How I Met Your Mother Scenes That Left Fans In Tears

Over the course of nine seasons starting from 2005, "How I Met Your Mother" gave the world a new set of friends to root for who were in their twenties, living in New York, and trying to find love. Much like "Friends" that came before it and which it was frequently compared to, "How I Met Your Mother" was a meditation on the fine line between friendship and romance when it comes to young men and women searching for their place in the world. 

This theme was best encapsulated in the emotional journey of the main character Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), a hopeless romantic who wanted more than anything else to settle down with the woman of his dreams. That does end up happening, and the show is Ted looking back on his life and telling his children about the many wild adventures he embarked on with his friends in his quest to find and marry their mother. 

While technically a comedy, "How I Met Your Mother" was excellent at infusing the funniest episodes with a level of poignancy that even the best dramas might struggle to achieve. There are real moments of sadness and tragedy to be found in the show, which refuses to sugarcoat the journey of the main group of friends as they get their hearts broken again and again. Here are 14 such instances when "How I Met Your Mother" got all too real for fans. Warning: spoilers ahead.

Much of Ted's preoccupation throughout the show is finding and marrying the woman of his dreams. But, occasionally, Ted is also reminded of how lucky he is to have friends whose company he genuinely enjoys and who stand with him through thick and thin. The most poignant reminder of this occurs in "The Time Travelers"  (Season 8, Episode 20).

By that time, the dynamic of the group had changed irrevocably. Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) were new parents. Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin were about to get married. One night, Ted couldn't decide between turning in early to get ready for a lecture the next day, going to watch a show of "Robots vs. Wrestlers: Legends" with Barney, or trying to start a new relationship with the Coat Check Girl. While Ted is sitting at the bar torn with indecision, he slowly comes to realize that whatever he decides to do doesn't matter anyway — because that moment had already occurred five years ago, and all Ted had left was its memory. 

Future Ted admits that what he should have done that night was go visit his old apartment, and spend time with his friends before they all drifted apart. But the moment that makes audiences tear up is when Ted imagines going to meet the "Mother" that night to inform her how in 45 days time they are going to find each other and fall in love.   

In the hands of a lesser actor, Barney Stinson could have been a thoroughly despicable character — a legitimate psychopath who lies and cheats ruthlessly in his quest to bed every woman on the planet in some of "How I Met Your Mother"'s best running gags. But thanks to the humanity that Neil Patrick Harris imbued his character with, Barney comes across as a wounded child on the inside, struggling to cope with relationship issues while never finding true happiness. 

One of the most stark reminders of this vulnerable side to Barney is seen in "Legendaddy" (Season 6, Episode 19). Barney comes face-to-face with Jerry (John Lithgow), his long-lost biological father. At first, Barney tries to pretend Jerry is as much of a suave womanizer as himself. When it is revealed that Jerry is an ordinary family man who lives in the suburbs, Barney claims he wants nothing to do with such a "lame" guy. 

In the end, Jerry finds Barney trying to take away the basketball hoop from his backyard. As Barney struggles with the hoop, his real emotions finally surge to the surface as he demands of Jerry, "If you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why couldn't you have been that for me?" The deep pain in Barney's face and voice is completely removed from his usual debonair persona, and the audience really feels the deep loss he experienced over growing up without a father.   

Robin Scherbatsky was usually depicted as the ultimate "tomboy." She hated emotional drama, found it difficult to make friends with women, loved guns and cigars, and also found it difficult to make romantic commitments. Additionally, Robin had a rather strong dislike of children, and even vowed that she would never have children of her own.

Those words came back to haunt Robin in a brutal manner in "Symphony of Illumination" (Season 7, Episode 12). The episode starts with "future" Robin telling her 2 kids about the time she had a pregnancy scare and thought she had been knocked up by Barney. A visit to the doctor confirms that Robin is not actually pregnant. But she also finds out that it is biologically impossible for her to ever have children. 

The rest of the episode sees Robin struggling to deal with the news, and lashing out at Ted when he tries to find out the reason for her mental disturbance. In the end, it is revealed that the children Robin was speaking to were figments of her imagination, and in reality she had been sitting alone, crying on a park bench on a snowy night while trying to come to terms with the fact that she will never have children of her own.  

Ted and Robin were set up from the start of "How I Met Your Mother" as the main romantic pairing, the ones who the audiences should root for to get together even though fate always seemed to hold them apart. And yet, at some point, completely unexpectedly, Robin started having serious feelings for Barney (of all people), and even more unexpectedly, he seemed to feel the same way. 

In "Tick Tick Tick" (Season 7, Episode 10), Robin was dating Kevin (Kal Penn), while Barney was in a relationship with Nora (Nazanin Boniadi). But the two still had lingering feelings for each other and ended up sleeping together. Robin and Barney agree to tell Kevin and Nora about their infidelity and break up with their respective partners so they can give their relationship another shot. 

After Barney breaks up with Nora, he arrives at MacLaren's pub to wait for Robin. When she arrives, Barney is stricken to see she is still with Kevin. In a moment that seems to last forever, Barney waits for a sign from Robin regarding her intentions. Robin simply shakes her head at him, wordlessly telling Barney she is still with Kevin. Although clearly devastated, Barney manages to finish his drink and excuse himself from the group so he can have space to wrestle with his feelings alone.  

"How I Met Your Mother" made Marshall and Lily parents in Season 7. Baby Marvin was born in "The Magician's Code – Part One" (Season 7, Episode 23) and quickly became an important aspect of the lives of his parents and their best friends. Many future episodes had plotlines relating to Marvin, including a heartbreaking one in "Band or DJ" (Season 8, Episode 13). 

While Lily had always doted on her son, she was also a school teacher who spent her entire day dealing with little children. In a burst of honesty, Lily confesses to Ted that sometimes she wished she wasn't a mom. Growing more emotional, Lily explains that even though she loves Marvin, there was a time when art used to be her whole life, and now it's been months since she's been able to even pick up a brush.

The scene has often been praised for its stinging honesty with regards to being a new parent, as Lily states, "It never lets up. It's just really, really hard." After that, even though Lily continues being a loving and supportive mother to Marvin, the audience is always aware of the things that she has had to sacrifice as a person to make room for the new little human in her life.

While Marshall getting the news of his father's death was one of the saddest moments on television, what followed afterward was no picnic either. Marshall had to go home to Minnesota to arrange for his dad's funeral. And there he stayed for many days afterward, ostensibly to help his family, but really because he was struggling to deal with his father's death.

In "Desperation Day" (Season 6, Episode 16), Marshall explains to Ted that his father had always been the man he looked up to and hoped to be like. Marshall recalled how safe he felt coming home in a car through the woods during pitch black nights, just because his father was driving them. Marshall was afraid that without his father around to guide him, he would not be able to be as good a man and a father anymore. But in the end, Marshall realizes he can't hide in Minnesota forever. 

He tells Ted they need to get back to New York and deal with their lives like adults. On the way back that night, driving through hail and snow, Marshall imagines the ghost of his father sitting in the back and telling him, "Here's a secret. I couldn't see worth a damn, either, buddy. I just kept driving forward, hoping for the best." With that, Marshall understood that the memory of his father will always be at his side to guide and encourage him.

If there is one rather depressing theme that runs through the whole of "How I Met Your Mother," it is that nothing good ever truly lasts, and that is why it is important to cherish the good moments while you have them. The entire show is Ted's meditation on the best years of his life when he was surrounded by close friends and met Tracy, the love of his life.

But as the series finale "Last Forever – Part 2" shows, even the love that the members of the group shared for each other could not withstand the march of time. Three years after Robin and Barney's wedding, they got divorced. As a result, Robin moved away from New York and started seeing less and less of her old friends.  

Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily were busy raising their own family. Ted was spending more and more time with Tracy. Barney was resolutely sticking to his bachelor ways until the birth of his own daughter made him strike out on a completely new, more responsible path. In the end, it is saddening to consider that a necessary part of that iconic gang of friends growing as individuals was breaking up their bonds of friendship and moving on from each other.