Warning: Spoilers ahead for HIMYF episode 3!
Sophie and Jesse decided to not begin dating each other in How I Met Your Father, which is the best decision for season 1’s story. Although How I Met Your Father’s first few episodes set up the two as potential love interests, Jesse (Christopher Lowell) and Sophie (Hilary Duff) have a talk in which they reveal they’re both a “mess,” so it’s better that they try not to be two messes trying to date. Although their attraction to one another still lingers for the possibility of a romantic relationship, HIMYF’s main characters instead help each other find alternate partners. Sophie helps Jesse spruce up his Tinder dating profile, while Jesse gives Sophie the phone number of his coworker Drew, maintaining that they’ll just be friends for the time being.
While Jesse and Sophie’s love story is off the table for now, How I Met Your Father has given both potential romantic interests for season 1. Sophie still has an unfinished relationship with Ian (Daniel Augustin)—her Tinder date from HIMYF episode 1—as well as a date with Drew (Josh Peck) lined up. Jesse is still learning to be open to marriage and relationships again, but How I Met Your Father is hinting at a confrontation with his returning ex-girlfriend Meredith (Leighton Meester), who rejected his proposal on a viral video. For the time being, How I Met Your Father’s larger relationships are focused on Valentina (Francia Raisa) and Charlie (Tom Ainsley) and the long-distance engagement of Sid (Suraj Sharma) and Hannah (Ashley Reyes).
Although Sophie and Jesse have been set up as HIMYF’s version of Ted and Robin from How I Met Your Mother, the series is making the right decision by keeping them as friends for the majority of season 1. They clearly could get together in the future, but as of now, viewers don’t know them well enough on their own to cheer for them as a couple. How I Met Your Father’s first few episodes have been slow to truly introduce the characters in a compelling manner, so the series needs to get its feet on the ground before bringing its main characters together in a satisfying manner. This dynamic reflects what made Ted and Robin uniting in HIMYM’s season 1 finale so great, as the first season was spent making the two a romantic possibility, but first and foremost establishing them as friends. Just as HIMYM needed to make Ted and Robin friends in the group first, How I Met Your Father needs to show that Sophie and Jesse getting together is the right decision for the characters’ arcs.
Part of what made Robin (Cobie Smulders) such an incredible character in HIMYM was that she wasn’t defined by her romantic relationship with Ted (Josh Radnor). After originally deciding she didn’t want to date Ted because they wanted completely different things out of life, Robin’s inclusion in the main friend group felt earned simply by how well she blended in with the other characters. Although Jesse brings multiple friends of his own to the table, How I Met Your Father’s friend group also doesn’t rely on the relationship status of Jesse and Hillary Duff’s character Sophie. Rather, it’s based on the characters finding friends and exploring outside relationships in the city, with the reason for their reunion in episode 2 being based on Valentina wanting Charlie to make male friends.
While How I Met Your Father’s repetition of the Ted and Robin storyline is the right move for the show, it also needs to decrease the extensive will-they-won’t-they dynamic from the original series. By the end, Ted and Robin getting together (again) in the finale didn’t feel deserved for many fans, partially because they preferred her relationship with Barney—which HIMYM spent multiple seasons building back up, only for it to be torn down in seconds. While it’s tempting to mix the romantic relationships within the main group like in Friends, How I Met Your Father has to avoid HIMYM‘s mistake of Jesse and Sophie dating other characters within their friend group that could undermine the satisfaction of them finally getting together. Establishing them as friends first is the best arc for How I Met Your Father season 1, but it also has to focus on persuading viewers why they need to become love interests later in the show.
