How I Met Your Father - General Discussion

[tennisgurl]

I was surprised to find a new episode today, but happy about it. The last two episodes have been really good. Kyle MacLachlan has certainly become quite the silver fox! 

I do think its annoying that this is yet another show where anyone trying to succeed in the arts has to totally focus on their artistic passions no matter how impractical it is and that any attempt at getting a more stable job is considered giving up on your true dreams and anyone who brings it up is the bad guy. Most people (outside of TV land) who are trying to break into the arts have other jobs as well, its not that big of a deal. Poor Drew, at least the show didn't totally make him out to be a bad guy, but wrong for Sophie, which I knew right away.\

They are going so hard on Jessie as the father that it makes me think that he wont possibly be.

[backhometome]

Drews voice is so annoying to me.

I agree with others that Ellen and Charlie are annoying.

How long ago did Meredith and Jesse break up? it certainly didn't take long for her to make it in the music world. 

This long distance thing with Sid and his fiancé is dragged out now. Either have her move to NY or break them up. I forget she exists half the time. 

[absnow54]

This was one of the few episodes that actually held my attention from start to finish, and I'm excited to see how they wrap up this season, and how much of the mystery they resolve. It was interesting that in the B and C storylines, Charlie and Sid were showing some amount of uncertainty in their own relationships. I'm kind of surprised they didn't bring the guy from the pilot back for the cliffhanger too.

[Jenniferbug]

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I was surprised to find a new episode today, but happy about it. The last two episodes have been really good. Kyle MacLachlan has certainly become quite the silver fox! 

I do think its annoying that this is yet another show where anyone trying to succeed in the arts has to totally focus on their artistic passions no matter how impractical it is and that any attempt at getting a more stable job is considered giving up on your true dreams and anyone who brings it up is the bad guy. Most people (outside of TV land) who are trying to break into the arts have other jobs as well, its not that big of a deal. Poor Drew, at least the show didn't totally make him out to be a bad guy, but wrong for Sophie, which I knew right away.\

They are going so hard on Jessie as the father that it makes me think that he wont possibly be.

The careers on this show are fairly confusing. I'm fine hand waving how they can afford apartments on bartender pay, but does Sophie have a paying job at all? I don't think they've mentioned her selling pictures or shooting weddings or anything, right? And Jesse somehow works at the school but also seems to have no job? Does he give private music lessons there or something? He doesn't seem to have set hours to even be a part time music teacher. 

And I agree with you- they're going so hard on Jesse being the father that it feels like a set up. I'll be disappointed if it's not Jesse though. I like his chemistry with Sophie. The only other viable option for me is that guy who is in Australia right now. Drew always seemed like a filler love interest, she and Charlie being together after he was in love with her best friend is icky, and while I like her chemistry with Sid ok, it would be a bit weird to me for her to be interested in Jesse and then flip to his best friend.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On "Friends", Monica wanted to fire her sous-chef and Phoebe also wanted to dump him.  They fought over who would get to tell them their bad news first.  Okay, I guess that subplot didn't really last more than 2 minutes here.

Leighton Meester's voice (and face) are both so beautiful.  The song lyrics sounded so goofy though.

It's funny how I didn't even get the Spice Girls thing until Colin said something.  LOL

That was a nice picture.  Felt James Dean-ish.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, backhometome said:

Drews voice is so annoying to me.

I agree with others that Ellen and Charlie are annoying.

How long ago did Meredith and Jesse break up? it certainly didn't take long for her to make it in the music world. 

This long distance thing with Sid and his fiancé is dragged out now. Either have her move to NY or break them up. I forget she exists half the time. 

I like Charlie, but I agree with you regarding Sid and fiancee.  It's too confusing to have us try and care about a person who we don't expect to be there and then randomly she is.

[akg]

59 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

And Jesse somehow works at the school but also seems to have no job?

I'm confused about whether or not Jesse actually works at Drew's school and what job he has (or doesn't). Drew said something at the fundraiser about a music teacher position still being open for Jesse. Which, of course, Jesse just ignored because he's an artist like Sophie and doesn't need a real job (or health insurance). But Jesse did mention doing something at the school in the episode where Sophie was taking pictures of him with students and then met Drew. I don't really care enough to rewatch though.

[DrSpaceman73]

One thing this episode did I hate :  the 'you kissed someone' based on them just walking in and how they look without saying anything.  Usually it's 'you had sex'  but this is similar. It's been done so many times and many sitcomes and i hate it.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

One thing this episode did I hate :  the 'you kissed someone' based on them just walking in and how they look without saying anything.  Usually it's 'you had sex'  but this is similar. It's been done so many times and many sitcomes and i hate it.  

Agree, it is beyond cliche at this point.

[chitowngirl]

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Agree, it is beyond cliche at this point.

Friends actually did it twice-once in the Pilot episode with Monica and her co-worker about Paul the Wine Guy and again when they came back from London and Phoebe knew Monica had sex (but Chandler didn’t! 😆). 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 minute ago, chitowngirl said:

Friends actually did it twice-once in the Pilot episode with Monica and her co-worker about Paul the Wine Guy and again when they came back from London and Phoebe knew Monica had sex (but Chandler didn’t! 😆). 

One time I did find it funny was Karen doing it to Grace on "Will and Grace".   Ugh, too bad this is a shortened clip.  Grace's reactions to it are also really funny.  I can believe this coming from Karen; she was like a superwoman.

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, akg said:

I'm confused about whether or not Jesse actually works at Drew's school and what job he has (or doesn't). Drew said something at the fundraiser about a music teacher position still being open for Jesse. Which, of course, Jesse just ignored because he's an artist like Sophie and doesn't need a real job (or health insurance). But Jesse did mention doing something at the school in the episode where Sophie was taking pictures of him with students and then met Drew. I don't really care enough to rewatch though.

I think he was on contract with the school, because they didn’t have the funding for a full time position until recently. And he also drives Uber, although we haven’t seen him do that since the pilot, I don’t think. But yeah, it’s stupid that he didn’t take the full time position, since it allows him to work in music and have stable benefits, but Sophie and Jesse are committed to being starving artist. 

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I was surprised to find a new episode today, but happy about it. 

The new episodes are meant to be up on Tuesday.

I’m hoping they make a mistake again this week and put the finale up early lol.

[Jenniferbug]

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I think he was on contract with the school, because they didn’t have the funding for a full time position until recently. And he also drives Uber, although we haven’t seen him do that since the pilot, I don’t think. But yeah, it’s stupid that he didn’t take the full time position, since it allows him to work in music and have stable benefits, but Sophie and Jesse are committed to being starving artist. 

Oh wow, I had forgotten all about the Uber driving. I would have liked to see him take the full time position as well. 

[AllyB]

12 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

I'm fine hand waving how they can afford apartments on bartender pay, but does Sophie have a paying job at all? I don't think they've mentioned her selling pictures or shooting weddings or anything, right?

In the episode where she was hired to photograph the Bat Mitzvah the gallery owner said they found her from her events photography website. So we never see or hear of her doing it as a job but it's definitely implied that's her income source. It's funny, in the original series all the characters had actual jobs. Architect, kindergarten teacher, news anchor, lawyer, murky finance job. Lily was the least career orientated because her real interest was her art but day to day, she taught little kids in a salaried job that gave her time to do her art. When she abandoned everything to go to San Fransisco at the end of season 1 for an art fellowship, she went back to teaching as soon as she could get rehired when it didn't work out and she lived in a tiny dump of an apartment until she and Marshall were ready to get married.

[DrSpaceman73]

3 hours ago, AllyB said:

In the episode where she was hired to photograph the Bat Mitzvah the gallery owner said they found her from her events photography website. So we never see or hear of her doing it as a job but it's definitely implied that's her income source. It's funny, in the original series all the characters had actual jobs. Architect, kindergarten teacher, news anchor, lawyer, murky finance job. Lily was the least career orientated because her real interest was her art but day to day, she taught little kids in a salaried job that gave her time to do her art. When she abandoned everything to go to San Fransisco at the end of season 1 for an art fellowship, she went back to teaching as soon as she could get rehired when it didn't work out and she lived in a tiny dump of an apartment until she and Marshall were ready to get married.

Not only that their jobs provided great story lines. And lines. 

Like barney getting yelled at for making their 'friends' the north Koreans mad. 

Many more. 

Here they just don't. 

[Jillybean]

18 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

The careers on this show are fairly confusing. I'm fine hand waving how they can afford apartments on bartender pay, but does Sophie have a paying job at all? I don't think they've mentioned her selling pictures or shooting weddings or anything, right? And Jesse somehow works at the school but also seems to have no job?

She was shooting an event when she met the photographer who's going to show her photo. But I'm not sure how often she does that. I loved that FutureSophie had that photo framed and hung in a prominent location in her home. Either that photo launched her career, or Jesse still means a lot to her in some capacity.

[absnow54]

5 hours ago, AllyB said:

It's funny, in the original series all the characters had actual jobs. Architect, kindergarten teacher, news anchor, lawyer, murky finance job. Lily was the least career orientated because her real interest was her art but day to day, she taught little kids in a salaried job that gave her time to do her art.

This has been bothering me too. They're all playing pretend adults, and they're 30. I'm approximately their age, and while a lot of my friends haven't gotten married or started having kids, they at least have a full time job with benefits and a 401k, even if they hate it.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, Jillybean said:

Either that photo launched her career, or Jesse still means a lot to her in some capacity.

Maybe both. I'm sure her and Jessie are still close friends even if it's painfully obvious that he's a red herring for the dad.

[hiisa]

I just want to say this: I *HATE* Piz. So when Jesse and Hilary Duffs character (whos name just ran away from me) kissed my knee jerk reaction was: classic Piz. Going after a girl whos dating someone else. Classic "nice guy". 

I dont think the Charlie is a particularly good actor but I did find the old heartstrings were tugged when no one was interested in watching soccer with him and he told Val that hes homesick. 

I like Drew. I dont like him with Sophie. Can he be a part of the gang? Even though there are already too many members in the gang? I feel like they need a grownup friend.

Also. Count me in as someone who really liked Ted. And while Im spouting unpopular opinions (this has nothing to do with anything but ....) I hated Prue from original Charmed and loved Phoebe. I know it has nothing to do with this show but admitting that I liked Ted Mosby is making me bold. 

[Jillybean]

I liked Ted too, initially. But he became sort of an insufferable pompous douchebag, at least part of the time. And he got in his own way so much of the time that it was easy to be annoyed by him. I was single when HIMYM started and wanted a guy like Ted. By the time it came to its miserable conclusion I was in a relationship with my now-husband who isn't anything like Ted. Heh.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Jillybean

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, Jillybean said:

I liked Ted too, initially. 

Same.

By the end of HIMYM I hated most of the characters lol.

11 hours ago, hiisa said:

Can [Drew] be a part of the gang?

Why do you hate me?! But like I said, Drew was actually enjoyable and not nearly as annoying in ep 9, which is likely his last ep so go figure lol.

[braziliangirl]

20 hours ago, hiisa said:

Also. Count me in as someone who really liked Ted. And while Im spouting unpopular opinions (this has nothing to do with anything but ....) I hated Prue from original Charmed and loved Phoebe. I know it has nothing to do with this show but admitting that I liked Ted Mosby is making me bold. 

Me too. Really liked Ted.  And my UO is that he was called on (is that the expression? english is not my first language) by his friends on his pathetic, annoying and neurotic side. He wasn't idealized by the show. 

But I have to disagree with you about Prue (though I liked Phoebe and rooted for them to become closer).

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love that there are other Ted fans here.  I feel so free.  Free to be me.

[SallyAlbright]

On 3/8/2022 at 4:36 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Leighton Meester's voice (and face) are both so beautiful.  The song lyrics sounded so goofy though.

I love Leighton Meester so much that (even though I like Hilary Duff), I half want Jesse to get back with Meredith just so she'll stay on the show. I wish she was a regular instead of Ellen or Charlie. And yeah, even in just that silly clip her voice was so pretty. 

[hiisa]

I havent seen Leighton in anything but Gossip Girl and it was so weird to see her not as Blair. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

She was on a sitcom called "Single Parents" and it was alarming to see her so different than Blair there too.

[JAYJAY1979]

I remember Leighton in a Gwyneth Paltrow movie about country music..and I remember she got good reviews in it.

I admit seeing her as a non Blair like character was interesting.

And I'm not liking the Jesse/Sophie potential coupling..too similar 

[absnow54]

I first saw Leighton on Veronica Mars as Carrie Bishop, but she was a Blair Waldorf-prototype. I actually love that awful Gwyneth Paltrow movie, Country Strong, because Leighton and Garrett Hedlund had such great chemistry. Her character on Single Parents was probably my favorite though. I miss that show!

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I remember Leighton in a Gwyneth Paltrow movie about country music..and I remember she got good reviews in it.

Country Strong, I love that movie.

[Jillybean]

I didn't even recognize Leighton M until her second episode. She's in a new Netflix movie "The Weekend Away." 

[Lethallyfab]

I hope Miss Smulders got paid a crap-ton of money to swoop into the season finale to try to save this show.

 

[absnow54]

Of all the original cast members, Cobie Smulder was the last person I expected to show up (maybe after Jason Segel) so I was pretty surprised. Maybe Hulu found a loophole in her Marvel contract, since they’re Disney adjacent.

The excitement of the son when they hit the revelation of the dad showing up was really sweet. I guess we’ll actually get to know him next season? He could replace Charlie, who will inexplicably still be in their friend group next season.

And I’m sure it’s doomed, but I was kind of glad that Jesse maybe got back together with Meredith, just because I want more Leighton Meester next season. 

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, absnow54 said:

The excitement of the son when they hit the revelation of the dad showing up was really sweet.

Wait, what?! Did I miss a scene lol?

I gasped when Robin showed up. I think she was a good choice since she was the only character still likable at the end imo.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show and I’m glad it was renewed. I’m a little worried about so many more eps though. I feel like it could go off the rails quickly.

[bluegirl147]

16 hours ago, Lethallyfab said:

I hope Miss Smulders got paid a crap-ton of money to swoop into the season finale to try to save this show.

 

She looked damn good.

I liked the finale. I think the show found it's groove.

 

[akg]

I loved all of the references to Robin's awesome career. Her work was really important to her in HIMYM which is still kind of rare for women on tv so hearing that she's successful and has fans was nice. 

For some reason, I thought Sid's bar was the one the HIMYM's gang hung out in, just redecorated so the fact that it's a completely new location confused me. Didn't he say something about spending tons of time in the bar under his apartment, getting attached, and buying it? Where is his bar? Why is the layout exactly the same?

[chitowngirl]

I noticed Robin wasn’t wearing a wedding ring

[JAYJAY1979]

Nice to see Robin..and I'm guessing this episode helped show she regretted not being with Ted while trying to help Sophie not make the same mistake.

Jesse and Sophie are too alike to work 

[Skyfall]

On 1/18/2022 at 4:39 PM, NeenerNeener said:

Amen! I haven't been able to watch the reruns either. I've also been scarred by the Medium and Game of Thrones finales, and another that I can't remember off the top of my head. 

Well, I'm almost through episode 2. I loved seeing the original apartment and original bar again, but I hate the room mate. Is she supposed to be the Barney of this version? 

 

ETA: Dexter!!! The other on the list of worst finales of all time was Dexter! The reboot ending just about made up for it, though.

Lost as well

[absnow54]

2 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

I noticed Robin wasn’t wearing a wedding ring

In the How I Met Your Mother timeline, Barney and Robin are already divorced, and she won’t get with Ted for another 8-ish years. Tracey is still alive in 2022. 

[Zonk]

Didn't the producers say they'd reveal who the father was in the seaosn one finale? Liars.

I think with that I might be done. I don't really fancy getting strung along for 9 years only to have everything ruined by a horrible finale again.

[NeenerNeener]

4 hours ago, Zonk said:

Didn't the producers say they'd reveal who the father was in the seaosn one finale? Liars.

I think with that I might be done. I don't really fancy getting strung along for 9 years only to have everything ruined by a horrible finale again.

I don't think Hulu will give this 9 years to get to the point. It will be lucky to get 3 years unless it starts winning awards, like Handmaid's Tale does. And we all know this won't be winning any awards.

I wonder if it's safe to assume that the father is somebody in the season 1 finale. That could be any one of the 3 male leads plus the old boyfriend who walked in at the end of the episode. My money is on Jesse, and they split them up just to get them back together later.

[absnow54]

Did I totally misinterpret the last scene? I thought the online dating guy from the Pilot was the father, based on how excited the kid was about his return. He hasn’t been mentioned since, like, episode 2, so it would be weird if the kid was holding onto that thread, if the guy wasn’t important to him. 

[xander874]

The kid did get excited, but I don't think it confirms he was the father necessarily. Just that he knows him well apparently, which could just mean he's a close friend of Sophie.

I didn't mind the season finale, although it basically ended in a lot of chaos. Jesse sure bounced back to Meredith quickly. I assumed he would go on tour but to see them kissing was weird to me.

I don't know what they will do with the Charlie character as his only real tie was to Valentina. They haven't done a good job of integrating him into the cast. I would've liked an episode where he and Sid did something bar related. Charlie has been with Val or Ellen and pretty siloed from the main action.

Speaking of Ellen, another character that hasn't been integrated well. She always just seems to "be there" as opposed to actually being a member of the group. She's the lonely sister who always shows up but no one really wants to be her friend. I realize there were only 10 episodes but I hope they spend some time next season mixing up the characters.

And on a shallow note, I miss the gratuitous man-candy from the earlier episodes. I guess Jesse was shirtless but...

[MaggieG]

Since Charlie mentioned that he didn't want kids I guess that means he's out as the father?

Cobie looked great.

[braziliangirl]

I thought it was curious that Sophie freaked out with the "I love you" while dreaming. I mean, isn't she the person who asked to try a long distance relationship with the guy she went on one date? I think they didn't even kissed or had sex. But she went to the airport to talk to him about their connection etc. 

I also remember (like Zonk said) that the producers would reveal who the father was in the season finale. I'm betting it was Ian and they decided to edit because of the renewal. Or because there's more positive repercution online about the last 3 or 4 episodes.

I'm still in. I thought the episode with Sophie's mom and the last ones were good. Better soundtrack, pacing and chemistry. I like Hannah and would prefer her to be part of the gang than Ellen. Or, at least,  tone down Ellen. Barney was  over the top but there were also a lot of scenes that showed depth in him. With her it's only like "she's so zany". (It's the same problem I have with Charlie but maybe the last two episodes made me like him more.)

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by braziliangirl
to change Helen to Ellen lol

[akg]

2 hours ago, xander874 said:

The kid did get excited, but I don't think it confirms he was the father necessarily. Just that he knows him well apparently, which could just mean he's a close friend of Sophie.

I think he was also excited that his mom's weird side story about the Captain finally made sense. 

12 hours ago, Skyfall said:

On 1/18/2022 at 4:39 PM, NeenerNeener said:

Amen! I haven't been able to watch the reruns either. I've also been scarred by the Medium and Game of Thrones finales, and another that I can't remember off the top of my head. 

Well, I'm almost through episode 2. I loved seeing the original apartment and original bar again, but I hate the room mate. Is she supposed to be the Barney of this version? 

 

ETA: Dexter!!! The other on the list of worst finales of all time was Dexter! The reboot ending just about made up for it, though.

Expand  

Lost as well

Thank you! So nice to know I'm not just making things up.

[Jillybean]

18 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Wait, what?! Did I miss a scene lol?

I gasped when Robin showed up. I think she was a good choice since she was the only character still likable at the end imo.

I hated her by the end. And this did nothing to redeem her in my eyes. I still maintain that there is no way that someone with Robin's lackadaisical approach to her career well into her 30s would have ended up as a successful and famous news personality. It takes infinite hard work and ambition to find that kind of career success, and she had neither.

I was more excited to see Carl (Karl?) than Robin. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Jillybean

[Jillybean]

1 hour ago, braziliangirl said:

 I like Hannah and would prefer her to be part of the gang than Helen. Or, at least,  tone down Helen. Barney was  over the top but there were also a lot of scenes that showed depth in him. With her it's only like "she's so zany". (It's the same problem I have with Charlie but maybe the last two episodes made me like him more.)

I think you mean Ellen. I would be fine with both Ellen and Charlie being written out of future seasons. 

[bluegirl147]

4 hours ago, xander874 said:

The kid did get excited, but I don't think it confirms he was the father necessarily. Just that he knows him well apparently, which could just mean he's a close friend of Sophie.

I've always thought Ian was the dad.  And I base that on nothing more than he is super cute and his and Sophie's kid would be adorable.

The show is making us believe Sid is out as baby daddy because he married Hannah and Charlie is out because he said he didn't want kids.  I don't think either one of those things rules them out.  People get divorced and people change their minds about whether they want to have kids.