Why the End of How I Met Your Mother Makes Sense and is Totally not a Slap in the Face to the Fans

        Recently, the long running show, How I Met Your Mother, came to an end. After 9 years, we find out the identity of the MacGuffin…. I mean the Mother. And in a move that divided the fan base, the mother was killed off and it was revealed that the whole story was Ted asking his kids if it is okay if he moved on from the mother and started dating Robin.

            Many fans cried fowl at this ending. They felt that as an audience they where cheated because Ted wasn’t happy. I am here to state that I believe that this belief is wrong. The audience were not cheated, they are just not used to such literary devices in sitcom television; two devices specifically being the use of an unreliable narrator and the use of the Macguffin. The story was framed by Future Ted in such a way to show how Robin was important to him and in a way his children. The end goal of the story was the Mother, but she was ultimately used to move the story along. The true message of the story was, even though Ted loved Tracy McConnell, He was ready to move on and Robin was the perfect woman to move on to.

            Before I delve into the narration and the use of the Macguffin further, let us look at one more factor that should be taken into account in the overall character arc of Ted and Tracy. In the 200^th episode, “How Your Mother Met Me,” it was revealed that Tracy had a boyfriend, Max, that died. It was shown that she never got over it, even breaking up with her boyfriend because she didn’t feel that Max approved of her moving on. She was plagued by a previous and out of reach love, just like Ted. Both character had a love that they could not acquire be for death or other life events.  Both characters at one point even acknowledged that their previous love hang up was the love of their life. I am not suggesting that Ted and Tracy where not in love, but I am saying that neither of them where the other’s first choice in love. They were both the other’s second chance, their other person. It is tragic, but this character arc is why Ted needs to go after Robin. In a cosmic sense, Tracy did get to be with her true love again and in the end so did Ted.

            With that tangent aside, people are still upset that the show is called “How I Met Your Mother” when it wasn’t really about the mother in the end. Well, that is what happens when you incorporate a Macguffin, a plot device used to move the story along. This really should not have been an issue that it wasn’t about the mother. Just look at the title of the show. It is all about the events that led up to that initial meeting, which all begun with meeting Robin. It is because Ted met Robin that Barney met Robin and they got married leading to that meeting at the train station. The mother was an endpoint to Ted’s Story, not the actual journey of the story.

            When we the audience see that journey to the mother, what we are seeing is not the actual events, but the events as told by Future Ted. He changes the story and recalls it in such a way to paint an emphasis on Robin. We know that Ted is capable of changing events, we have seen it predominately when he changes weed references to sandwiches. We also know that his ability to retell the story has been effected by the amount of time that has passed, as seen with him telling the story of the goat a year before the story actually took place. So when Ted is telling this story, his state of mind is not on the Mother, but on him wishing to move on. He wants to pursue Robin and it is possible that he puts Robin on a pedestal during this retelling is because he wants his kids to be okay with him moving on. So he tells the story with Robin in a bright light on her, making her the overall star of the story and not the mother.

            So before getting mad at the final of How I Met your Mother for not being a satisfying ending, look at it through these eyes. By the way of character development, the mother and Ted where each other’s second choice in love, those characters never thought of each other as the first choice in life partner, but as a backup do the a previous love that has moved on either through death or by a new marriage. When Ted does retell the story to his kids, his goal is not the actual meeting, but how Robin was a girl that meant something to him and that he is ready to move on. This story is made to give that message to the kids and was not meant to be an ending that was happy, but one of acceptance over a previous loss.

The movie wasn’t like the book and thats okay

                Every time I watch a movie based on any other medium I will always have a friend complain about how it is completely different from the original. One great example is with the new movie The Hobbit.  People complain about how there is not enough material in the source book to make it into multiple movies and how additional material will make it unfaithful. This is one of many films or television shows that people complain about not being faithful to the original. Others that I can think about at the top of my head are the Resident Evil film series, The Walking Dead T.V. series, and any movie reboots of television series.

                I get annoyed with people who make complaints about the unfaithfulness to the original. These new adaptations of stories are not supposed to be canonical retellings, but new stories in new universes based on these original characters. It is like the multiverse theory but applied to fictional worlds. In these different retellings different things happen because in that universe that is how it went down. So in the Walking Dead T.V. series, the reason that Shane lived longer than he did in the comic was because in this universe he lives this long. In fact, in some hypothetical world it is possible for Rick to have died and Shane become the main character.

                When making a new adaptation of a fictional world a new universe is created. Those universes are entitled to change the story as seen fit. The only thing that is needed to remain constant is the basic feel of the story. So next you want to say “That wasn’t like the book” think about it. Do you really just want a retelling of what you already have experienced or do you want a whole new story based on the one you are already familiar with. 

I’m Batman: The Villain Gotham Deserves.

       To celebrate the premier of my blog and the release of Dark Knight Rises on Blu-Ray, I am going to cover my favorite topic of debate, the morality of Batman. Now I love the Batman franchise and the setting of Gotham. I enjoy the several different mediums and universes created by several people. What I don’t like is when people think Batman is of high moral code.

          This debate with friends often starts off the same way, “Yeah Batman is evil and stuff because he doesn't kill the Joker.” That is a pretty weak argument on his morality; in fact I take it be a good stance on his good moral code. The big issue is his unwillingness to actually stop crime and keep it gone. He just allows villains to make a constant return.

          Batman has this issue of just stopping a criminal and placing them in Arkham just for them to escape again. At some point Batman should realize that the criminals are just going to escape again. Keep in mind that these criminals don’t just commit petty crimes; they go on full blown homicidal rampages. The body count in Gotham is probably comparable to that of several wars. Bruce Wayne has the ability to fix up Arkham in such a way that criminals don’t escape. He has the resources of building up the police department, but he doesn't do it. For the most part, he uses his role as  protector to beat up villains over and over again, then puts them into a facility in which they are going to escape, starting the cycle over again. I believe all he cares about is releasing the anger he has built up due to his parents’ death. By thwarting villains multiple times, he gets a big boost in his self. That boost happens at the expense of Gotham City though.

         Batman has some good things about him, but his moral code is very selfish. He places Gotham at danger just to fulfill his own pleasure. Of course, I could have the situation misread. Internet give me your opinion about this.

The Rise of the Nerd

                Well, here I am at the beginning of final exam week when I should be studying for my tests. As you can tell,   that is not what I am doing. Instead, I have decided to create a blog. “Why would I do that, isn’t my grade going to suffer? “ Well voice in my head, it won’t suffer because I am a confident senior who is suffering from senioritis, and my ideas for a blog are strong.

                “What is this blog about?” This blog is about applying critical thought to Nerdom and Pop Culture. I will take subjects that people love to discuss and apply my thinking and reasoning to the subject. I aim to use my experience studying philosophy to go deeper into subject. I wish to cover subjects such as the morality of Batman and if it okay to eat Pokémon. I am also going to leave comments open and encourage people to respond back to me. The aim will be to create a community of deep, critically thinking nerds that can discuss topics without them becoming forum board flame wars.

                If this sounds like a blog you wish to follow, I encourage it. I will try my hardest to not disappoint. If I do disappoint, I promise triple your money back guaranteed. So please fellow nerds, join me on this journey of over analysis and critical thinking. Let us enjoy great fandom and pick it apart. Most importantly, let us all have a good time.