If you are reading this, there is a high probability that you have watched this show by the name of 'How I Met Your Mother'. Personally, I would say I have grown up with this show!
I remember that I started watching this show when I was in school, the time when all of us didn't think of much else and didn't even have an understanding or experience with what love was.
Living in India, early on we did not have access to this series through conventional means (that being the TV channels) and we had to resort to downloading this show through let's just say, not so conventional means but then again, we did not have a choice!
It all started in 2007 when I was in 7th grade and we were all just going about our day being dorky teenage boys (as you do), our classmate suddenly comes up to us and starts speaking about this crazy new show we should watch! Talking about how it was hilarious and we all should be watching it. He told us that it cannot be watched on any TV channel and that we would have download the series and watch it on our laptops/desktops.
So, my friends and I just looked at each other and at that moment decided that we were going to check this new show out, and in our excitement, we learned how to watch it on our computers (more like one of us knew how to download shows and showed us the way XD).
This was when we were truly acquainted with each and every character and the plot of the show, we were taken to a completely different world which we fell in love with after watching the first episode itself, but hadn't realized it at the time!
All of us took to this show like a fish to water and started watching it every day! Discussing the funny jokes, the incidences, the quirks, and the story! We were taken away by the wonder, the friendship and the fun of it all, too young to understand love and heartbreak, we just spoke about the bro code, high fives, girls and so much more!
It was all just so legen-wait for it-dary! That's what it was to us at the beginning, just fun, and happiness, a memory that I cherish even today. But we started growing up, and the show also moved forward with us. Without realizing, I was graduating from school and entering junior college, meeting new people, making new friends, and getting used to a new environment. One of the few things that were constant in my life at this time was #HIMYM and I loved every moment of it. In 2010, before the new season was going to come out, I decided that I wanted to rewatch the previous seasons just so everything would remain fresh in my head. This was also around the time that it had started airing in India and you could watch the first 3 seasons on the air. So, that's what I did, I went back and began watching this wonderful and amazingly quirky group of friends again!
It was here that I started understanding the intricacies woven into the show, the glances, the feelings, the heartbreaks, and heartaches. It started becoming raw for me, I understood what this show consisted of, it wasn't just fun, games and jokes, but also a real story, a raw account of these people trying to live their life, trying to find and create happiness every day, trying to make their lives mean something more than just a monotonous series of events.
Each and every character had their own journey, they grew throughout the seasons and they learned something about themselves through their journey, and with them, we also ended up learning not only about them as characters, but also ourselves. Looking into our psyche and understanding what we related to the most. What we were looking for as people, and this is what I find beautiful about this series...It didn't skimp out on these raw moments. They let these feelings and emotions simmer throughout their funny adventures which is why we became so invested in this show. It was because they knew what they were doing.
Though people might argue the show lost some of these elements in season 6 and maybe struggled a little after that, even though I would agree with the same about season 6, I would say they brought it back with season 7 and touched on topics that were deeper than I would've ever anticipated. The death of a loved one can affect you in so many ways, and we could truly see that with Marshall, the way he dealt with the death of his father and how it affected his mental state.
His feelings were raw and real, and Jason Segel did an outstanding job showing these emotions on screen. Though I was too young at the time to fully grasp the reality of it all, I was able to understand it as the years went by. I was in college and my father was sick, his health was always in question and even though he didn't make it seem like he was ill, we knew he was in a lot of pain. Seeing his pain affected me as well and in 2014, before the final season was coming out I rewatched the past 3 seasons and in that, I understood Marshall's pain as well, the feeling he got was one that I was experiencing, though it wouldn't be until 2015, the very next year that I would truly understand the gravity of it all.
These characters and the show itself have always been there with me throughout my years as a teen, I have learned so much from them, and for this, I will always be grateful!
Seeing how much of an impact this show had on me, I decided to revisit it this year, in 2020, 6 years after this show ended and after going through the show again, this is what I found:
Ted Mosby:
Theodore Evelyn Mosby is one of the sweetest characters I have seen on screen, but this did not mean he let people walk all over him. It was his character that taught me about love, about how the idea of love is a beautiful thing, the idea of finding the one person for you, that human being who is your soulmate, and to not give up on the idea itself.
He also taught me that no matter what life may throw your way, don't give up and also to be able to speak up and take the leap of fate when everything seems bleak.
So for that, Ted Mosby and also Josh Radnor who played Ted, I truly thank you!
Robin Scherbatsky:
Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr., you were I think one of my first crushes in school, I remember seeing you for the first time in 2007 and like Ted, having my heart stolen right there and then. You have been such an amazing character, with your non-caring personality, your attitude towards work, and your love for who you are and where you're from. This is what I take away when I think of you, the fact that we can be strong and goal-oriented in life, but we also have a heart and we should let it speak as well.
I also learned the fact that we should embrace our past and not be ashamed of it!
So, to Robin Scherbatsky and Cobie Smulders, thank you very much for such a valuable lesson! Also we still stan XD
Barney Stinson:
Barnabus 'Barney' Stinson, you have genuinely been one of the best characters I have seen on a show, just your charisma, your personality, and the growth you had in the show was amazing. Even though you had the playboy persona, your character had so much more depth than just being a playboy. The fact that you loved your friends so much that you would go to crazy lengths just to see them smile, to the point of sacrificing your own happiness, your attitude towards life, the way you grew over the seasons where we saw that your personality wasn't the way it was just for the sake of it or for shallow reasons, rather it was because you felt hollow, you wanted more out of life, you did not want to live a monotonous life and did not want to go through the trauma or grief you did early on in life, dealing with things like not having a dad and so on.
Your character taught me that our hearts should be in the right place and that we should always be there for our loved ones no matter what, no matter the arguments we might have had or our history. All that matters is being there, for the best of times and the worst of times.
So, Barney Stinson and Neil Patrick Harris, thank you so much for being so awesome and legendary!
Lily Aldrin and Marshall Eriksen:
We finally arrive at one of the best on-screen couples to have graced the screen, Lily and Marshall are some of the best characters individually, but together, they complement each other like no other characters in this show.
So much so, that I did not want to write about them separately. Lilypad and Marshmallow have gone through a lot in their relationship, they have seen everything with each other and have done everything with each other (PC and Non-PC XD). These two have learned to be honest, loving and true to each other throughout the show, they made sacrifices for their relationship and even though these were big sacrifices, they did it because they loved each other and did not want to give up on their relationship because if these two gave up, then was there really any hope for any of us here?
Marshall's big heart and Lily's free spirit are characteristics that will always stick with me in my life.
So for that, Lily and Marshall along with Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Lastly, I would like to thank Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for making this series, for bringing such an amazing concept to life and writing a show that made me and countless others laugh, cry, smile, jump with joy and so much more. It was an amazing journey and one whose lessons I would take with me through my life!
Finally, I would like to say that if you haven't watched this show already, I urge you that at least give this a shot. You never know, it might just take you by surprise! If you decide to watch it, then you will be able to find it at #Hotstar.
And for those who have already watched the show, join Zee and me in reminiscing about the show and its episodes! We take a complete nostalgia trip and geek out over How I Met Your Mother on our podcast!
You can check the episode out here: https://bit.ly/himym-geek-out
This is 1000Minus7 signing out! See you at the pod! *bleats excitedly*