List #147: Where Are the Single Ladies?

Tonight was the season finale of How I Met Your Mother. And we finally found out what we've been waiting to see since this time last year: just who Barney Stinson was marrying.

And if you don't want any spoilers, stop reading here.  I'll give you some page space for safety.

The I'm reading now. Better late than never.

A pretty NSFW photo of Adam Levine. He's that hot, ladies and gents.

Barney's Bride

I was probably one of the few fans of the show pulling for the bride NOT to be Robin. I didn't really want it to be Stripper Quinn either. And thought for a moment that we might end up seeing Barney and Victoria get married. But nope, it's Robin. And unless we think that the writers are going to give us yet another runaway bride scenario, we can fully assume that Barney and Robin eventually tie the knot. 

And I don't like it. See, I can relate to Robin's sad eyes when Barney announces his engagement. Just as much as I can relate to Ted looking at that newborn and thinking he's so far away from being a parent. This year and season, I have felt her struggles with a successful career, the battle of children and broken relationships more than ever before. Robin has grown to be my kindred woman. Sure, I'm more like Leslie Knope than any other TV character, but Robin and I would have a lot to talk about at a dinner party.

But all through the series, Robin has held steady to the notion that she doesn't want to get married. She wants to travel the world. She doesn't want kids. And I want to see a strong female television character who doesn't need the man to be happy in the end. 

I still have hope that I'll settle down and find a love that will last. But I also know that if I don't? I'll be okay. It's just tough sometimes, feeling like your'e getting left behind or that everyone else is figuring out while you're struggling to pay the bills. And having Robin be okay in spite of heartbreak, in spite of going at it alone. Well, it helped.

But yeah, maybe it's selfish but I'd like to see at least one major television show feature a woman who is okay with never getting married. Who doesn't find the long-term love and still loves life. I just want one character who does it all on her own. Because there is a lot of us out there doing just that. Not all of us get great loves, not all of us get the choices we envisioned. Some of us are trying every day. Some of us have jobs we adore. Some of us want to travel and keep learning and aren't' really sure if having a baby will be the right thing. So I want real life in my TV. Is that so wrong? Probably. Even Sexy and the City didn't do it. 

There was a lot I liked about this season finale. And I lot that I didn't (Marshall & Lily, don't tell your friend the minute you have a baby that he can't contact you unless the problem is an 8. He's a smart man, he'll figure it out. You're his family and you know this).

I'm hoping for more next year. At least we'll get Victoria for a bit, and she's the only girlfriend of Ted's that I've honestly liked. And in the meantime, maybe I'll write my own television series.