How I Met Your Mother

   

     After several weeks of binge watching How I Met Your Mother, I have finally finished all nine seasons. Spoiler alert, if you plan on watching the show, continue no further.
     I particularly enjoyed the glimpses into future seasons. By laying the ground work for future events, it never felt like there was a lull in the show. You are always looking forward to how the story progresses toward the next big event. Other shows like Lost and Supernatural have episodes that do not add any value to the plot and seem to serve as a desperate means to stretch the show for another season. By the time the end of that show comes around, you feel like it has skipped out on what originally made it intriguing. But you can't sacrifice all that time you invested without seeing the end, right? How I Met Your Mother was not like this, and seemed well thought out from the beginning with the end in mind.
     Even though the story and character arcs progressed nicely, I never did like Lily very much. For some reason the kleptomania, catch phrases, inability to keep a secret, lesbian fantasies, frequent crying, and very poor decision making skills added up to a character that was more annoying than quirky.  To be fair, it was not just Lily who was annoying. Every character got under my skin at one point or another, especially after watching multiple episodes in a row. I do give the writers credit for character consistency through all nine seasons. Halfway through the show you are able to predict how characters will react to situations because you are in tune with their personalities. That may be why it's sad when the characters move on with their lives and the show finally comes to an end.
     Despite being a comedy with ample moments of ridiculousness, the show comes to a very sobering end. Ted works so hard to find the love of his life, and in the end only gets her for a few years before she passes away. The entire last season takes place at Barney and Robin's wedding and they end up getting divorced shortly thereafter. Barney goes back to giving up on love and starts shamelessly hitting on girls who are half his age. He does ultimately find meaning in the daughter he has from one of his escapades. Lily and Marshall ultimately recover from their spat and grow old together. I guess every character does find happiness, but not without taking some bruises first. The show actually models life pretty well. You live, you love, and you get old fast. How I Met Your Mother teaches us that life is short, and you have to enjoy every moment.