The Ted Scene From How I Met Your Mother That Went Too Far
"How I Met Your Mother" is one of the most popular sitcoms of the past two decades. Premiering in 2005, the sitcom seemed to fill the hole created by the ending of "Friends" the previous year. For nine seasons, fans followed Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) on his journey to find true love, wondering who the titular mother would turn out to be — although the show's shocking ending certainly made viewers rethink much of that journey.
For nearly a decade, Ted, alongside his best friends Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney, warmed our hearts and made us laugh. However, despite a hotly anticipated gender-swapped reboot starring Hilary Duff called "How I Met Your Father," the show has not aged well, with audiences realizing just how many of its jokes were offensive, hurtful, and bigoted.
The series has been criticized, too, for its rampant misogyny. Protagonist Ted was portrayed as the typical nice guy, looking for love against all odds — and believing he deserves it no matter what. However, upon retrospective, Ted's behavior was just as sexist as that of the more brash and outwardly problematic Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). There's one moment in particular, however, that really demonstrates just how far Ted went sometimes.
Ted is selfish toward all women — including his mother
Ted may think of himself as a good guy deserving of love, but oftentimes, his pursuits are just selfish. Throughout the series, he pursues Robin, completely ignoring her dreams and desires (only to still be rewarded with her love in the series finale). In Season 1, Ted breaks up with a woman on her birthday (twice) and cheats on his long-distance girlfriend. In Season 4, he pursues his doctor and pressures her to go out with him, even after she has made it clear she doesn't date patients.
However, one of the worst things Ted ever did wasn't to a woman he was dating but to an arguably much more important woman — his own mother.
In Season 5, Episode 20, Ted's mother Virginia (Cristine Rose) gets re-married. She's clearly head-over-heels for her new husband, Clint (Harry Groener), but Ted isn't happy at all. In fact, he is angry that his mother is getting married a second time before he ever got married a first — so he sulks and eventually storms out of his mother's wedding without even telling her.
It's normal to be jealous of people, even those you love the most. However, Ted's inability to put his own feelings aside and celebrate his mother's joy is a clear example of the character's selfishness and immaturity. While we can still enjoy a comforting and entertaining "How I Met Your Mother" rewatch, Ted's behavior definitely leaves a bad taste in our mouths.