Summary

• HIMYM's best seasons were filled with hilarious gags and shocking plot twists, while later seasons faced a decline in quality.
• The search for Mother didn't make the show great; it was the friendship between the characters that led to brilliant seasons.
• The final season failed to stick the landing due to fan backlash over the breakup of Robin and Barney and the finale's resolution with Ted and Robin.

How I Met Your Mother seasons ranked offer some of the best and worst of one of the most popular and most creative sitcoms of this century. The series attained that status thanks to some remarkable consistency in the early stages, with the first few seasons filled with hilarious gags and shocking plot twists. Unfortunately, as is the case with many TV shows, the quality of the series waned in the later years. That doesn't mean it ever became a bad show, just one that didn't quite live up to the high bar it initially set.

How I Met Your Mother tells the story of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), a single man in New York City who is looking for love but struggling to find it. The story is told from the future, where Ted explains to his kids how he met their mother. That remained the show's mystery until the series finale in the ninth season of the show. However, not all fans loved the finale and the final resolution. That said, the search for Mother did not make HIMYM a great show. It was the friendship between the five characters, and it led to some brilliant seasons along the way.

9 Season 9

Ted Finally Reveals His Kids' Mother

It's incredibly important for a long-running show to stick the landing with its final season. Only a handful manage to do it perfectly, but even die-hard fans of How I Met Your Mother will agree that it wasn't one of them. The show took an interesting route by having the entire final season occur over Robin and Barney's wedding weekend. That made for some odd pacing outside of any flashbacks and flash-forwards. However, what makes this the worst season is the finale not sticking the landing.

Fans were cold on the series finale, which broke up Robin and Barney after spending so much time with them and killed off the titular Mother, despite her easily being the high point of the final set of episodes. When Ted and Robin ended up together, it ruined the build up of the season. As critics pointed out, the entire final season led to Barney and Robin's wedding, and the series broke them up at the end just to put Robin with Ted. That is a big reason the fan backlash was so massive.

That is what ultimately doomed the final season. There were some good moments in the season, and the entire lead-in to the wedding with Barney and Robin had the same sweet moments that fans loved so much about the series and their friendships. However, the best episode of the season was "How Your Mother Met Me," which showed the story from the Mother's perspective. Sadly, this didn't matter in the end, because the show was too intent on putting Robin with Ted.

8 Season 8

Robin & Barney Finally Declare Their Love

One of Ted's most popular love interests was Victoria, who returned in the tail end of season 7. She and Ted ran away together, but they broke up during season 8 because of how close he was to Robin. Though some viewers enjoyed seeing Ted and Victoria rekindle their romance, for many, it ultimately felt like a retread for the series and hurt the overall quality of season 8. This was also the worst-rated season for the show based on critics' reviews, sitting at a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

While it was sweet to watch Marshall and Lily tackle parenthood, some of the storylines involving Lily's dad, Mickey, and The Captain weren't the best. How I Met Your Mother, as usual, nailed the special episodes, like when the characters were visited by time-traveling versions of themselves or when they saw the last Robin Sparkles music video. Unfortunately, while extravagant, Barney's proposal to Robin involved too much manipulation to feel genuinely romantic.

The final season undid this beautiful moment completely

Despite the manipulation, the best episode of the season came with "The Final Page: Part Two," thanks to Barney and Robin making it back to each other. This is the episode where they finally it their love and where Ted finally lets go of Robin. Sadly, the final season undid this beautiful moment completely, so while it was a great episode, it no longer holds up, and the series suffers for it.

7 Season 7

A Season Setting Up Future Stories

By the time season 7 rolled around, audiences could get the sense the show was spinning its wheels a bit. Viewers were anxious to see who the Mother was and to discover the details of the many mysteries set up in earlier seasons. While it was nice to see a lot of focus on Robin, most of her romantic storylines either felt like filler or were retreads. The main moments showed that it was Barney's wedding that the show had been teasing and Ted coming to with his boundaries concerning Robin.

However, this season did nail some of the emotional moments, mainly when Robin dealt with the news that she couldn't have children while Marshall and Lily were going through their pregnancy. Some of the jokes that were set up didn't really land with fans, though, including the Ducky Tie subplot and the romance between Barney and Quinn.

There were some good episodes, such as "Tick Tick Tick," "The Magician's Code: Part 2," and "Symphony of Illumination," but they were highlights in a season that was otherwise seemingly spinning its wheels to set up the last two seasons of How I Met Your Mother.

6 Season 5

The Season With The Doppelgängers

Season 5 of How I Met Your Mother is somewhat even more divisive than the final one. A big focus was on the Robin and Barney relationship, at least for the first half, which many fans didn't like. It made for a questionable string of episodes, including when Ted tries teaching Barney how to date Robin. This seems to be a major problem with the sitcom, as fans were against them dating, and when they finally accepted it, the show split them up in the final season. However, once they split this season, it improves significantly.

The 100th episode, "Girls Versus Suits," features the cast in a big musical number and the first look at The Mother (her leg at least). There are also fantastic gags like another entry into the Slap Bet series and the main characters discovering their doppelgängers. That was one of the season's better parts as the doppelgängers were more than just a gag. Each of the characters spent this season growing and learning more about themselves, finally changing toward the end of the season.

The season, in general, was strange. It had weak storylines that dragged it down somewhat, but it also had some fantastic episodes that stand up with any season. Highlights include "The Playbook," "Girls vs. Suits," and "Perfect Week." However, the only real thing to take note of here is that it sets up the next phase of How I Met Your Mother, with everyone starting to grow up a little and leading into a slightly better season 6.

5 Season 6

The Season Where Marshall's Dad Dies

Season 6 of How I Met Your Mother is the best of the back end of the hit series. What makes season 6 stand out is how it blends the comedy with the more emotional moments for the characters. When it wasn't working, season 6 struggled with episodes like "The Mermaid Theory" and "Natural History." However, when it was firing on all cylinders, it delivered some of the show's best scenes and some really special episodes.

Guest stars like Jorge Garcia and Katy Perry rank among the best to ever appear on the series. Barney meeting his dad in "Legendaddy" was part of an arc that made up for the unpopular Ted/Zoey romance of the season. This season also broke hearts everywhere with "Bad News" and "Last Words," as Marshall's father ed away. Those two episodes rank as some of the best sitcom episodes in history, and Jason Segel deserves all the praise in the world for his performance in those touching and heartbreaking scenes.

What makes season 6 work so well is that it is a perfect standalone season. It doesn't play as much with the past or future of the seasons around it, and it remains enjoyable, heartbreaking, funny, and oddly touching at different points throughout the season. This was also the last season that earned a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and its 85% audience rating shows that viewers loved it just as much.

4 Season 4

The End Of Ted & Stella

Season 4 hit viewers hard. The Ted and Stella (Sarah Chalke) pairing ended when she left him at the altar, and Ted was left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart. Critics pointed out how some characters were split up, like when Robin took a job in Japan. It made sense for their evolving lives and careers but made the show feel a bit disted. This is a show that is not so much about finding Mother's identity as it is about the camaraderie between the friends, and when they are not together, the show lacks.

Still, there was a lot to like about season 4. This was a season about growth as Marshall and Lily looked to move into the next stage of their relationship, and Barney began to question his own life after wanting something more after sleeping with so many women. This season also sets up Ted to become a professor and doesn't pay as much attention to him talking about revealing the Mother, instead focusing on how he matured and found himself, which was always more important.

What really helped this season stand tall was the standalone episodes, which focused on individual characters and not just Ted. This was the season where Barney started to believe he loved Robin, which hit hard when she left for Japan. There was also the highlight episode, "Little Minnesota," which was a rare Robin and Marshall episode that is one of the best of the entire series. The show thrives when showing the characters' journeys and not focusing so much on Mother and this season excelled at that.

3 Season 1

The Season That Started It All

The first season of How I Met Your Mother is among the best debut runs for a sitcom ever, which is impressive since it usually takes a comedy at least a season to find its feet and get a feel for its humor. This first season cleverly established the characters and the unique premise of the story. While the pilot is very strong, some earlier episodes like "Purple Giraffe" and "Sweet Taste of Liberty" aren't great. Still, they are a small part of the overall brilliance of this introduction.

The show picked up steam and didn't let up with all-time great episodes, including "Okay Awesome," "Slutty Pumpkin," "The Limo," and "The Pineapple Incident." It all builds up to Ted and Robin getting together in a truly earned moment alongside Lily and Marshall's crushing split. However, while these are all great episodes, it is also easy to see that the first season went for easy humor that, in hindsight, was offensive and doesn't work as well in today's society.

After watching the entire series, looking back on the first season is interesting. The relationship between Robin and Ted was set up from the start, and it is clear that the creators knew this was where they wanted to go. However, things got a little screwed up along the way when the characters began to change and grow as the seasons wore on. By the end, it no longer made sense, but looking at the first season shows how it was the best option — at least at the time.

2 Season 3

The Season That Started Slapsgiving

Following Ted and Robin's breakup, Ted went into a funk, only to break out when Robin returned from a vacation with a new boyfriend. He spent a lot of the season single until he met Stella and was back to the guy who was ready to get married and start a family, even if it wasn't the best decision at the time. The relationship with Stella was the girlfriend the fans got behind, and it really helped create a new and fun dynamic for the characters and friends that helped the season thrive.

This season also introduced the famous yellow umbrella and marked the debut of Slapsgiving, both of which became fan favorites and beloved tropes over the years. It also had some stellar guest stars, like Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears, Bob Odenkirk, and Mandy Moore. There were some huge shocks, too, like Lily's crippling debt and Barney getting hit by a bus.

The highlights of the season include standout episodes like "Spoiler Alert," "How I Met Everyone Else," and "Slapsgiving," all of which remain fan favorites to this day. However, this season also brought one of the worst episodes in How I Met Your Mother history with "We're Not From Here." This is the one that had Robin returning with her new boyfriend (Enrique Iglesias). There is just too much drab humor and disappointing character decisions, but the season rebounded to finish strong.

1 Season 2

The Season Where Marshall & Lily Finally Tied The Knot

Season 2 was a case of How I Met Your Mother being great from start to finish. After the first season started strong, everyone was settled into their roles in season 2, and this was where the show hit its stride and proved its brilliance. The early episodes saw Ted and Robin's relationship sparking while Marshall struggled with Lily leaving him. It's telling of the season's arc that, by the end of it, Ted and Robin break up just as Lily and Marshall tie the knot. This was a perfect juxtaposition.

This season shows two of the most important love stories on the show

The basis of How I Met Your Mother was to find out who the Mother is. However, to explain that, Ted had to describe why he fell in love with her. This season shows two of the most important love stories on the show. Marshall and Lily's love story was the best of the series, and Ted's didn't come close. However, the fact that the season showed Ted and Robin's love fall apart, only to finally find each other in the series finale, makes this an important set of episodes to watch to understand why that ending isn't so shocking.

The show used the aspect of time expertly in installments like "Brunch" and "Something Borrowed," which is a trope it would utilize often down the line. The season's true highlight was how it introduced many aspects that would stick around for years. "Slap Bet" is considered by many to be the best episode as it debuted both the titular concept and Robin Sparkles, which was one of the funniest and most memorable gags for any of the characters throughout How I Met Your Mother.