First, thanks so much for taking the time to post these pictures.
Second, I absolutely agree with you that this is his diplomatic and guarded way of saying the finale sucked, the viewers hated it, and so did he. Neil has a very wry sense of humor that I share, and if I wanted to insult something in a backhanded, non-blatant way this is exactly how I'd do it. Phrases such as "just kind of....end" and "awkward pause" and "what a rip" speak for themselves, as do the very questions (and what they therefore loudly imply) of the finale not being met "with as much acclaim as the rest of the show" and it not being "universally satisfying". I mean no one says 'it just kind of....ended' about an ending that they enjoy.
You can tell even in the things he says about Barney's character and the B/R relationship that of course he hated the ending along with the rest of us. For one thing, he's admitting what we all already knew: a large part of the credit for Barney's iconic character goes to Neil himself (and a lot of it is derived from Neil's own personality). He talks about Barney's style choices (and, indeed, they were smart ones) coming directly from him, and then he comes right out and says that he "took ownership of Barney's psyche". He, as Neil, loved Robin and, knowing his character inside and out, he knew that Barney would love and be drawn to her too. Talking about giving Robin looks in Season 1 and 2 and saying he "wanted to see what the writers would do with that" is basically his way of saying he was championing the cause of a B/R relationship from day one as the idea's biggest (and perhaps first) supporter, something we all knew. It makes zero sense for him to then want that relationship dumped all over in the worst possible way (and just him calling B/R's marriage "a sacred union" is proof of that).
I also really like what he says about Barney's character. First of all, he understands (where CB/CT completely miss) the fact that Barney is in his words "a damaged cat", and saying that "as a friend of his I wanted to see him grow and evolve" (which is the same thing he said at PaleyFest, only that was right after the finale and he was even more harsh about it then) confirms that he gets Barney in a way CB/CT never did, and confirms that in his mind the worst thing possible for Barney would be to regress and lose all that growth and evolution.
And I absolutely love that he blatantly acknowledges that "the plot thickened and, lo and behold, the wedding anchoring the show wasn't Ted's but Barney's". That is 100% Neil's polite way of saying that Barney was the romantic hero of HIMYM and that the B/R relationship was the show's main love story and they should have had a proper HEA. Everything he goes on to say afterwards is his backhanded way of saying as much (and insulting CB/CT in the process, particularly when he says that Barney's character "took on a life of his own" beyond what the producers had intended).
He says of the B/R relationship being the show's main love story and the two of them getting married that "I couldn't be happier", so obviously he wanted an ending where B/R remain together too and he hated the AUE and thought it was a stupid as we did.
It is diplomatic but in a way that clearly shows how little he though of the AUE. You know that CB/CT have read this, I wonder if this put a strain on their relationship with Neil? Wonder if they made any comments about NPH's book?
I also really like what he says about Barney's character. First of all, he understands (where CB/CT completely miss) the fact that Barney is in his words "a damaged cat", and saying that "as a friend of his I wanted to see him grow and evolve" (which is the same thing he said at PaleyFest, only that was right after the finale and he was even more harsh about it then) confirms that he gets Barney in a way CB/CT never did, and confirms that in his mind the worst thing possible for Barney would be to regress and lose all that growth and evolution.
This says a lot about who knew, truly knew the Barney character and that was Neil. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he hated that crap of an ending because after so long he gave that character a new spin, a whole new and different version of who Barney was before when the creators created him and how Neil protraid him. He took that character and made Barney apart of him, he embodied that character and enjoyed seeing him progress and change from that one-note character the creators originally wrote.
He along with us loved seeing Barney's growth and his changes through the latter seasons. He made that character come alive while the creators didn't know how to write him so the other better writers like Matt Kahn who also wrote something in the book, wrote this character to grow and evolve into a someone. Not just a character but a person whom we all enjoyed watching and seeing grow and change through the friendships he had but most importantly the relationship with Robin made Barney who he became.
He started out as the cartoonish comedic character and turned into someone else entirely because of Neil and his incredible skill as an actor.
He started out as the cartoonish comedic character and turned into someone else entirely because of Neil and his incredible skill as an actor.
Absolutely this. Neil made Barney, and Neil and Cobie made Barney and Robin, and dammit, it's their version I recognize as the real one. Doesn't matter what the showrunners say. The trajectory Barney and Robin were on, as individuals and as a couple, would in no way have taken them to the point we saw in the finale. If that's what the showrunners wanted, then they should have written toward that and told the actors, "no, we're doing it this way." They didn't. Now they can deal with the fallout.
Neil and Cobie MADE B/R it's their creation and it's what they really sunk their teeth into. That couple, those characters as individuals was so great to see cause that makes them much more talented than anything that's written on a script page. They made that couple happen and damnit they got to the alter because that's what the real story was about. ;)
I don't think Neil really cares. He's bigger than CTCB. He won a Tony, he's hosting the Oscars and he's in one of the best movies so far this year. CTCB are unemployed.
Second, I absolutely agree with you that this is his diplomatic and guarded way of saying the finale sucked, the viewers hated it, and so did he. Neil has a very wry sense of humor that I share, and if I wanted to insult something in a backhanded, non-blatant way this is exactly how I'd do it. Phrases such as "just kind of....end" and "awkward pause" and "what a rip" speak for themselves, as do the very questions (and what they therefore loudly imply) of the finale not being met "with as much acclaim as the rest of the show" and it not being "universally satisfying". I mean no one says 'it just kind of....ended' about an ending that they enjoy.
You can tell even in the things he says about Barney's character and the B/R relationship that of course he hated the ending along with the rest of us. For one thing, he's admitting what we all already knew: a large part of the credit for Barney's iconic character goes to Neil himself (and a lot of it is derived from Neil's own personality). He talks about Barney's style choices (and, indeed, they were smart ones) coming directly from him, and then he comes right out and says that he "took ownership of Barney's psyche". He, as Neil, loved Robin and, knowing his character inside and out, he knew that Barney would love and be drawn to her too. Talking about giving Robin looks in Season 1 and 2 and saying he "wanted to see what the writers would do with that" is basically his way of saying he was championing the cause of a B/R relationship from day one as the idea's biggest (and perhaps first) supporter, something we all knew. It makes zero sense for him to then want that relationship dumped all over in the worst possible way (and just him calling B/R's marriage "a sacred union" is proof of that).
I also really like what he says about Barney's character. First of all, he understands (where CB/CT completely miss) the fact that Barney is in his words "a damaged cat", and saying that "as a friend of his I wanted to see him grow and evolve" (which is the same thing he said at PaleyFest, only that was right after the finale and he was even more harsh about it then) confirms that he gets Barney in a way CB/CT never did, and confirms that in his mind the worst thing possible for Barney would be to regress and lose all that growth and evolution.
And I absolutely love that he blatantly acknowledges that "the plot thickened and, lo and behold, the wedding anchoring the show wasn't Ted's but Barney's". That is 100% Neil's polite way of saying that Barney was the romantic hero of HIMYM and that the B/R relationship was the show's main love story and they should have had a proper HEA. Everything he goes on to say afterwards is his backhanded way of saying as much (and insulting CB/CT in the process, particularly when he says that Barney's character "took on a life of his own" beyond what the producers had intended).
He says of the B/R relationship being the show's main love story and the two of them getting married that "I couldn't be happier", so obviously he wanted an ending where B/R remain together too and he hated the AUE and thought it was a stupid as we did.
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This says a lot about who knew, truly knew the Barney character and that was Neil. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he hated that crap of an ending because after so long he gave that character a new spin, a whole new and different version of who Barney was before when the creators created him and how Neil protraid him. He took that character and made Barney apart of him, he embodied that character and enjoyed seeing him progress and change from that one-note character the creators originally wrote.
He along with us loved seeing Barney's growth and his changes through the latter seasons. He made that character come alive while the creators didn't know how to write him so the other better writers like Matt Kahn who also wrote something in the book, wrote this character to grow and evolve into a someone. Not just a character but a person whom we all enjoyed watching and seeing grow and change through the friendships he had but most importantly the relationship with Robin made Barney who he became.
He started out as the cartoonish comedic character and turned into someone else entirely because of Neil and his incredible skill as an actor.
Reply
He started out as the cartoonish comedic character and turned into someone else entirely because of Neil and his incredible skill as an actor.
Absolutely this. Neil made Barney, and Neil and Cobie made Barney and Robin, and dammit, it's their version I recognize as the real one. Doesn't matter what the showrunners say. The trajectory Barney and Robin were on, as individuals and as a couple, would in no way have taken them to the point we saw in the finale. If that's what the showrunners wanted, then they should have written toward that and told the actors, "no, we're doing it this way." They didn't. Now they can deal with the fallout.
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lmao perfection- that is HIMYM finale right there, summed up in one sentence!
thanks for sharing
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