Sophie’s love story continues. This time, Jesse takes the spotlight, as they both try and conquer their return to the dating world. Last week, I shared my thoughts on the premiere of How I Met Your Father and had some complaints about the series. Luckily, it seems those may have been answered. During the premiere episodes, I felt the humor was a bit lacking, and the connections to How I Met Your Mother were great, but I felt the feel was a bit off. In a way, it was almost like the show was trying desperately to recreate the atmosphere of the original, but wasn’t quite hitting the mark. Episode 3, however, answers these problems and then some.
As I had suggested last week, I feel the first two episodes may have only felt off due to it being a premiere and, therefore, needing to set up multiple different characters and relationships. One thing I did love last week was that I had already started to get a feeling for the characters and have grown to love a few of them already. That helped tremendously in the third episode, which is by far the best one out of the three. It follows Sophie and Jesse returning to the dating world, both feeling a bit defeated on their search for love. As romantic sitcoms go, the episode concludes with both characters hyping each other up, and having new prospects and views on their current dating life.
Episode 3 was both charming and funny. The humor that I felt missed the mark last week was dead on this time around, obviously not all jokes will land with everyone, but I felt that laugh tracks weren’t placed in humorless moments as often. The characters once again stand out, and the more I watch them – especially Jesse and Sophie – the more I am falling in love with them. I am invested in this journey. In my last review, I noted the clever approach to already hinting at who might be the father. Yet, this new episode defied expectations and introduced a new possible father, Josh Peck‘s Drew, as we learn he met Sophie briefly on the first night while asking for a charger. This new development not only adds another father into the mix but also opens up the possibility of many new men that could be the aforementioned father. I mean, it was a party that filled up a bar, after all.
On top of the love story, the supporting cast also made some leaps this week. Just like with How I Met Your Mother, the show followed Sophie and Jesse on their “main journey,” but also spent some time with the other members of the group while they live their respective lives. This week, we followed Valentina and Sid trying to improve their long-distance relationship, as well as Ellen and Charlie house hunting in New York. The character pair-ups were a bit odd to me at first, but as the episode continued, you immediately felt the chemistry between them. This cohesive friend group continues to impress me with how natural it feels.
From the character sitting around the apartment to the humor to the charming love story, this episode landed so perfectly in its attempt to capture the feeling of the original. How I Met Your Father had an uphill battle in trying to live up to one of the most beloved sitcoms in the last 20 years, and somehow, they managed to do it. Episode 3 had me truly feel like this was an extension of How I Met Your Mother and that it’s expanding the world of the original. I was quite impressed with how fast the problems seemed to just disappear, and how fast the show has managed to grip me.
How I Met Your Father is starting to line up as a great premiere in a crowded 2022 schedule. If they can continue to deliver as they did with this entry, they may have a stand-out new show on their hands that is worth your attention. As the streaming wars continue, IP is like gold. So, when a new show manages to deliver on its predecessors, it’s a true treat for fans. So far, How I Met Your Father is a good show worth checking out, but if they can keep up this momentum, it may just become a must-watch. I hope it continues on this path, if they do, I truly believe it may possibly live up to and maybe fix the problems of How I Met Your Mother.
