<p>I would have bet $$ that Barney and Robin’s wedding never came off. The reason they were “in love” was that they were “Bros”, and that relationship could never have lasted forever. I didn’t see the ending as a downer. Spouses die; people remarry. Are they any less happy than the first time? The Mother lost her first love, and then found happiness with Ted. I’m sure that when Max died, she never thought she could be happy again. My absolute favorite moment in the finale (and it really was a terrible show, though not quite as awful as the Seinfeld) was when they are under the umbrella at the train station, and they realize that they’ve missed out on each other all these years. Does anyone remember who was on the porch in the old episode? We were trying to remember–don’t recall Robin or Barney. The fact that the Mother wasn’t there was probably a clue I missed.</p>