AFTER nine wildly successful seasons teasing the identity of Ted Mosby’s wife, How I Met Your Mother ended in a series finale that divided fans everywhere.

For those that missed it: Ted (Josh Radnor) finally met the love of his life, only to have her die prematurely of cancer, leaving him to date his best friend Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders).

That was after Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) surprised viewers everywhere by throwing away his infamous dating guide The Playbook to marry Robin — only to get divorced just three years later.

It was a real sucker-punch.

A lot of fans weren’t happy with the outcome — and they weren’t alone.

Alyson Hannigan, who starred in the series as Lily Aldrin, admitted to news.com.au that even she didn’t quite understand the point of the reformed-playboy-turned-good-turned-playboy-again storyline.

“I didn’t think Barney should have ever gotten married,” she revealed.

“I liked Barney and Robin. But in my heart, I always wanted her with Ted. I just feel they [Barney and Robin] shouldn’t have gotten married.”

But that’s not the only part of the finale she would have done differently.

“I was bummed they didn’t just make it a two-hour season-ender, so they would get to show certain parts [that were cut],” she explained.

“The table read for the finale was so good, so right, but it was also like 14 hours long.

“So when I actually saw the final version of the show, I was like ‘they cut out everything!’”

In fact, Hannigan — who’s headed to Melbourne next month for Oz Comic-Con — believes vital chunks of the final chapter were missing.

“It just seemed too quick. Obviously it was a tear-jerker, but with all the stuff that got cut out it was too fast ... like ‘OK, now we’re going to find out the mum’s dead, then suddenly, OK — he’s with Robin now’, and you’re just like, ‘wait, what happened?!’”

She added: “There was a funeral scene [that got cut], and all this stuff that I think the audience needed. They needed that time to process that information, instead of having it slap them in the face.”

For years, the true identity of ‘The Mother’ was one of the best-kept secrets on television — and it wasn’t just fans kept in the dark. Hannigan herself only found out Cristin Milioti would be playing the role right before filming began.

“I knew something was up because I was called in to the make-up trailer to take a picture with an actress — and when I got there, the door was locked. In nine seasons, the door had never once been locked.”

The reason the crew needed a picture, Hannigan explain, was because they had one major problem with Milioti’s appearance.

“They were concerned before they actually cast her that we looked too similar,” Hannigan said, although, clearly, they went ahead with Milioti anyway.

Hannigan has won millions of fans all over the world playing iconic roles such as Buffy’s best friend Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, band geek Michelle in American Pie and, of course, Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother.

So given the choice, which would she choose to reprise?

“How I Met Your Mother — I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was so much fun going to work every day ... we laughed and laughed. It was just pure, lovely fun,” Hannigan said.

“We all appreciated it while we had it — we knew how special it was. I don’t think that always happens.”

The star will make her first appearance at Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne on July 1-2.

For further information and ticketing, head to the official website.