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<p>See, that’s the thing–they destroyed the entire mythology of the show. The twist to HIMYM, what was supposed to make it unique, was that Robin wasn’t The Mother, but that somehow she would lead Ted to the women who was perfect for him. They showed that the two didn’t work as a couple repeatedly, showed that Robin wasn’t in love with Ted, showed that Ted finally knew he was no longer in love with Robin (at least twice!). They brought in Cristin, who played the titular mother perfectly. This was the woman we had been waiting for–and she was lovely.They had a great love story, but they used her as a renaissance-fair loving uterus whose sole purpose was to give Ted the children Robin neither had nor wanted by killing her off in a two-minute montage so that Ted’s kids can tell him to go chase after a woman who clearly and explicitly never loved him like that anyway and who he, in the end, knew he didn’t love, either. </p>
<p>The twist might have worked in season 2 or 3 or 4 or even 5, before they went to lengths they did to demonstrate, irrevocably, that Ted and Robin weren’t a match. It would have been sketchy but it might have been pulled off better early in the run. Coming when it did, it was a huge screw you to the show, the characters, the premise, and anyone with the misfortune to waste their time on this show.</p>