The problem is, you won't get it unless you watch the whole thing. The good news is, you can stream it on Netflix, up until the last season anyway, and you'll probably get the joke if you just watch the first 8 years.

Of course, dramatically speaking, it was a piece of shit, so there's that.

Seriously, if there was ever an obvious case of the producers saying "We have an Idea, and we are going to stick it out, come hell or high water, regardless of the realities of what goes on in the interim!" it was this. Maybe this seemed like a brilliant plan when this was a pitch or a pilot that got picked up, or for three or four years. But after nine seasons, and wrenching the characters through so many hoops and making so much effort to be a story, rather than a framework for jokes, that ending totally sold the characters out for their macro joke. Or maybe for their "one true love" story. I suppose there was something there for everyone. As someone who kind of held Ted in contempt for his selfish & egocentric approach to romance and relationships, I wasn't really invested in the story, so I could objectively appreciate the humor of this colossal dick move by the writers. And I guess that someone who was so far up Cupid's ass that they think Ted Mosby is the epitome of a romantic hero would love the whole "full circle" aspect. But I think for everyone who just liked an atypical sitcom and enjoyed the characters, that must have been pretty bad.