‘How I Met Your Mother’ Alternate Ending Might Have Been Exactly What Fans Wanted

It’s no secret that How I Met Your Mother, arguably one of the most beloved sitcoms of our time, had an ending that was basically universally hated, but apparently, that ending could have been completely different. According to /Film, the Season 9 DVD for the CBS comedy included an alternate ending that changed the last five minutes of the series finale, “Last Forever, Part 2.” Instead of the death of “the mother” Tracy (and Ted getting back together with Robin), the series almost ended on future Ted ending the story with him meeting Tracy in the rain underneath the umbrella, telling his kids, “And that kids, is how I met your mother.”

Taking away the definite two things that upset fans, killing the mother after all this time and Ted ending up with Robin, this ending would have fared a lot better with fans. This would have also given the series to really end on a perfect note. The entire premise of the series is Ted explaining to his kids how he met their mother, and to end the show in this sweet way would have made complete sense.

Fans did not particularly enjoy the way that How I Met Your Mother ended, and I can’t say that I blame them since it is very frustrating. However, it is hard to tell just how fans would have reacted to the alternate ending since it didn’t air on television. While some people didn’t like the original ending, there are likely some that did and would not have liked the alternate ending. There’s no way to know for sure, but it’s very likely the other ending would have done a lot better and been way less criticized. 

Luckily with the new spinoff How I Met Your Father, there’s a second chance to do it right. The Hilary Duff-led show is, of course, keeping mum about who is Sophie’s future beau and baby daddy, and so far, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the Hulu comedy. When that does happen, however, hopefully, they learn from the mistakes of the past and end it where it needs to end, with no need to go further than the original story and the reason why the show is even there in the first place.

While it’s been nine years since How I Met Your Mother ended, the discussions are never stopping, all thanks to streaming. Maybe in the future, the alternate ending will replace the original, and that way, it’s like Tracy and Ted are still together forever, happy and in love.