If you haven’t seen the end of “How I Met Your Mother” you may want to turn away now.  Cause there be SPOILERS.  And with that…

On the upcoming September 23rd DVD release of “How I Met Your Mother: The Whole Story” show creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas created an alternate ending to the show. This was most likely to appease all of the fans that hated the original ending. And I strongly believe that this backlash resulted in them not moving forward with the spin-off “How I Met Your Dad.”

I watched the show for the first few years but gave up on it because I found it repetitious and not particular funny. The writing made me cringe. And it was a premise that would have been better suited for a five year run. I just didn’t have nine years in me. I did like the actors, though.

So I decided to tune in for the final season, mostly out of curiosity. I found it fascinating that the whole season was to take place over a single weekend. Could they pull that off? The answer was mostly ‘no.’ I mean some of it worked.   They tried a few different things. But they made a couple of big mistakes.

Firstly, they had just too little story to span 24 episodes. Even though they tried flashbacks and flash forwards, it still felt as if the story was stalled for far too long. And secondly, they introduced too likable a character in Tracy McConnell (Cristin Milioti), Ted’s future wife. I wanted to see more of her. But I knew it was a very limited role and she was meant to ride in the backseat.

But I got to say, they really let the air out of the tires when they introduced future scenes of Ted and Tracy together before they actually met. I know they wanted to show us some interaction between the two, but it really should have been done after the fact and it would have made their first meeting all that more special. There was no reason they couldn’t have focused the last episode or two on their future life together.

And finally we come to the infamous ending of this show. Tracy dies and Ted ends up with Robin. I read a lot of talkbacks after the finale aired. I’d say a good 95% of people hated that ending. Most said they would never watch another episode again (meaning repeat) and they would never buy the DVD’s. They felt betrayed.

My opinion? They made a huge mistake with the ending they went with. As stated in interviews, the creators of the show had this ending planned from the beginning. But they also said they didn’t expect the show to go on as long as it did. And that was the problem. The show evolved and the characters changed beyond their original plan. But because they had filmed the ending to the show years earlier (the scenes with Ted’s kids), I think part of them wanted to say “see how clever we are. We had this planned all along.” Sometimes being too clever can bite you in the ass. They needed to course correct.

They spent the entire last season of the show marrying off two of the lead characters. They wanted to show us how Barney and Robin were ultimately meant for each other. And at the same time, explain why Ted and Robin were not meant to be together. They gave us closer and told us to move on. Ted was finally able to let go of the past which enabled him to meet his future wife. They also showed us how a dog like Barney can change his ways and find intimacy with a woman. It was leading up to the perfect ending. It was the ending that the fans wanted. And it was the ending that the creators didn’t give to them – all because they were too clever. They wanted the cake and they wanted to eat it too.

In a matter of minutes within the finale, Barney and Robin divorced (rendering moot the entire last season), and Barney returned to his old ways (rendering moot his entire character arc over nine seasons). Then many years later, Tracy gets sick and dies and Ted gets back with Robin (rendering moot their evolution and big closer). Yes, life happens. But this isn’t life. It’s TV. And after nine years, viewers wanted their happy ending.

And now with this alternate ending, that is what the fans may finally get. I’ve also included the show’s original ending below it. Which one do you like better?

 Original Ending