How I Met Your Mother is a popular American sitcom created by Carter Bays & Craig Thomas. The plot revolves around the story of Ted Mosby and his circle of friends as he recounts to his children the events that led to him meeting their mother. One of the main elements behind the success of this sitcom is the well-thought-out casting with the actors playing flawed characters who bring conflict and compelling stories to each episode.
How I Met Your Mother ran for 9 seasons, during which the show experienced numerous twists and turns, and several cast members were introduced outside the main group. However, that didn't necessarily mean that all the cast additions were liked by the viewers. Some of the characters were thought to have had a negative impact on interesting storylines and fans were often left wondering what would happen if these characters were written off early on.
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In this article, we shall look into some of the controversial characters from How I Met Your Mother.
Disclaimer: This article comprises of author's personal opinion and may also include spoilers. Viewer discretion is advised!
Listing out 10 best to worst hated characters in How I Met Your Mother
1. Karen
Karen topping the list of How I Met Your Mother's most hated characters should come as no shock. She was introduced into the main timeline of the show in Season 4 but had already made several appearances on the show as Ted's overbearing ex-girlfriend. Karen was also disliked by Ted's friends on the show because of her manipulative personality.
She cheated on Ted multiple times, making her character the least liked on the list. The character was originally introduced as a satire to make people laugh but was eventually written off by the creators as an unlikeable individual.
2. Stella Zinman
Stella Zinman is one of Ted's love interests in How I Met Your Mother. The two almost get married at the end of the fourth season, but it is later revealed that she is still in love with her ex-boyfriend Tony, which is why she leaves Ted at the altar without telling him a word. Adding to that, she also moves to New York City with Tony, which she originally wanted to do with Ted.
But where viewers truly lost their patience with Stella, was when she asked Ted to win Tony over as if she had not hurt him enough. Stella always knew that Ted was a nice guy and used him to her advantage.
3. Ted Mosby
Despite being the main protagonist of the show, there is no denying that Ted has been a self-centered man for most of his life. Even as he sits down to tell his children the story of how he met their mother. His narrative for the entire 9 seasons keeps him at the center of how things unfolded as he was about to meet his future wife and enjoy the rest of his life with her.
Throughout the series, fans get to see Ted constantly complaining about being single and how he wants to meet his perfect woman, but in reality, Ted treats women like commodities and breaks up with them for silly reasons. He sometimes even comes off as pretentious to his friends.
4. Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson's character was always meant to be a womanizer. He is the most chaotic character of all the other members of the group. Barney is a selfish and manipulative man who makes numerous mistakes throughout the story.
But despite all the negative traits, How I Met Your Mother gives him a solid ending that transforms him from a narcissistic playboy to a man who is desperate for love.
5. Tracy McConnell (The Mother)
After struggling so much to find the perfect mother for his children, Ted meets Tracy McConnell when we see the couple fighting over an umbrella they both thought belonged to them on a rainy day. In the final episode, we only get a brief glimpse of Tracy. She is portrayed as a sweet person who is loved by all of Ted's friends because of her personality.
But her character is cut short when she dies of an unknown illness and Ted moves on, eventually telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Even though the character had no negative traits, her low involvement in the story did not allow fans to fall in love with the character.
6. Darren
Darren had a rather small role in How I Met Your Mother Season 9, but still, his storyline was enough to make fans of the show dislike him. Darren knew Tracy before Ted and his friends. He had unethically taken over her band and kicked her out.
Darren didn't stop there, now that Tracy was happy in her life, he tried to sabotage her happiness again by trying to split the group cunningly. In short, Darren brought drama wherever he went.
7. Robin Scherbatsky
Robin is a character in How I Met Your Mother who knows exactly what she wants out of life. Although she is not greedy, she can still come across as too self-sufficient at times. Robin wants things to go her way and is not flexible about having them otherwise.
Robin is a character who sometimes has no boundaries, such as when she breaks into Barney's apartment to look for Brocode and decides to meet with her therapist as well.
8. Jeanette Peterson
Jeanette Peterson was Ted's final girlfriend. She was the most annoying and selfish character ever to appear on How I Met Your Mother. The meeting between Jeanette and Ted was cute, as Jeanette had been stalking him both physically and online to show her off in the best possible way.
Jeanette was a very controlling and violent woman when it came to Ted and in their relationship, they both just brought out the worst in each other. Fans did not like them together and found Jeanette's character unfounded.
9. Lily Aldrin
Lily is the sweet girl who holds the group together in the series, along with being the core member of the group, but some fans of the show dislike her because of her manipulative nature when it comes to relationships.
This is evident in her relationship with Marshall.
10. Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen deserves the last spot on the list of the most hated characters of How I Met Your Mother. Marshall has always been the perfect example of how important it is to be in control of your emotions. He has always maintained a happy-go-lucky attitude even in the worst of times.
Looking out for a reason to hate him might be a difficult task.
The show How I Met Your Mother is available for fans to stream on Disney+ Hotstar, as well as Netflix and Hulu.
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