my 6-month lease ends. I could not survive watching this episode in November of 2022. I can handle it now, but can also feel a tear on my cheek as I type.
We feel like this because the writers have made us CARE about Ted. We can heighten the relate-ability by plugging our own experience and memories into the situation. I want those extra 5 days/week. I get them back, come April.
Dam...
Community's ending was quite interesting given their aim was "Six seasons and a movie", so I mean having it go on makes sense so that the movie can feel familiar.
Agreed. I think the movie might show the stuff that the fans wanted to see at the end of the show. Like Jeff and Annie for an example. You can do that after a time jump in a creative way. So I quiet liked the ending.
I wonder what that movie would look like… knowing Dan Harmon though, it’d have to fit some sort of narrative sentiment spelled out both within the context and the subtext, probably in a back and forth manner… that’s probably too much pressure on a single project if I’m being honest. Either way, it’d have to be Harmon’s magnum opus.
Movie is confirmed
I like the ending of community, but I also agree with this channel that Jeff was a talented lawyer with a lot of people skill. They could done something better than becoming a Homer Simpson
Just to add my voice, it's true; the movie is confirmed, that is not the ending.
I'm SOOO glad someone made a video on this episode. we have rewatched this show so many times, and this episode never fails to make an impact. I've almost considered making a channel myself just to make a video on this episode because of how impactful and unique an episode like this is in a sitcom.
You can even expand on everything you said to give it that much more context. ever since the Barney/Robin engagement happened, the show started teasing how hard this was for Ted. Marshal and Lily had already started moving on to their next stage in life, and Ted went through his last, heartbreaking rejection by Robin not too long ago. The feeling of loneliness and emptiness was only growing within Ted ever since then. His longtime best friends had become parents, his new friends had chosen each other over him, he truly was alone in this stage of life. and this was all blown wide open for Ted and the audience in that single, gut-punch of a line. "Look around Ted, you're all alone"
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, the ending shows that not only was he too far past the stage where they were all just friends hanging out, BUT he also was too early for the stage where he meets the love of his life, losing out on precious time with her before she dies. he was stuck in this empty middle ground by himself. the audience is just left with such a hollow feeling from the last couple minutes of the episode, especially once you know the significance of the ending.
One of the best episodes in the series. I cried every single time I saw the scene, and you know what, it hurts that they hinted that the mother died here subtly considering Ted was technically saying if he would be around even just for 45 days with the mother, he would as he loves her until the end of the days.
ive seen this show i dont know how many times and this episode (along with others like marshalls dad dying) always hits me right in the gut. the writers of this show had an uncanny ability to have everything come together in the end and make you go holy shit
This is one of my favorite episodes ever because of how sad it was. It was the most relatable thing ever.
It doesn’t matter how many times I will re watch this episode, I cannot watch it and not cry, it just hits me too hard
ive watched this show more times than im proud to admit. literally every time i get hit with either seasonal depression or regular depression i watch this show because the theme of "dont judge yourself by anybodys timeline. no matter what. it gets better and things turn out okay", really gives me hope. this episode is always hard to watch because it accurately describes the root of most of my anxieties. the very dreadful feeling of "this is your life you messed up and you should be terrified", hurts but the ending where he talks to tracy and tells her hes appreciative of their time always gets to me and makes me feel better due to the fact that ive found my tracy and life has gone no where but up since then. dont give up friends. life is absolutely what you make it and theres so much more potential then where you are at in this moment.no matter how bad you feel in the moment you will be okay and it will work out and i hope everyone reading this realizes they are loved and are capable of truly great things
Aww yeah, this episode broke me. Not only is everything already relatable, I was actually in that time of my life, so I wasn't looking back on anything, I was actively living it. It was devastating
My favorite dark HIMYM Episode remains the one of Robin talking to the Kids she'll never have. I've been talking about it regularly for years. Robin doesn't feel like she can talk about it to anyone, because she never wanted kids so it's hard to explain why she's still heartbroken. It's because she wanted to have a CHOICE. I to this day feel like whoever wrote this episode went though a Lot, it feels so specifically Personal. The conflict is so complex and deep for a TV Show.
Man, this show, and especially this episode, hit me hard. When I first watched it, it was the end of the summer right before I went to college. The group of friends I had in high school were extremely tight knit. Other than family, I have never been closer to another group of people. We spent our summer together like we always had. They were some of the best days of my life. But my college began a month later than theirs, so they moved away and I was left alone. It was hard watching them leave me behind. It still stings a little. I miss those guys. I no longer have many friends at all, let alone ones as close as that. It's too difficult. Being an adult just gets in the way. Times change. People change. They aren't the same as they were 8 years ago. Neither am I. It's sad to say, but we can never go back. Maybe that loneliness is just something we all have to get used to.
@Anjali If you have advice, I'm all ears
@@TomFoxArts Moving on can lead to greater things. There's still friends to be made.
Brilliant analysis borne of your story. The old saying is that no man is an island (he's a peninsula, LOL), yet many of us ARE de facto on our own emotional islands, with only the narrowest of causeways connecting us to the mainland. When the tide of adversity rises, swamping these causeways, is our moment of greatest danger...to ourselves. This is an honest insight into why middle-aged men now lead the USA in suicides. I've been close to that edge, recently, but the waters are receding. In reaching out to my emotional support network, I found that a majority of them needed it more than I did. Being able to reciprocate, helping them, also helped me. Take from that what you will.
This episode is actually one of my favorites in all series, and whenever I watch it, it touches me deeply. I like how you focused on the part where he realizes he's all alone, and that everything that is actually funny in the entire episode is only a figment of his imagination, even if part of it actually happened 5 years ago.
I don't know why you didn't mention that he actually imagines, yet again, going to his future wife's apartment and telling her that he would meet her 45 days from that day and that he wants those extra 45 days, which we later understand was a foreshadowing for her death. Maybe you didn't wanna add to the already-bleak episode, but I think it would have been the cherry on top of the cake, and I bet it would have made some shed tears.
I think there’s another part of Time Travellers that is even harder to watch, but only with the hindsight of the end of the last series: Ted fantasises about using that time to spend a little longer with Tracy. When you first see it it’s just kinda sweet, but with what happens in the last two episodes of the show it becomes even more of a tear-jerker.
HIMYM ended when I was in my early 20s (in fact I graduated from college the same year it ended, 2014) and I LOVED the show, it was just a relatable, fun sitcom that I have rewatched many times because it's so comforting. As I get ready to turn 31 this year, I find myself relating more and more to this amazing show. The ups, downs and twists and turns of life are so unpredictable and shows like this make you appreciate any semblance of stability you can maintain (i.e. the presence of friends and/or family) amidst the chaos. Thanks for an AWESOME explanation of a really sad episode.
As prolly the biggest fan of this show, this is the most emotional episode. Last words I cried but “you’re all alone” hit different 😢
This was a brilliant episode, it HITS you. For me, it addresses a very real fear of mine. I didn't have much in the way of friends when I was younger, and now my two best friends are married to each other. I identify with Ted a lot, being a hopeless romantic (though possibly burnt-out). I've adored HIMYM since I started watching it, I've watched through the series about three or four times now.
But I will never approve of the ending: The group drifting apart, Tracy dying and Ted just going to Robin. I just believe that all of that build-up should have ended in a happy ending for Ted, everything that happened and all the heartbreak leading to meeting Tracy on the platform. Part of my objection is that we turn to television, especially stuff like Friends and HIMYM, to escape from how ridiculous real life can be. Is it so much to ask that one guy in a TV show that spends the entire time looking for the love of his life get exactly that and have a happy ending?
We tend to relate our lives to tv shows. Everyone has struggles with their life, so when you see some happy ending on tv you start to complain about why your life is not that way. HIMYM with its ending perfectly stated that there is no perfect story. Life is nowhere close to perfect, but you need to move on and have peace with it. And also Tracy did not die right after that meeting at the Farhampton right? Ted and Tracy spent 11 years together even though we didn't see much things about that. So Ted got his happiness for some time. He faced a reality of life when Tracy died, and then he will start to be happy again with Robin. Sequence of events is exactly like how our lives work. That's what I love about this tv series.
This is why this is one of my favorite episode:
1 - Involves time travel in some sort.
2 - Involves the eternal and internal battle that Marshall always struggled with, wich is his masculine energy vs his feminine energy.
3 - Involves one of the greatest lessons of ALL TIME: Live your present moment, thats all we have, today, now, because time does pass really fast.
I started college 4 weeks ago and I feel so much like Ted in this episode. I'm finding it hard to let go of my bestfriend whos going far away. I don't know how to move on and I already miss them so much. A lot of my highschool life has already ended and I find myself clinging onto those memories too.
You can always reconnect later in life, try seeing it as a pause. You'll meet excellent people in college too.
I feel ya, my best friend from high school cut me and EVERYONE else out suddenly around sophomore year of college...I'm 29 now, it is weird, but it doesnt break my heart or anything that we dont talk. My best years and friendships were absolutely after college though so chin up. 25-27 has been my favorite so far
I am kinda going through the phase right now myself this year. One of my best friends just cut me out of his life. All I got now are the memories we shared in college when hanging with our crew. Sometimes I feel a ghost version of himself comes back time to time to haunt me Xx
There's always an adjustment period, not too dissimilar to a breakup, but more often than not, after a little time you find your groove in and its great.
You getting ran thru in college stop lying
This episode hits WAY harder the second and third time you watch the HIMYM series all the way through.💔
Should've mentioned that ending. I teared up at the ending of that episode. I never thought about this episode in this way and you are right, it is dark. Well done, sir!
Marshall's dad dying, as mentioned by several viewers, is also hard to watch. Not so much the first time but revisiting it and noticing the countdown is rough.
This video is the truth! This episode is hard to watch because of how true it rings for the viewer.
I know that most people prefer the earlier seasons, since they’re funnier (which I agree with btw).. But this episode is one of the examples of why I love the latter seasons more.. The show isn’t afraid to get real and emotional, and it hits hard.. HIMYM is amazing and my favourite sitcom..
The problem is that in the last seasons there were a lot of filler storys to make the story of the mother and wedding last longer, so we had to pass through a lot to finally reach episodes like this, the one about tracy and more. They have some of the best episodes ever, but that makes us look the other episodes of the last seasons even worse than what they actually are.
With community I think the fact that Jeff stayed at Greendale actually showed change. The fact that Jeff was able to be happy at Greendale showed he wasn’t the same person anymore
Thank you for such a thoughtful discussion of this episode. I think HIMYM is a rarity, a sitcom that is a unified work of art. There are so many things in the first few episodes that let you know the mother is already deceased. To me it was obvious. Fifty years ago, my father told me a story about how he met my mother. I can compare many similarities and many more differences in the how and why the stories are being told. One thing about the last episode is that Ted has been ambivalent about why he is telling the story. His motivations are complex. This is one of the things that makes the series compelling. We are seeing everything through Ted's eyes but there is ultimately an honesty in his telling his story.
One of the thing that got me was, when ted realised that all his friends were happy couple and he when went back to his empty room . Aah i can't express it good.
I remember watching this episode live. I was excited for a pre season finale episode called the time travelers. The lessons were so raw. Then Barney and Ted end with drinking at the bar and then the end happens. The end shook me to my core because a little over a year later i knew what was coming.
Watching Ted realize he was grieving alone was such a reset in tone.
That one episode where he's on a date with the mom and he just stands there and she asks "what are you doing?" And he says "remembering this". That part really got me.
34 year old here, this episode is way too goddamn relatable.
34 year old here, too... Agreed.
33 years old Chilean nurse... Agreed AF
Same
@Nate Night - Yeah its more likely to. The right thing at the right time, when you are the right person for yourself.
All of the hardest hitting episodes are too goddamn relatable.
Thanks for tackling this more difficult topic. This kind of depth is what sets HIMYM above your run-of-the-mill sitcom.
In my first watch, the ending of this episode gave me chills- I thought how sweet it was he wanted to get their lives started already. Second watch (and all subsequent watches) after knowing the ending, made me BAWL MY EYES OUT
"look at yourself Ted, your all alone" is the hardest hitting saddest line of all time. it broke my heart
I swear, this episode was amazing when I was watching the full series a yr ago. I had to rewatch it after it finished because of all the hints that showed the past tense moments.
I love hints.. could you share some of the ones you noticed? ❤
The fact you didn't even mention the final part of this episode which is arguably even the saddest part
This episode is my exact situation. I moved back to South-Africa because I missed my friends, now they all graduated, 2 are getting married, another is moving to Australia and the other to Europe, we're just drifting apart. Now I decided to leave the country again, because the pain is just too much.
0:25 Scrubs, Ben episode.
OMG yes, I always thought that was the most depressing scene in any show or movie ever
I'm so glad you made a video on this episode, it's one of my favourites given how sudden the shock hits you. Not to mention him telling his kids how he'd like nothing more than to get even one more look at his tragically doomed wife, heartbreaking.
The worst experience I had watching this show for the first time was the Countdown episode. I spent that whole episode waiting eagerly for the countdown and anticipating what the big thing would be. Lilly got out of that cab and said that Marshall's dad died I cried for nearly an hour. It was the saddest episode of any show I've ever seen
When this episode came out I was convinced that Ted would die at the end of the series and he was telling the children this story essentially at his death bed because it defined so much of his life that he wants his kids to learn to pursue happiness the way he did or whatever. To this day I still think that would have solved a lot of issues that people had with the real ending, that the alternative ending from the blu-ray release didn't address.
I cried when Marshall's dad died, but nothing comes close to this. This is the most heartbreaking episode in a comedy show ever. I've seen a lot of sitcoms but nothing ever comes close to this
Great use of Tiny Cities by Flume. I love storytelling so much and this song is always such an inspiration for me. Hope to see more great music choices!
thank you! one of my favorite songs. always felt like it had a bittersweet "moving on" vibe to it, so i instantly thought of it when i was making this video
This episode was absolutely brilliant. And it made me cry more than once. "Look around, Ted. You're all alone." will forever be etched into my mind. While it's the opposite of a comfort episode, it's by far my favorite.
This episode is just a showcase of what makes HIMYM an amazing show:
It's a silly over the top comedy that can be also dark and sad without ever feeling like it's forcing these moments, they always feel genuine and earned
HIMYM was a comedy show but it often hits dark moments. Except of hanging out together all the time, the stuff inbetween was very relateble, f.e. Lily about making mistakes that needed to be done anyway, Barney angry at his dad for being a lame dad because that's what he wanted
It hits me the most when Lily said sometimes she hates being a mom and just wanted to leave
I still think about how ted said some mistakes should be made and shouldn't be avoided, honestly the "advice" throughout the show has really let me live in the present and in the moment rather than stressing so much or brooding from the past
@@brucewu1843 Yes, that is the most honest scene I've ever seen. I love it
I think one of the most devastating episodes/scenes are this one, Marshall losing how father, Robin talking to the is kids she never has, and in season 9, the episode titled ‘how your mother met me'. That episode was heartbreaking.
So many people missed the ending of this episode. They were furious about the mother dying but it's foreshadowed so beautifully in the ending of this episode and absolutely wrenches your heart out. Beautiful writing.
Great essay. The bar scene has had the ENDING tradition in literature for ages. T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land has the lines "HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME" and the last call for drinks or people getting up and leaving in the background as the lights dim has been symbolic of everything from death, end of youth and naivety, and even the end of the world. How we cling to seemingly endless nights of wasted time to even utter the words "All I wanted was one last sip before it was all over" as a nuclear bomb levels Rome.
Holy crap, I'm on this episode right now of my 20th time binging the show!
That's silicon valley for me(the show I've watched way too many times and is basically my comfort show. That and most of the star trek series.. especially original/next gen and DS9.
JD’s “Where do you think we are?” line in Scrubs hit much harder. But yeah this was dark for HIMYM.
That episode of scrubs was the first time a TV show made me cry
@@chrisrunsthis Scrubs was able to switch into emotional moments so well.
Oh God I forgot about that. Scrubs could be so so brutal. Maybe that's why I haven't rewatched it like so many other sitcoms. I'm glad HIMYM wasn't ever *that* sad, but this was still sad enough imo.
That one was insane!
Your explanation of why we love and rewatch sitcoms so much is spot on. Ive always felt like that but never knew how to put this feelings i to words..well done!
13:41 "to one year after that when he finally meets Tracy" Little correction: Season nine takes place over a weekend so when Ted meets Tracy, it's not a year later, it's 45 days. Which is the whole point of him going to her apartment that night (metaphorically) because he wanted those 45 days too. Just wanted to point that out 😊
Thank god! I thought I was the only one who felt this episode was hard to watch again. This show was beautifully written and this is one of the episodes where the writers really put us in Ted's shoes. I could feel what Ted was going through
Can we also talk about the perfect music of this episode? Man the piano hits hard after Barney says “Look around Ted, you’re all alone”
the last 5 minutes of this episode is the period of time that i cried the most watching HIMYM. Especially remembering that Tracy died on the last episode, seeing Teddy running through NYC to find her at her apartament so he could have some more time with her in his lifetime is so heartbreaking... i just can't watch this shit without lay down and cry
Damn straight watching the episode again after the show finishes makes that last scene so fucking sad.
It hits deep for real this episode, and it hits more now feeling like I’m in that exact same boat, all my friends are with someone and I’m just still there alone
Happens
Damn. You didn’t even take any audio from the show, but I still teared up watching this. The “Look around, Ted. You’re all alone.” always gets me. But Barney looking at his newborn daughter is what had me tearing up now. Neil Patrick Harris’ face as he looks at her is amazing acting. We’ve known Barney for so long, and he doesn’t have many moments where he’s really REAL like that. He’s someone who is spontaneous and impulsive and (as much as I love the character) self-centered, so him looking at his daughter and having his world view shift so drastically in that moment is such a hit to the feels.
this video gave me so many chills, It's literally every little thought that I had in mind about this topic but just couldn't put together. And you just took them and put them into an incredible video. Thank you so much, this really made my day!!!
How I Met Your Mother is a show about moving on. From the first moments of the show Ted decides that Robin is the woman he will marry and settle down with. Despite all the rejection it never really hits him until this episode that he can't decide his fate.
Now that Robin is engaged to Barney, the one constant that Barney would never change is twisted, making Robin no longer available. This episode is essentially Ted reflecting on how he needs to move on from his past life and accept his situation.
It's not that Ted can't find the right person, it's that he thinks he can't. He doesn't approach the girl because he thinks she'll either get sick of him or he'll get sick of her. He still thinks Robin is the only person for her.
Like Lily says to him in later episodes, Ted is still in love with Robin, and this episode is Ted realizing that he needs to move on from that.
Yeah but Ted never really moved on tho, I feel like the show just threw the whole moving on topic out of the window with that last episode, especially when the kids tell Ted that he made them listen to the whole story just to see if they're okay with him asking Robin out
@@draxe1943 that's my problem with the series. The show does such a great job with the whole theme, and for some reason it just botched it during the finale.
@@draxe1943 He did move on tho. One of the biggest thing in HIMYM is timing being a Bi*ch. Years after the mother is dead (something everyone seems to forget), they finally get their timing. The thing is Robin and Ted always did work, just that Timing was wrong, they were never in the same phase in life.
Ted never betrayed Tracy. He loved him fully, but she is dead for years. Ted get to move on. Can't expect him to stay a widowed husband or whatever, i mean he can but he has that choice.
@@draxe1943 - In those later years, especially after divorce or becoming widowed, life is different and people see things differently. It becomes less about romantic infatuation and more about companionship, and its clear, at that point in both of their lives they were just happy to have someone around that they generally love (not specifically "in love"), and trust.
I am always teary eyed at the end of this episode, no matter how many times I have rewatched it.
How I met your mother is more about the story of life. Meeting your best friends, meeting your significant other. Making sure you live life to the fullest before the moment is gone. Great video! makes me want to rewatch the show again for the third time!
5:28 That's not a himym thing. It's like most sitcoms at one point or another. Not to mention, this is very close to the end. Sitcoms are *expected* to change in the last one or two seasons. I've also always seen Barney's ending as an actual reversion, not progression, because he goes from changing to the same constant sleeping around.
“you can’t cling to the past because no matter how tightly you try to hold on, it is already gone”