Well, nothing could ever make my heart throb as much as Ted Mosby’s “And that, kids, is how I met your mother!”, Barney Stinson’s “Suit Up!”, Robin Scherbatsky’s “Let’s go to the Mall!”, Marshall Eriksen’s “Lawyered!” or Lily Aldrin’s “Where’s the poop?” Yes, every time I watch and rewatch How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), it would make me happy. Sometimes, it makes me overwhelmed, full of awe, or even sob. It is the teeny-weeny special instances in the story that builds the plot to make it a full package. The best part about it is how it makes you feel connected—where all emotions are peppered into a story that is not only Ted’s but also yours the moment you fall in love with it. From slap bets to eating sandwiches, mock salutes to high fives—there have been little incidents and lessons seeping within the plot, making the hit sitcom more than just a TV Show. It is all about friends, family, love, and ambitions. A whole emotion, the love of my life.
“You see kids, friendship is an involuntary reflex.” I get goosebumps every time I think of what Ted Mosby would just casually say meant so much. The aforesaid quote will never cease to make me smile. Well, isn’t that what the series is all about? Friendships that happened—just happened. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. Remember how (where) Ted and Barney met? At the urinal! Or remember how Lily went looking for help to set up her stereo and somehow got drawn toward Ted and Marshall’s dorm room? No one other than Robin could ever make a part of their little gang. Just as Ted would say, that’s the funny thing about destiny, it happens whether you planned it or not.
Destiny. Ted never had much faith in anything else as he had in destiny. A little glimpse of Tracy when he goes to meet her roommate and best friend Kelly, and also how she was sitting right there when Ted walked into the wrong classroom on the first day of his teaching. What else is it but destiny? It makes you realize how all those passing by strangers, one sees from the corner of the eye or the ones we barely ever notice might later become the ones we would love for life. And that is precisely why you cannot plan everything. From falling in love to working on his dream project, episodes like “The Leap” make us realize how you cannot always chalk out your path in life.
I love how the plot moves back and forth. The plot constantly runs in different time zones—all working together to culminate into the main plot of HIMYM. It makes you realize how past relationships and friendships have a crucial role to play in determining what you feel and think of people in the present. It’s all connected – it has always been. Recall the “Ducky Tie” episode of Season 7 when Ted runs into his ex-girlfriend Victoria who is getting married. After making a long-awaited apology for cheating on her, Ted asks Victoria what she imagined their lives could have been had they stayed together. That was when she said that the reason behind all of Ted’s past relationships failing is Robin: “She is so much bigger in your world than you realize.”
With moments of revelation, heartbreaks, and difficulties, the show is replete with instances of ups and downs in the lives of the protagonists. They fall, leap and grow. It teaches us how at times all we got to do is look at hardships in the face, and as Barney would preach, scream out loud “Challenge Accepted!” Robin strives to become a booming journalist, Ted wants to pursue his aim of building a New York skyscraper, Lily quests to become a well-recognized artist, and Marshall dreams of saving the planet—HIMYM teaches how while chasing such dreams, we often make mistakes. The plot hits hard when it makes us see how very frequently we choose not to leap for fear of the fall. That is when one should recall what Lily said, “the bigger mistake would be to not make the mistake because then you’d go your whole life not knowing if something was a mistake or not.”
From the blue horn to the yellow umbrella, through the streets of New York and memories of the McLaren’s—HIMYM’s biggest takeaway is that the journey is the best part. Sometimes all we have to do is have faith and go with the flow. And now before I go and re-watch it for the nth time, here’s a reminder to remember all those wholesome and optimistic things those 208 episodes ever taught you, to make your life nothing short of LEGEN-wait for it-DARY!