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=== Reception ===
"Last Forever" received aan polarizingoverwhelmingly negative reception from critics and fans of the show alike, with the majority opinion being negative.<ref name="rottentomatoes1">{{cite web |date=April 2, 2014 |title=HIMYM Tomatometer Watch: Series Finale Currently Rotten - Majority of critics disappointed by 'Last Forever' |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tv_editorial/news/1930029/himym_tomatometer_watch_series_finale_currently_rotten/?hub=15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404003126/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tv_editorial/news/1930029/himym_tomatometer_watch_series_finale_currently_rotten/?hub=15 |archive-date=April 4, 2014 |access-date=April 3, 2014 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Many viewers expressed considerable dissatisfaction regarding the resolution of Ted's story, his relationship to Robin, and the fate of the titular mother.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sargeant |first=Rebecca |date=2024-04-03 |title=4 Harsh Realities Of How I Met Your Mother’s Finale 10 Years After It Aired |url=https://screenrant.com/how-i-met-your-mother-ending-harsh-realities-revisited/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=James Poniewozik |date=March 31, 2014 |title=How I Met Your Mother Watch: Mate and Switch |url=http://time.com/44702/how-i-met-your-mother-finale-review/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712063901/http://time.com/44702/how-i-met-your-mother-finale-review/ |archive-date=July 12, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time Magazine]]}}</ref> Additionally, the season-long buildup for Barney and Robin's wedding and their divorce 10 minutes into the next episode was criticized.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 1, 2014 |title=How I Met Your Mother: the latest show to fail in the search for a perfect ending |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/apr/01/how-i-met-your-mother-fail-perfect-ending |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022064905/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/apr/01/how-i-met-your-mother-fail-perfect-ending |archive-date=October 22, 2018 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |work=Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=2014-04-01 |title=The How I Met Your Mother finale turned the show's nine-year story arc into an elaborate con job. |url=https://time.com/44702/how-i-met-your-mother-finale-review/ |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Fans took to social media, such as [[Tumblr]] and [[Twitter]], to express their disappointment. Some fans joked that the episode was an early April Fools' joke, because it aired on March 31.<ref name="Insider">{{cite web |last=Akuna |first=Kirsten |date=March 31, 2014 |title=Fans Are Not Happy With The 'How I Met Your Mother' Series Finale |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/how-i-met-your-mother-series-finale-reactions-2014-3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813142453/http://www.businessinsider.com/how-i-met-your-mother-series-finale-reactions-2014-3 |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |access-date=August 13, 2017 |publisher=Business Insider}}</ref>
Donna Bowman of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' graded the episode a B+, saying, "The hour finale was a strange ride, marvelous in some ways, confounding in others. Endings are difficult, and I don’t think any objective assessment would say they nailed this one."<ref>{{cite web|author=Donna Bowman|url=http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/how-i-met-your-mother-last-forever-202887|title=Last Forever|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|publisher=[[The Onion]]|date=March 31, 2014|access-date=August 13, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813104931/http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/how-i-met-your-mother-last-forever-202887|url-status=live}}</ref> Emily VanDerWerff of ''The A.V. Club'' was more blunt in saying that "Bays and Thomas simply looked like shitty long-term planners, unable to understand that getting the audience so invested in the Barney and Robin coupling or in Tracy as a character would make it all the harder when the series finale abruptly dissolved the former and treated the latter’s death as an aside in the narration. That the show never seemed to suggest Ted mourned her feels like a vital betrayal of his character."<ref>{{cite web|author=Emily VanDerWerff|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/does-how-i-met-your-mothers-finale-ruin-it-all-tim-202906|title=Does How I Met Your Mother's finale ruin it for all time?|website=The A.V. Club|publisher=The Onion|date=April 1, 2014|access-date=August 13, 2017|archive-date=August 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813104444/http://www.avclub.com/review/does-how-i-met-your-mothers-finale-ruin-it-all-tim-202906|url-status=live}}</ref>
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