They obviously planned that ending in some way, since it was filmed before. Still, especially the last season definitely did not seem to intend this ending at a

They obviously planned that ending in some way, since it was filmed before. Still, especially the last season definitely did not seem to intend this ending at all. In fact, it seemed to me like Ted finally accepted the fact that it's not going to be this ending. That being said, I do think they could've made this work. If you read a summary, it doesn't sound that bad. The thing that really ruined it for me was the forced delivery within two episodes. It just felt like tearing down everything, with no consistent plot or delivery and then topping it off with a bad joke. If they scrapped the actual season 9 and instead made a season 9 and 10 leading there, it would've been totally fine. And they knew this was coming! Also, on the subverting expectations part: This is totally fine. However, HIMYM is a comedy show. Playing it for a joke is fine, but that was more the "suprise, your mom has cancer!" type of subversion and definitely didn't fit the mood show.