Summary

• The alternate ending of How I Met Your Mother changed the heartbreaking death of Tracy, the titular mother, and instead portrayed her as alive and happily married to Ted.
• Ted and Robin do not end up together in the alternate ending, as it is implied that Robin moves on with her life while remaining friends with Ted.
• The kids do not make an appearance in the alternate ending, as their scenes were filmed at the start of the series and bringing them back would have made them appear much older.

The beloved sitcom How I Met Your Mother ended on a divisive finale in 2014, which led to the release of a HIMYM alternate ending. There were plenty of elements that lived up to fan expectations — like Ted (Josh Radnor) finally meeting the Mother (Cristin Milioti) and fans getting to see some of their life together. Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) also got married, but the final scenes changed everything. What attempted to be a surprising and bittersweet ending was mostly bitter for many HIMYM fans.

Despite nearly 10 years of build-up, the controversial finale of How I Met You Mother killed off the titular mother to make way for Ted to reunite with Robin, after she and Barney divorce. Longtime fans of the series felt like they had been tricked. The disappointing finale spurred the demand for an alternate ending, and the creators eventually released one that the fans welcomed wholeheartedly. This version of the story saw many of the fan frustrations addressed and became a significantly happier ending. However, not everything about the How I Met Your Mother alternate ending changed.

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What The How I Met Your Mother Alternate Ending Changed

Tracy Does Not Die

One of the heartbreaking moments for the viewers of the show was the death of the mother, Tracy. Although the creators of How I Met Your Mother hinted about Tracy's sickness in an earlier episode while she and Ted were having dinner, her quick demise in the final episode felt like a cheap trick to get Ted and Robin back together.

The alternate ending doesn't acknowledge anything about her sickness and ends it with Ted saying, "That's how I met your mother." The ending monologue also refers to her in the present tense, with lines about "waking up next to her every day." Clearly, Tracy is still alive and is happily married to Ted in the How I Met Your Mother alternate ending.

Ted And Robin Don't End Up Together

The finale's climactic scene shows Ted standing outside Robin's window with the blue French horn, the symbol of their romantic relationship. The suggestion is that the two get back together, proving it was their love story all along. In the alternate HIMYM ending, there is no mention of Robin after Ted's marriage — unsurprisingly, given that he is still married to Tracy.

Robin and Barney do still get divorced in the alternate ending, but it's assumed that she moves on with her life in a new direction, while remaining no more than friends with Ted. This made significantly more sense for the narrative. Ted and Robin would never have worked, as the show repeatedly proved how incompatible they were.

The Kids Don't Make An Appearance

How I Met Your Mother's entire plot is based on Ted narrating the story to his kids about how he met their mother. In the actual ending, there is a discussion between Ted and the kids (David Henrie, Lyndsy Fonseca) where they question Ted's intention behind narrating the story and advise him to go after Robin. However, the kids do not appear in the alternate ending as the episode ends immediately after Ted completes his story.

This makes sense for two reasons — first, the kids only appear in the original ending to talk Ted into going after Robin again, and there is nothing comparable for them to do in the alternate How I Met Your Mother ending. On a more practical level, though, the scenes with the kids were all filmed at the start of the series, so that the actors wouldn't age as time went on.

Bringing them back to do an alternate ending wouldn't have been possible — as they would appear to suddenly be nine years older. Both David Henrie and Lyndsy Fonseca were no longer teenagers by the time the series ended.

Marshall Loses The Lily-Marshall Bet

Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) have a long-term bet about the Robin and Ted relationship. Marshall always believed Ted and Robin would get together, whereas Lily placed her bet on Ted marrying someone else. In the actual ending, the win goes to Marshall after Ted asks Robin out in the final clip of the show. However, Ted stays together with Tracy in the alternate HIMYM ending, which implies that Lily won the bet.

This is a relatively minor change, of course, even if the long-term bets are something that crop up more than once in the show. They exist as more of a HIMYM running joke, though, so it doesn't really matter who wins in the end.

Robin Continued Her World Trip

How I Met Your Mother viewers were quite familiar with Robin's goal to become a famous reporter and travel worldwide. Although Robin successfully achieved her dream, her friends are disappointed as she is not available for the big things that happen in their lives. The original HIMYM ending saw Robin returning to New York, where she stays in her old apartment.

In the How I Met Your Mother alternate ending, however, Robin doesn't come back to New York. While her exact whereabouts aren't revealed, it's likely she is still traveling the world as a reporter. This is actually a much better ending for the character, as it lines up with Robin's long-term goals throughout her time in the series. It suits her character to continue to put her career and her dreams first, rather than simply end up back where she started. Much of Robin's How I Met Your Mother arc involves putting her dreams first, which the alternate ending reaffirms.

What The How I Met Your Mother Alternate Ending Kept The Same

Lily And Marshall's Story

Lily and Marshall are undoubtedly one of the best couples in modern sitcoms. They were incredibly compatible, and their relationship faced realistic ups and downs throughout the series instead of the show breaking them completely apart. One of the reasons why the finale worked well among the fans was that it didn't try to change anything about the Marshall-Lily love story.

Despite having a short breakup in season 2, Marshmallow and Lilypad continued to entertain the fans with their sweet relationship and ended the series happy and successful. In both the real and alternate ending, Lily and Marshall grow old together with their kids, take time to live in Italy, and see Marshall become a Supreme Court Judge.

Robin And Barney Divorce

It came as a big blow to the fans when Robin and Barney got divorced in the show's penultimate episode. One thing that stayed the same in the actual and alternate endings of How I Met Your Mother is this decision made by the two characters. They realized that neither of them was happy with the marriage and got divorced.

This is one part of the controversial finale that stayed the same, despite the fact that so many fans hated it. The consensus was that these two were perfect for one another and that they divorced largely to free Robin up to be with Ted in the original ending. It's likely that this didn't change in the alternate ending because it would have simply been too complicated on a practical level when their divorce was shown before the very last scenes.

The Love Of Barney's Life

Many fans strongly believed that Robin was the perfect match for Barney. However, they get divorced, and it is only in the final episode of the show he finds the actual "love of his life," his daughter, Ellie. It provided a fitting ending for Barney in How I Met Your Mother. It was very heartwarming to see Barney seeing his daughter for the first time and telling her how she owns everything he has and he is.

The HIMYM alternate ending doesn't alter Barney's story and leaves it as presented in the actual show. This is also a moment that shows how much Barney has changed - and the ways that he doesn't. It was a great ending for a beloved character and one that suited the series.

The Characters Drifting Apart

It is revealed in the penultimate episode of the show that "the five of us hanging together in Maclaren's, being young and stupid" is not one of the wonderful things that will happen anymore. As people's lives change, they can grow apart. How I Met Your Mother demonstrated that very close friends would end up going their separate ways.

The show had a very realistic ending, where each of the characters goes their own way. Marshall and Lily lead a serene life away from the city bustle. Barney sets out for a new life with his daughter. Ted and Robin continue living in New York. The viewers see the friendship circle and how it changes over time, which has remained the same in the alternate ending as well.

Ted Has The First Conversation With Tracy At Farhampton

The show revolves around the circumstances that led Ted to meet Tracy, the mother of his children. Although they had almost crossed paths at different places throughout the show, they spoke for the first time at the Farhampton station when Ted bumped into her and started a conversation. This is a common sequence in both the real and alternate endings of How I Met Your Mother.

While the alternate ending culminates with this conversation at the station, this takes place before Ted's discussion with his kids in the actual ending. This is largely a practical change and one that comes from cutting together a new ending from existing footage. It makes for a sweet moment to wrap up the show, though - and arguably provides a better alternate ending for How I Met Your Mother.