WARNING! Spoilers ahead for HIMYF episode 6.
How I Met Your Father’s Sid and Hannah are quickly recreating the tumultuous engagement story of Marshall and Lily in HIMYM season 1. Sid and Hannah have been set up at How I Met Your Father’s stable couple amidst the dating woes of the remaining characters, thus keeping the lovable dynamic of married couple Marshall and Lily for How I Met Your Father. While Marshall and Lily were HIMYM’s most consistent couple, there had a few bumps along the way, with Sid and Hannah now recreating their arc in more ways than one.
Sid and Hannah, who got engaged in How I Met Your Father episode 1, have a more difficult dynamic than Marshall and Lily in that their relationship is still long-distance. When Hannah comes back to visit Sid for the weekend in episode 6, they rehash an old argument based on Sid making a major life decision without consulting her first. Rather than continue their path of both finishing medical school, Sid buys a bar, thus derailing their previous life plan. Sid’s fiancée Hannah would have supported him had he told her first, but she still resents that he would make such a life-changing decision without telling her.
This trajectory notably follows the heartbreaking fight between Marshall and Lily in HIMYM season 1, which would culminate in their summer-long breakup. After getting engaged in HIMYM episode 1, Lily later realizes that there are many experiences and dreams she wanted to have before getting married that were never accomplished. Lily then interviews for an art fellowship in San Francisco, which would mean canceling (or rescheduling) her wedding with Marshall. Lily decided not to take it, only for Jason Segel’s Marshall to get a phone call about her acceptance. Lily and Marshall have their biggest fight yet, with Marshall being angry that she would make such a significant life decision without consulting him, especially since it was based on her having second thoughts about getting married. HIMYM season 1 ends with Lily leaving for San Francisco while a heartbroken Marshall sits on the steps of their building.
Although Sid and Hannah were posed as How I Met Your Father’s solid couple, it seems they have similar baggage that could lead to breaking off their engagement. Lily needed to try the art program before marrying Marshall, and Marshall couldn’t forgive her for keeping it a secret and having second thoughts. Sid needed to buy a bar in order to finally make himself happy, and Hannah can’t let go that he kept it from her, upending their future plans. While Sid’s decision in How I Met Your Father season 1 wasn’t based on second-guessing his relationship with Hannah, his fiancée still may have interpreted it as such since it suggested that he couldn’t be in a properly communicative relationship. Hannah still holds this grudge against Sid, and it’s an issue that could eventually dissolve their engagement.
Although Sid and Hannah have a conversation about the decision in How I Met Your Father episode 6, the fight doesn’t seem to be officially resolved. Sid apologizes and buys Hannah a Kit-Kat bar as a peacemaker, but the basis of the argument is still there. Hannah hasn’t officially forgiven Sid for making such a decision, hinting it can come back as a future source of tension for the couple. While Marshall and Lily would get back together in HIMYM season 2 after she returns to NYC, Sid and Hannah’s unfinished troubles may lead to a similar breakup in How I Met Your Father season 1.
