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there’s something so magical about sitcoms…..they bring me so much comfort….whoever invented sitcoms thank you for your service I literally don’t know what I’d do without them god bless
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Why writers need to tell a story, but also let their story tell itself: HIMYM vs. Stranger Things
I was going to make a post a long time ago about how Stranger Things couldn’t end with milkvan endgame even though it was likely the intention in season 1 using How I Met Your Mother as an already executed example, but I never got the energy to.
Because Stranger Things has now made the same mistake as HIMYM, I now want to explain why the ending of ST, in terms of several character arcs and not just Byler, didn’t make sense in the end, and the lesson writers should learn from these shows. This post will contain major spoilers for HIMYM, so only continue if you’ve seen it or don’t mind spoilers.
So if you know anything about HIMYM, you probably know it has one of the most hated TV show endings of all time. If you don’t know much about the show, it’s essentially about Ted, the main character, in his journey to find the love of his life. At the start of the show, Ted meets Robin and it’s immediately assumed that this is who he is going to end up with. He spends the first season and much of the rest of the show pursuing a relationship with Robin, and at the very end of the show, they end up together. So why is it one of the most hated TV show endings of all time? Because while they were initially intended to end up together, this ending no longer suited the story and characters after the narrative choices that were made over the course of the show.
At the beginning of HIMYM, Ted sees Robin for the first time, and immediately starts to think she might be the one. She joins Ted’s friend group, and they finally end up together by the end of the season. At this point, everyone is rooting for them! They’re a good couple, and Ted finally gets to be with the person he’s been chasing after.
That’s the peak of their relationship.
After that, things go downhill. Robin and Ted are shown to want different things. Because of their differences that eventually make them incompatible, they eventually break up.
Ted’s feelings for Robin never truly go away, and are a focal point throughout the show. While viewers may still have been rooting for Robin and Ted to reunite when they break up, things start to change when Ted’s friend Barney gets thrown into the mix.
Barney’s whole identity revolves around self-interest and hedonism: he tries to sleep with as many women as possible, treating them like objects and taking advantage of them, and always throwing others under the bus to avoid negative consequences or feelings. Despite being comedic relief, he seems almost heartless in his treatment of others, always prioritizing himself. However, by season 3, he starts to develop feelings for Robin, and by the end of season 3, he falls in love with her.
Over the course of the show, two things continue to happen: first, Ted and Robin continue to demonstrate how incompatible they are. Ted wants kids, Robin hates them. Ted wants to settle down and have a family, Robin wants to travel the world. And continuously, time and time again, Robin makes it clear that she does not love Ted.
Second, Barney continues to fall deeper in love with Robin. Not only is this the first person Barney is shown to prioritize over himself, but his whole character changes because of her. He stops going after other women despite that being at the core of his character, he makes a genuine effort to be honest with Robin and treat her the way she deserves, and he makes huge sacrifices in order to prove to her that she is worth giving up every selfish desire that made him who he was for so many seasons. He becomes a more loving, vulnerable, and devoted person, and eventually, they get married.
In the last two episodes, we fast forward and find out that Robin and Barney got divorced, the mother of Ted’s kids passed away, and Ted ends up with Robin. This ending is so widely hated because the show continuously gave you reasons to stop rooting for Ted and Robin. While they were likeable at first, it eventually becomes clear that they are miserable when they are together and that they are incompatible. At the same time, Barney has the strongest character development of anyone on this show because of Robin, and the final choice to break them up reverts him back to who he was at the beginning, undoing his entire arc. While the writing choices may have initially been set up to result in a plot twist, those choices also changed the direction the story was heading in. By choosing to stick with the ending they originally planned, they ruined the story as the trajectory the narrative took over the course of the show made it so that this ending was no longer a plausible option.
This is the same mistake that Stranger Things made. Jane’s sacrifice would’ve made sense at the end of season 1. She escaped captivity, was finally able to use her powers for good and for her own reasons, and can now live on in her friend’s minds as a reminder of magic and what it means to fight for good in the face of danger. By season 5, however, Jane is a fully fleshed out person who has learned what it is like to have a family, to have people treat her like a real person, and to learn what it is like to be loved. She has been idolized and weaponized, and she then starts to learn how it feels to be herself, to discover who she is outside of her powers, and to learn that she matters outside of the people who have controlled her. She repeatedly is poked, prodded, tortured, used, and she becomes her friends’ shiny weapon, putting herself on the front lines every single season to protect her friends. For a character who has been abused and hunted continuously, who never gets a chance to have a normal life because of the usefulness of her powers, and always has to be at the center of every battle, bearing the brunt of the damage because she is the only one who can, sacrifice is no longer an option. When her character arc becomes about finding people who value her for who she is and deserving to have her own shot at a normal life, sacrifice or ending up alone is no longer an option.
Milkvan would’ve made sense at the end of season 1. Mike and Jane find comfort in each other during what is likely the scariest time of both of their lives, Mike providing Jane real care and Jane providing Mike protection. However, Mike and Jane get together and are shown to continuously misunderstand each other. Their chemistry disappears, they are unable to be fully themselves around each other, and their relationship begins to hinder the character trajectory of the other character. Meanwhile, Mike is shown to only be comfortable being vulnerable with Will. He is shown to understand him better than anyone else. When he starts performing around others, he only lets his guard down with Will. While Mike and Jane are shown to be incompatible, Mike and Will are shown to develop arguably the most authentic friendship in the show (sound like Robin, Ted, and Barney?). And in the midst of Mike and Jane being written as incompatible, Will is shown to be in love with Mike. By season 5, milkvan is no longer an option. Mike has become the thing that gives Will “the courage to fight on,” and Will then becomes one of the most important people needed to fight Vecna. Mike is the heart because of Will’s feelings. Mike and Jane’s relationship is now built on a lie, and you are made to feel bad for Will during Mike’s attempt to fix his relationship with Jane. Jane’s story is motivated by breaking free from the people who idolize her, such as Mike. It is clear that Mike makes Will stronger, Will makes Mike brave, and Jane is hindered by her relationship with Mike. Milkvan is no longer an option.
Will’s self-acceptance arc would’ve worked early on. He could’ve had a small crush, realized he was more vulnerable to Vecna when he put his self-worth in someone else, and learned to find strength within himself. By season 5, Will is shown to be a romantic. Will is in love with Mike, which has been built up for 4 seasons. Will is continuously shown to still love Mike even after he accepts himself, and that self-acceptance is motivated in part by his love for Mike. Will’s arc ending at self-acceptance is no longer an option.
The point is, writers may write stories with a specific ending in mind. And sometimes, that works out perfectly! But sometimes, as the story progresses, it begins to write itself, and the trajectories that each character are heading in may render the initial plan moot. Both of these shows are examples of the disservice that can be done to a story if you try to force it into what it was “always meant to be.” Sometimes, writers need to listen to the story they’re writing and learn when to let it lead the way.
