Neil Patrick Harris Says He’s Satisfied With How ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Ended

WARNING: This article contains HIMYM series finale spoilers (but seriously, you should have already watched this eons ago).

Legen-wait for it-dary! That is how Neil Patrick Harris thinks about the controversial ending for the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. This is despite massive outcry from fans around the world, who generally found the HIMYM series ender “disappointing” and “unsatisfying”.

Harris, who played the ladies man-cum-loving father Barney Stinson, went to The Late Show with David Letterman to share his insights on the final episode of the critically acclaimed series.

Neil Patrick Harris told the departing host that he is a “big fan” of the finale:

“It wasn’t necessarily the happy ending that people were expecting. But Carter [Bays] and Craig [Thomas], who were once writers on your show and the executive producers and creators, knew this ending years ago and had played towards that. And I was a big proponent of it and a big fan of it.”

Neil Patrick Harris also commented on the development of the characters, which was a significant deviation from what many fans have been anticipating, especially with Barney whom many fans expected to turn into a brand new, family man during the end of the show:

“Sometimes, people’s growth doesn’t really mean that they grow up. There are certain people who you want them to get into a solid relationship and really settle down and learn from things. And you want Barney to be the guy you can bring your mom home to — but Barney’s the guy who wants to bang your mom.”

Many fans, unlike Neil Patrick Harris, were dismayed by a lot of things that happened during the HIMYM series finale, like the Robin-Barney split-up, the old Ted and old Robin rekindling of romance, and most especially, the death of the titular Mother, Tracy Mosby (Cristin Milioti). Some, who already predicted the ending before the finale aired, felt more bad that it actually came true – that Tracy won’t see her kids grow up and listen to middle-aged Ted (voiced by Bob Saget) talk lengthily about his romance (and coincidentally, his long history of sexual encounters with dozens of women before the Mother).

But Neil has a different opinion. He thinks the finale hit it right on the spot. Neil Patrick Harris, who is currently starring on Broadway’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, told David that the ending, despite being less than happy than what people anticipated, was the best one to close the show.

[Image is screenshot of the Late Show]