The sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’ centers around Ted Mosby and his friends as he navigates early adulthood, as told in a flashback to his future kids of the tale of how he met his future wife.
Although the show is well known for making viewers laugh, there were numerous occasions that made viewers cry as well. From the loss of a loved one to gut-wrenching breakups to emotional farewells, the show had a surprising number of heartbreaking scenes. These are the top contenders for the saddest episodes in the entire series.
10 “Symphony of Illusion”
Season 7, Episode 12 (2011)
The episode centers around Robin after she announces to Barney that she thinks she’s pregnant. The style of the episode mimics the show’s introduction as Robin is speaking to her hypothetical future kids. The episode is memorable as it includes the surprising revelation that Robin can’t have kids.
Despite being quite certain that she didn’t want kids all her life, Robin struggles to come to terms with this news. The scene in which Robin is visibly upset, realizing she is letting go of a dream she didn’t know she had, Ted is proven to be one of Robin’s biggest supporters as he is always there for her.
9 “Band or DJ”
Season 8, Episode 13 (2013)
After Barney and Robin’s sudden engagement, Ted struggles to be happy for them as he still harbors feelings for Robin. Distracting himself with wedding planning, Lily sees through his act, ultimately leading to a deeper conversation and a surprising revelation.
Lily shares her feelings admitting that sometimes she wishes she wasn’t a mom. Despite loving her newborn son so much, she realizes the extent of missed opportunities in her life leading her to lament over her lost dreams of becoming an artist. The hard-hitting moment where Lily openly expressed how she feels without sugar-coating it, demonstrates the reality of motherhood and the struggle to balance dreams and responsibilities.
8 “Tick, Tick, Tick”
Season 7, Episode 10 (2011)
After Robin and Barney spend the night together, cheating on Kevin and Nora respectively, Barney expresses interest in resuming a romantic relationship with Robin. While Robin is initially hesitant, they both decide to come clean to their partners and give each other another chance.
When Barney sees Robin he’s initially overjoyed to see her, until he sees Kevin walk in behind her. As his facial expressions transition from excitement to confusion to shock and ultimately, the moment of realization, time stops. In that infinite second, Barney’s vulnerability is witnessed as he expresses true heartbreak.
7 “Vesuvius”
Season 9, Episode 19 (2014)
The episode starts with Ted and Tracey in 2024 as they spend time together on a weekend getaway. As they recount their previous stories, realizing they have turned into an old married couple, Ted remembers a story from the day of Robin’s wedding.
As the episode flashes back, the episode is mostly light-hearted as it recounts how Robin and Barney behaved on the day of their wedding. The day also included the gang’s realization that they were not going to be seeing each other for a while. Additionally, the episode features one of the saddest revelations as fans recognized an instance of foreshadowing as both Ted and Tracey realized they were in their last moments together, paralleling the flashback. The most heartbreaking moment of the episode was Tracey’s line “What mother is going to miss her daughter’s wedding” followed by Ted’s expression, which was the one and only time Ted was seen to grieve for his wife.
6 “How Your Mother Met Me”
Season 9, Episode 16 (2014)
The episode gives viewers a glimpse of what Tracey’s life was like before she met Ted. Giving Ted’s love interest a backstory strengthened her character arc and explained why she was single all the time Ted was searching for his true love.
In a flashback that takes viewers back to Tracey’s point of view, she is shown to be dating Max, who died the day of her 21st birthday. As she is shown to be grieving and thus emotionally unavailable, the show demonstrates the moments where Ted and Tracey’s paths crossed and how their stories were always interconnected. The saddest scene was when she spoke to Max, asking “would it be okay if I moved on?”.
5 “Last Forever (Part 1 & 2)”
Season 9, Episode 23 & 24 (2014)
Although most fans agree that the beloved show had one of the most disappointing series finales, the last episode was still a tear-jerker as viewers bid adieu to the show’s loved characters. It starts with a tearful goodbye as Ted plans to relocate to Chicago. The episode jumped to different points in time following Barney and Robin’s wedding, following different milestones of Ted’s relationship with Tracey.
Similarly, following Barney and Robin’s divorce, the last episode demonstrates how the gang has drifted apart. As Lily stands in the empty apartment, she asks “Our friendship is just over?” realizing things can never be the way they were. Additionally, a heartfelt yet emotional moment was Barney meeting his newborn daughter for the first time. As he looks her in the eye, stating “Everything I have and everything I am is yours... Forever”, Barney’s character arc comes a full circle.
4 “Legendaddy”
Season 6, Episode 19 (2011)
Although Barney was often the most lighthearted character of the show, bringing comedic relief, the episode “Legendaddy” demonstrates how the absence of a father figure affected Barney quite profoundly. After reaching out to his father with a letter, he is reunited when his dad shows up at his doorstep wanting to apologize and explain. Although Barney is initially disappointed to learn his father is not the ‘Crazy Jerry’ living on the edge that he remembered him to be, his cold demeanor towards him reveals his anger.
The most memorable line from the episode “Because if you were going to be some lab suburban dad, why couldn’t you have been that for me”. The single line demonstrates Barney’s resentment in that he saw his father could change but not be there for him as a father figure.
3 “Bad News”
Season 6, Episode 13 (2011)
The episode “Bad News” centers around Marshall and Lily’s attempt to have a child. As they decide to get a professional opinion, they’re interrupted by a surprise visit by Marshall’s parents. A subtle countdown of numbers from 50 to 1 was seen in the background, leading up to the eventual bad news being told in a surprising turn of events.
At the end of the episode, Marshall is overjoyed to learn he can have children. However, his joy is short-lived as Lily arrives as the bearer of bad news. Learning his father had a heart attack and didn’t make it, Marshall’s eyes express how his world came crashing down at that moment. Beyond the devastating line “I’m not ready for this”, Jason Segal’s raw, unscripted response made the scene all the more memorable.
2 “The Time Travelers”
Season 8, Episode 20 (2013)
Although this episode seemingly centers around an ordinary evening for the gang, the appearances of future versions of Ted and Barney soon reveal more than a comedic storyline. At the end of the episode, as Ted heads home, Barney reveals that the events of the evening are nothing more than a memory. Although Robots vs. Wrestlers has been a longstanding tradition for the group, Ted was left all alone, and, spent the evening staring at the ticket deciding whether to go by himself. The realization of Ted’s solitude reinforced how lonely he felt despite having a family in his friends.
As future Ted recounts everything, he wishes if he could go back in time and relive it, recount so much that had happened, but not before seeing the love of his life. Ted said he’d want the extra 45 days with her, but he’d settle for even 45 seconds. The scene not only demonstrates the pure and unconditional love he had for Tracey as he says, “I’m always going to love you, till the end of my days and beyond”, but also foreshadows her death as says all of this with tears in his eyes.
1 “Last Words”
Season 6, Episode 14 (2011)
The episode centers around Marshall as he grieves while everyone else is unsure as to how they should support Marshall as he comes to terms with his father’s sudden death. During the funeral, Marshall struggles when the funeral’s theme of ‘last words’ emerges.
Recounting his last moments with his father, Marshall tries to search for meaning in the last words his father shared with him. Marshall’s speech about his father was emotional as he recounted what his father meant to him, calling him his hero, teacher, and best friend. Upset with the turn of events, Marshall expresses how cheated he felt upon such a sudden loss. The timing of his dad’s voicemail was perfectly timed and demonstrated how his dad always came through for him.