How I Met Your Father ended season 2 with a double dose of episodes, all spanning a hurricane in New York City, the perfect backdrop for plenty of drama to ensue. 

Jesse threw everyone for a loop, particularly Sophie, by announcing that he was moving in with his new girlfriend Parker. They literally just started dating! 

Sophie began to spiral, and though she was adamant that she was going to be supportive of the relationship, she ended up making a fool of herself by accusing Parker of being a shady drug lord. She somehow got Sid to go along with it, and while their sleuthing team-up was fun to watch, their theory crashed and burned rather quickly when Parker explained that she moved to town to take care of her sick mother. 

Sid acknowledged that he was simply emotional about the idea of his longtime roommate moving out, but Sophie couldn’t bring herself to admit why she acted in such a crazy way, simply saying she wanted the best for her friend. 

Of course, the truth is that she’s completely in love with him, a fact that she admitted in the second-half of the episode once Drew, who professed his feelings for her only to get shut down, revealed that Jesse wrote a song about her. 

Sophie confronted him about being a “coward” and not honest with her about his feeling, but Jesse informed her that she was also denying her feelings for months, which made her just as much of a coward.

Their little spat was witnessed by everyone at Pemberton’s because there’s no privacy when you’re riding out a storm in a bar. 

Jesse decided to brave the storm and be with Parker, while Sophie locked herself in the closet and moped. 

Eventually, Valentina, who has been urging Sophie to be honest about her feelings decided to no longer sugarcoat it—Sophie was too afraid to go after the man of her dreams even though there was no obstacle—like him not wanting to have children—standing in their way.

Sophie declared that she was finally ready to go “get her drink,” clarifying that her drink is Jesse, but she didn’t have to go far as she stepped out into the storm and ran right into him. Turns out, he had a change of heart the moment he arrived at Parker’s as he realized he wasn’t over Sophie. The two of them then laid out their biggest fears—that they would break each other’s hearts, and though there’s no guarantee that they wouldn’t, they decided to take a leap of faith and shared an epic, sloppy, and wet kiss right there in the middle of the downpour. 

Finally, am I right? 

While things ended on a high note for Sophie and Jesse, the same cannot be said for Hannah and Sid, which is honestly unfortuante considering that they’ve kept them together all this time only to have them hit a rough path once they are finally living in the same city. 

All this time, Sid could’ve been single, and we could’ve seen witnesses his dating adventures. Instead, he was reduced to somewhat of a side character in the series, always teaming up for random storylines with the others because there was no way to utilize him while he was in a long distance marriage. We could’ve seen him explore his feelings for Taylor because they actually had a real spark!

Credit: Hulu/ HIMYF

Sid was willing to forgive Hannah’s kiss with Eli because he understood the toll that long distance takes on a relationship having experienced it himself, emotionally cheating with Taylor because he was craving connection. 

The thing that Sid couldn’t forgive is the fact that Hannah “ran away” from LA, blocking every single possible connection to Eli, which means that it wasn’t just a one-time thing. She defintiely had feelings for the guy, and she felt guilty that she acted on them, so she decided the only way to forget about him is to remove him from her life. It doesn’t exactly bode well for her relationship with Sid, nor does it speak to how strong they are as a couple.

At this point, I think it’s fair if they want to take a break and see where they stand without all the pressure of making a marriage work. 

It’s a shame because I liked Hannah and think she would’ve been a great addition to the group if she were present more often. 

And finally, in a shocking turn of events, Valentina and Drew hooked up in the closet—and it was steamy. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to last as this was the very definition of a one time thing, and though we didn’t get to see the aftermath or how it impacted Charlie, adult-Sophie informs her son that it if the hookup didn’t happen, Valentina and Charlie would’ve never had Alex. 

She then whips out—fittingly, from her bra—a photo of her besties as young adults with an adorable son. 

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It’s unclear if the series will get renewed for a third season, but if it does, I can’t wait to explore how Charlie came to the conclusion that he does, in fact, want children. I don’t think it has to do solely with his jealousy after she hooked up with Drew, but also the fact that Charlie was thankful that she helped him work through his childhood trauma. It started with helping him get over his fear of storms, but it was tied to his abandonment issues, which in turn, likely have a lot to do with his desire not to have children of his own. 

Charlie had a change of heart, and based on that photo, it was the right call as they truly are the picture-perfect family. 

For fans of How I Met Your Mother, there were plenty of callbacks to the original, including the inclement weather, the life-changing kiss, the major breakup, and even Sandy Rivers! 

It’s a formula that works—and creates just enough drama to keep fans wanting more. 

As for who the “father” is, well, I wouldn’t be so sure it’s going to end up being Jesse. Prior to the breakup, when Sid tells Hannah that he also had feelings for someone, she questions if it was Sophie, alluding to the fact that Sophie and Sid have chemistry that other people are picking up on. They are great partner in crime, but could they one day be partners in life? With Sid newly single, we can’t count anything out, and for that, I’m hopeful for another season. 

HIMYF might never be HIMYM, but it’s a fun-watch with the cast finding a firmer footing and the jokes landing better than they did in season one, even if its still a bit cheesy. 

How I Met Your Father Season 2 Episode 16 made some moves when it came to relationships—though most of them ended in heartbreak. 

The series has been playing around with partnering the core cast up in unexpected ways, and this time, we saw Sid, Ellen and Sophie make the trek to New Jersey for a stakeout as they followed Rachel, who was acting shady and kept her plans of going to a “work thing” rather vague, raising cheating suspicions. 

Those suspicions were seemingly confirmed when Ellen saw Rachel meeting up with another woman at an apartment complex, though additional sleuthing revealed that she was actually looking to lease an apartment.

Rachel caught Sid and Ellen snooping around the apartment red-handed, which was definitely awkward and as bad as it looked, though the moment lent itself to a fairly honest conversation between the partners, and honestly, it’s better that it happened now. 

Rachel’s explanation for wanting to look for another apartment was to put a “barrier” between her and Ellen as she “needed some space.” That’s not something you want to hear from your significant other, nor is it an indication that the relationship is going in the right direction. 

Usually, couples who want to stay together dream about moving in together, and yet Rachel wanted to get further away from Ellen—a whole town over, in fact, so it was a clear sign that their relationship had hit a natural end. 

HIMYF may not take itself too seriously, but it was nice that they really took advantage of this moment, allowing Ellen to be unapologetically and confidently herself. Take it or leave it mentally is really something everyone should adopt in a relationship. She knows what she deserves and if Rachel wasn’t there for all of it, they couldn’t be together. It’s hard in the moment, but necessary in the long run to simply walk away from someone who wants you to make yourself smaller so they can feel comfortable. We love Ellen for all of her quirks, and Rachel simply didn’t appreciate it enough. 

Sid was there for Ellen from beginning to end, while ditzy (I know she has her blonde moments, but she was far out in this episode. Did she eat an edible or something?) Sophie took off to follow Jesse, who was conveniently also in Jersey with some “big plans.” At first, I thought he was potentially meeting Rachel to plan some kind of proposal for Ellen, but it turned out that Jesse was going to an open mic at a nearby dive bar to vent his frustrations about his colleagues. 

It was as cringe-worthy as it sounds—even Sophie had to look away—but it gave her insight as to why his colleague straight up hated him and chose not to invite him to Melanie’s birthday. Melanie was at the bar previously and heard him basically trash-talk them all in front of an audience (like comparing one of them to Ann Dowd), which gave her the impression that he was an asshole. Sophie ended up mediating the situation by allowing the colleagues (who are honestly just adult bullies and likely don’t deserve his friendship) to roast Jessie in return, and that seemed to do the trick, though Melanie made sure to inform Sophie that she wasn’t allowed to stick around after cheating on Drew with Jessie and then dumping him as well. Seriously, Melanie sucks.

As Sophie made her way out of the bar, she noticed that a female colleague struck up a flirty convo with Jessie, and it definitely seemed as though her feelings for him were bubbling up to the surface again. The sitcom’s half-hour episode format is an easy-breezy watch, which is great, but it also means so many storylines get tabled until much later, including her romantic feelings for Jessie and her new relationship with her biological dad. 

One of the storylines that did make a comeback was the possibility of Val and Charlie getting back together. I didn’t know how much I missed them as a couple until they teamed up again and rekindled that spark. They are electric together.

Charlie picked up Val for a reservation at a fancy restaurant run by a child chef winner from a cooking competition. Val hesitated to go on the dinner date since she figured that all the romantic vibes would lead to sex, though she eventually decided to give it a shot with the two promising to be on their best behavior and keep their hands off of each other. 

And it was a lot harder than they anticipated as the restaurant was uber romantic—I’m talking Lady and the Tramp one strand of spaghetti-romantic—which meant they had to call it a night super early as sexual tensions picked up.

On their way out, they spotted the young chef crying in a corner after a girl broke his heart, and Charlie saved the day by giving him a little pep talk, which made Val fall even harder for him. She saw him in a new light as someone who would one day make a wonderful and loving dad. Unfortunately, the reason for their breakup hadn’t changed despite the situation—Val wanted kids in the future and Charlie didn’t. While it would’ve been easy for the show to simply ignore this realization for the time being and give people what they want, it took the mature route as they both realized that there was no point in getting invested if they aren’t on the same page. They are both valid in their feelings, and if neither of them is going to change of heart, they need to move on and find happiness. I’m rooting for those crazy kids, but I’ll also accept them as just friends who support each other wholeheartedly. 

And at this moment, it becomes clear that much like in HIMYM, the strength of the series is the group’s friendships with one another.

How I Met Your Father aired two back-to-back episodes on March 28—titled “I’m a Swish” and “Daddy,” respectively—and a huge focus was on the daddy. Not that daddy…. but Sophie’s daddy. 

If you’ll recall, a huge overarching and lingering mystery is the identity of Sophie’s birth father, who she very briefly *but very seriously* considered to be her new, older boyfriend, Robert, the chef she met during a gala she attended for the Flubber musical.

Robert, played by Sex and the City’s John Corbett, was the first normal and unproblematic relationship for Sophie, so it was a shame when she eventually identified a potentially huge problem when he reminisced on his time at the first Lollapalooza. Sophie recalled an almost identical story from her mother, also noting that she was conceived at that very Lolla, so the red flags were all there—and even more concerning when he pulled up a photo with Sophie’s mother from that day in 1991. 

Credit: HIMYF/Hulu

Sophie, understandably, bolted from his country home, desperately trying to get ahold of her mother for answers about Robert. Her mother *thankfully* shut down the idea that Robert was Sophie’s father—phew, that’s a close one—but she revealed that they explored their bodies with their mouths, and that was a revelation that Sophie and Robert’s relationship could, unfortunately, never get over. 

The damage had been done, so they parted ways. Robert telling Sophie to “say hi to her mom was simply adding salt to the wound. 

However, a lot of good stemmed from Sophie’s relationship with Robert. For starters, she realized that she wasn’t his “swish”—Robert did actually like Sophie and they connected on a deeper level. It was one of her healthiest relationships… until it wasn’t. She felt what it was like to genuinely be loved. And it led her to the realization that she wants to make a real effort to find her father. 

Part of me secretly wished that Neil Patrick Harris was somehow Sophie’s biological dad, but admittedly, that would be a little too far-fetched. 

Fans did get insight into their meeting, with the scene from the HIMYF season premiere, finally playing out in its entirety on the screen. Turns out, Sophie didn’t have to pay for the damages she caused after she crashed into Barney Stinson’s car because she delighted him with a juicy story about how she almost dated her father. 

There were plenty of laughs when it came to Stinson’s return, but there was also a deeper, more heartfelt connection between him and Sophie as he popped up at a crucial moment in her life and revealed that he understood all too well what it was like to want to find your birth father. While Sophie definitely had some hesitations—what if her dad was a prop comic or something?–there was an outcome where finally meeting him would prove to be everything she’s ever wanted, just as it did for Barney. His success story with reconnecting with his father inspired Sophie to seek hers out. 

With so much time having passed since HIMYM, creators attempted to make Barney less crass, or at least make it a point that he’s a work in progress. In the initial moment after Sophie crashes into his car, he reads off a very long list of apologies thinking that she’s a scorned ex looking for revenge. When she assures him he’s not, all of his dirty jokes fall flat as the recovering serial womanizer reveals he wears an STD, shock therapy device, that he describes as an “experimental new electroshock treatment for guys like me.”

“This sucker is programmed with 10,000 problematic words and phrases,” he further reveals, trying to make it through the body shocks. 

Barney also reveals that he’s a father to a beautiful little girl named Ellie, so again, the series did a great job merging heartwarming while staying authentic to Barney’s character and making many callbacks to the original series that likely tickled fans.

Credit: HIMYF/Hulu

There were plenty of other non-Sophie-related developments, the biggest of which includes Valentine’s engagement to Swish, a college student that she met on a dating app after Sophie’s relationship with an older man inspired her to expand her age range. I don’t think that’s exactly what Sophie meant, but since Valentina is just in it for fun, it’s also not a huge deal…. until it is. Valentina agrees to Swish’s marriage proposal because she “didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

She assumed Swish’s proposal wasn’t serious, suggesting that his generation has such a short attention span that he’ll forget about it the next day, but Swish was smitten with a capital S. Instead of forgetting about the proposal, he was getting his grandmother’s ring and planning a real future with her, which adult Sophie, played by Kim Cattrall, emphasized to audiences as it will likely become a major storyline in upcoming episodes. 

Other Noteworthy Moments

• Ellen isn’t the only one who knows that Jessie still harbors some serious feelings for Sophie as Valentina found the love song he wrote for her in the bar’s Lost and Found bin. She promised to keep it a secret, but when Sophie announced that she broke up with Robert, she tucked the song back in the box hoping that the next time around, Sophie would fish it out and realize what was right in front of her this whole time. 
• Sid met a woman on a plane who was also in a long-distance relationship with someone in Los Angeles, and the duo bonded over how challenging and lonely it could be. Taylor, guest starring Caitlin Thompson from This Is Us, and Sid hit it off, and I think she might be the woman that comes between him and Hannah. I love Sid and Hannah, don’t get me wrong, but the setup is just not working. And it definitely seemed like Sid made that very realization because he looked pretty defeated when he arrived at Hannah’s apartment. I think actually connecting with someone other than Hannah in such a meaningful way made quite an impact on him.

Credit: HIMYF/Hulu

• After seeing how supple and glowing Robert’s skin was, Sid and Charlie got wrapped up in trying to prevent the aging process so that they could look just as good in the future. And they learned the hard way that botox, cryotherapy, and chemical peels aren’t all that they’re cracked out to be. Bless their souls. 

It was an eventful midseason finale of How I Met Your Father, but I definitely think the storylines elevated the series and reinvigorated the audience. New episodes will return on May 23 so stay tuned on how it all evolves.