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throwtheclownaway20 t1_jdjr5zu wrote

His name was Ted.

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Sufficient_Creme6961 t1_jdjrepy wrote

I think they mean Barney though but agreed

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OmniManDidNothngWrng t1_jdos2q9 wrote

Either way I'm very confused how you think HIMYM is a good show if you dislike either character.

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throwtheclownaway20 t1_jdjt5lw wrote

Barney was a dick, but he was very honest about the fact that he was not interested in any commitment and didn't have any great respect for the women who slept with him. That episode where he takes Lily on a tour of his place to show all the ways it's actively hostile to women is some of the best character-building in TV history.

Ted, OTOH, was basically a "nice guy" (read: incel) who just happened to have enough self-awareness to groom himself, hold a conversation, etc. without being instantly repellant to women. Hell, the entire show is literally built around his older self going on this long, drawn-out yarn to his kids that ultimately ends with, "So that's how I met your mom... anyway, she's dead now, so I'm gonna go back banging your Aunt Robin again since she was the woman I really loved this whole time."

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Substantial-Dust4417 t1_jdjy8fl wrote

>who just happened to have enough self-awareness to groom himself, hold a conversation, etc. without being instantly repellant to women.

Remember everything is told from Ted's perspective. What you're seeing is Ted's version of events.

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throwtheclownaway20 t1_jdjyhag wrote

And he's still an asshole! I shudder to think what his life was really like

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Substantial-Dust4417 t1_jdjyzga wrote

The writers did kind of nod to that a few times, like when Lily and Marshal mention how obnoxious Ted was in college and Ted goes into complete denial mode only to eventually realise it was true.

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james_carr9876 t1_jdk2rnc wrote

Am I the only person who thinks Ted is a great character? He’s extremely flawed beyond belief but I find him compelling.

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bravetailor t1_jdkjeos wrote

I sympathized with his plight but I agree with the growing sentiment that he was generally not as good a guy as he presented himself to be.

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Dostus-dilih t1_jdlpjqa wrote

I think that's kind of the point. He omits A LOT from the story he's telling and sometimes even calls attention to it. There was one episode where they were trying to quit smoking where he goes "yeah none of us quit until events that are around the final season" but he never mentions they were smoking in any episode before or since despite always hanging out in a bar.

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throwtheclownaway20 t1_jdk73gc wrote

>Am I the only person who thinks Ted is a great character?

Probably. He's flawed, but nothing about him is interesting to me. I was a "nice guy" when I was younger and I've seen thousands more in my years online, so nothing about those guys who are outwardly milquetoast but secretly shitty is compelling at all. Barney was more interesting, because it turns out that his misogyny was basically a trauma response.

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james_carr9876 t1_jdk7tuj wrote

Good points. Barney is definitely a great character. Lily is boring and I couldn’t care less about her. Robin was flawed but also very likeable and Marshall is just so good.

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