With all of my other shows renewed, save Veronica who’s one nail shy of an airtight coffin, I now only wait to hear word on How I Met Your Mother. Last night’s finale, its 22nd masterpiece in a row, opened one door and closed many. Lily and Marshall galloped off to marital bliss and Barney continued to be uproariously funny (though void of any real character development), while Robin Scherbatsky and Ted Mosby, Architect, came to the most amicable of endings. Ted might not have met your mother in last night’s episode, but everything else seemed to be eerily wrapped in a series finale colored bow.

Ample references were made to the pilot episode (including obscure cameos), all five leads seemed happy and hopeful… even the final line was the show’s once signature catch phrase that seemed to have fallen by the wayside. I know it’s the pessimist in me, but almost everything about last night’s episode seemed final.

It’d be unfair for me to say that my love of HIMYM came from a place of genuine appreciation. I watched much of the first season solely in support of a most cherished Buffy alum. But I became endeared to the show, and by the end of the first season loved it for who it was. Then the second season defied all expectations when the cast, writers and directors all seemed to become comfortable with the unique pace and absurdist tone of what they’d created. At times it seems more like a live-action Family Guy than a conventional sitcom, but it works so well. And while millions of Americans fail to turn the dial to the eye network until Charlie Sheen and What’shisface come on to engage in clichéd banter with that creepy child, they are missing out. Mother is the best thing CBS has going, and if early reports speculating that they aren’t picking up any comedy pilots are true – they’re well aware.

Check this out for some particularly stellar Mother moments and cross your fingers for many seasons more.

UPDATE: No need for fingers, word came late this afternoon that How I Met Your Mother is indeed returning next season. Glory be!