‘How I Met Your Mother’: An Important Robin-Ted Scene Was Cut From the Finale

It’s safe to say the How I Met Your Mother finale stirred outrage within the fanbase. While some HIMYM fans were thrilled that Robin and Ted finally ended up together after decades of the hopeless romantic chasing after his dream girl, others felt as though years of character development had been destroyed in a matter of minutes because of their courtship. Could a deleted scene between Robin and Ted have saved the notorious finale? Keep reading to find out. 

Why were fans so disappointed with the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ finale?

HIMYM fans who hated the final episode of the series argued that the whole premise of the show was centered around how Ted met the mother. Since we find out in the pilot episode that Robin is not in fact the mom, fans felt utterly perplexed as to why she would be the person he ends up with. Fans were also upset because Tracy, (the actual mother,) got minimal screen time and was killed off from the show in a matter of seconds. 

Another reason fans were not happy with the ending was because the series spent a massive chunk of time developing Robin’s relationship with Barney. People grew to love the relationship between the unsuspecting characters, and felt it was totally natural for the two to end up together.

 The characters are both extremely independent, both value work as a top priority, and are mutually terrified of commitment. As a couple, they wanted the same things which was certainly not the case with Robin and Ted. In fact, that’s the reason why Ted and Robin broke up in the first place. 

Because the entire final season revolved around Barney and Robin’s wedding, fans didn’t understand why, after all that effort, they wouldn’t even end up together.    

What happened in the deleted scene?

As the series progressed, it became more and more evident that Robin had lost all of her romantic feelings for Ted. While she truly loved Barney, she flat out admitted to Ted that she no longer had feelings for him.

 Yet in the deleted scene that was cut from the finale, we learn that Robin has been thinking about Ted for years, constantly wondering “What if?”

Robin makes it clear in the deleted scene that she still longs for Ted. This little moment could have changed the whole game for fans by justifying Ted and Robin ending up together. 

Josh Radnor’s thoughts on the deleted scene/finale

Regarding the deleted scene, Josh Radnor (who plays Ted) spoke on the subject in an interview with Vulture.

 “It was a scene after they ran into each other on the street. They had lunch the next day. I don’t want to go too much into it because they obviously cut it for a reason, but I thought it was a really sweet and sad and funny scene. It also talked about Robin having a run-in with a bull in Spain. They’re so densely packed, these episodes, and they’re always long. We shot more than could be in the episode, which we always do, so some stuff has to go.” 

Expressing his opinion on the finale as a whole, he told Vulture that part of what makes the series stand out is that they lead you one way and then they pull you back. He says, “You think you’re watching one thing in an episode and then it turns out you’re watching something completely different. I think that the twists in the finale were in keeping with that.” 

He also believes that no matter what they did in the final episode, people would still be extremely opinionated about it. Even if the finale didn’t end up the way it did, he still believes some people would have been “thrilled” while others would have been “upset,” and the fact that people are so enthusiastic about the finale “speaks to something really great.”