u/AffectionateCorgi770

For a long time, I thought of Ted as a really sweet guy. But after recently finishing the show, I wonder if the person who came up with the ending intended it not to be romantic, but a satire on the 'hopeless romantic' trope. Because that's the only way I'll like the ending.

Ted going back to Robin shows that he never stopped loving her, which seems sweet but rather concerning when you think about it. Did he ever love Tracy more than Robin? Tracy, the woman he married and had two kids with, or Robin, the girl he locked eyes with across the bar and forever became obsessed with? It's not the moving on from Tracy that bothers me, it's the moving backwards by going back to Robin. And when you think about it, the ending showcases perfectly how people like Ted can never move on from a particular person, no matter how hard they try and how much character development they undergo. It takes just one decision, one moment - to undo all that development. The ultimate satire, with Ted being not "the guy who finally got the girl", but the poor guy who fell hard and could never move on.

So yeah, that perspective makes the ending seem like a masterpiece to me. Even the title is a satire for god's sake, as his kids pointed out.

I'm no fan of the infamous ending, and Ted going back to Robin ruins a lot of the plot for me too. But Barney and Robin breaking up is the one thing I don't disagree with. Their entire relationship was based on lies, manipulation and cheating (yeah not on each other, but on their respective partners, which is still pretty bad). For god's sake, even Barney's proposal with the whole fake dating Patrice thing. (I'll never get how Robin got over it so quickly and thought it was romantic)

They're both too proud and too stubborn, not exactly a good recipe for a couple. Ever since they first started dating, I was a little skeptical because it felt that they were into each other just because of the chemistry they had, and not actual feelings. Robin's interest in Barney quite literally did come up out of nowhere. Regardless, the announcement of their divorce was a little sad because the whole last season was basically about Barney and Robin as a couple, and no matter how messed up, they had some sweet moments. But the divorce made sense and I would be lying if I said I didn't see it coming.

And yeah I'm confused whether there are other people who feel this way too because idk, a lot of people seem to love Robin and Barney