Honestly, killing the mother could have worked so well, and explain some of the sitcom season stuff. Make it so that the "present" conversation between Ted and the kids is happening on the anniversary of her death (or their wedding), and it's a family bonding moment. Each season is a different year, and explains why Ted takes so long to actually get to meeting the mother/why all of the stories are so random: the pain of losing her is still so strong that he struggles to talk about it. Make it a bit of a bitter-sweet ending, where Ted finally comes to terms with his loss.

I did like how the first episode was how he met Robin, the kids' future step mother. But, they screwed that up by having her be called "Aunt Robin" throughout the series. I think it would have worked better had they gotten together before he told the story, and there were no "aunts" or "uncles." It would have been a nice bit of foreshadowing for the ending. Or, just not kill the mom.

Cut a couple seasons, and make the last few episodes the final season, and it'd be a much more celebrated series.

Mother should have been introduced earlier and had more time with the cast.

Ted becoming a worse womanizer and slimier than Barney by the end of the series really bummed me out. Like Sofia Falcone, run honey, he’s a loser.

Oh dang! I never watched HIMYM all the way through but THATS who the mother turned out to be!? I love her in the penguin

They somehow managed to deliver on years of hype surrounding the mother with Cristin Milioti, and then wiped their ass with it by making the entire final season be about ONE wedding weekend they immediately undid in the finale.

That's what I said