Friends Avoided the Mistake That Doomed How I Met Your Mother
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Friends finale was fabulous!
Getting the ending of a film or show wrong can ruin everything that came before. Just look at the ending of How I Met Your Mother. Fans were horrified by pretty much the entire last episode as it confused the plot of the series, ruined the relationships of favourite characters and failed to provide any sort of denouement.
Sitcoms are not supposed to end in confusion and depression. They're supposed to wrap up the story, tie up the loose ends and leave us feeling happy. It doesn't get much better than the ending of Friends.
How Friends got it right
Okay, it was a bit sentimental. But think about it. The fans got everything they wanted from the series finale. It had nostalgia and a sense that something great was coming to an end, it had jeopardy and, most importantly, it finished on a note that we all remember for the right reasons.
Everyone was hoping that Rachel had got off the plane. And the show delivered.
The showrunners of How I Met Your Mother must look back on the decisions they made for the show's finale with more than a twinge of regret. Where Friends gave us love and loyalty, HIMYM chose death and divorce. Perhaps they wanted something unexpected and memorable. If that was the intention, it's fair to say they achieved it - but at quite a cost.
Ruined finale
The whole season had been building up to Barney and Robin's wedding, and it was all taken away in a matter of minutes. To make matters worse, Barney ended up with a daughter from a one-night fling. Now, that's not necessarily a bad storyline in and of itself. But when it's introduced out of nowhere, with no opportunity to expand on the bare facts, what's the point?
The differences between the two endings should serve as a reminder to sitcom writers that they need to consider what fans want from a series finale. While shows can get away with trying new ideas that don't quite work at other times, taking risks with the ending is a step too far.
For the perfect example of how to do this, they need look no further than Friends. And if they need a shining example of how not to end a popular TV show... well, there's How I Met Your Mother.