A Funeral Scene Was Cut From The How I Met Your Mother Finale

A few days ago, Neil Patrick Harris came to the defense of the How I Met Your Mother finale, which angered many longtime fans. That was on the heels of comments from Josh Radnor and the show’s creators explaining why they thought the ending was totally appropriate. Now, the latest cast member to discuss the finale is Alyson Hannigan, though her comments are more of an explanation than a defense.

The actress says that a one-second scene of Ted at his wife’s funeral was cut because it was too “gut-wrenching.” She believes the scene might have led to a warmer reception for the finale, though.

“Honestly, if you saw [that] cut, it would be even more heart-wrenching than what the finale was. They were like, ‘No. It’s just too gut-wrenching.’ And I was like, ‘That’s what I want. I want my heart ripped out and slammed on the floor and, like, stomped on!’

(It) would have been better for the audience, so that then they can process, ‘Oh, [Ted] mourned. He got closure’ — and then they’d be happy that [he and Robin] got together. Rather than be like, ‘Oh, wait. She died? What? They’re together, huh?’ And credits. That’s what I think was too fast.

Maybe it’s just me trying to make myself feel better about [the fans’] disappointment… but you know how if you’re in a relationship and you get dumped, you’d rather be mad at the person? I feel like maybe they’re just like, ‘Well, that’s all right. You sucked anyway!’ That they just want to be mad at us for leaving them. They want to go out, like, angry, because it’s easier for them.

I get what she’s saying about it being better for the audience to have funeral scene, but to me it seems that Hannigan is missing the point here. I wasn’t upset that Ted ended up with Robin because of the fact that he didn’t properly mourn his dead wife. I was upset with it because it meant that the entire journey was about something other than meeting the mother of his children. It didn’t matter if it was Robin or Mary the Paralegal. To have the show end with Ted being with any other woman completely changed what the first 206 episodes were supposed to be about. I certainly don’t think that would have been fixed with a one second scene of Ted mourning.

As you know, this isn’t the first we’ve heard about that infamous episode and it certainly won’t be the last. But if you happen to have any fresh thoughts on the How I Met Your Mother finale or on Hannigan’s comments, we would love to read them in the comments section below. Otherwise, if you’re like me and hate what happened with the show’s finale, you can look forward to an alternate ending on the season 9 Blu-Ray.