The long-awaited sequel show to the fantastic How I Met Your Mother just streamed its season one finale. Understandably the criticism from fans and critics alike is split. Some fans dislike the new writing and deviation from the source material, and others connect with the new direction and characters. Regardless, every viewer showed up to watch just how How I Met Your Father would reference and compare to How I Met Your Mother.
Aside from the overall plot and setup, How I Met Your Father does not share a lot of similarities with the world of its predecessor, but fans who paid attention and have a wildly inappropriate knowledge of How I Met Your Mother noticed just a few callbacks and similarities between the shows.
Both Shows Kick Off With A Proposal
How I Met Your Mother started with Marshall (Jason Segel) practicing his proposal to Lily (Alyson Hannigan), which he then later proposes. How I Met Your Father starts similarly: Sid (Suraj Sharma) talks about his proposal plans and later, carries them out.
The theme at the core of both shows is love. Keeping a married or engaged couple in the mix makes sense to give a unique perspective on events. The audience gets the view of the single characters and the committed ones.
Goliath National Bank Is Still Around
Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall, and Ted (Josh Randor) all work for Goliath National Bank at one point in How I Met Your Mother. Marshal sells out as a lawyer to the soulless corporation, Ted designs the new GNB headquarters, and Barney... please.
In Episode 8 of How I Met Your Father, Ellen (Tien Tran) is picking out an outfit for an interview she has later. Where is she applying? The Goliath Market corporate office. This confirms that Goliath National Bank expanded, and it could even be possible that Ellen might start working in the headquarters that Ted designed.
Both Main Couples Start With Friend-zoning
In the show’s first episode, Jesse (Chris Lowell) almost instantly develops feelings for Sophie when he meets her through Uber driving. In the next episode, Jesse reveals to Sophie that he likes her. Sophie responds, "maybe we could be friends that are messes, instead of two messes who try to date." Most of the season continues with Sophie and Jesse in the friend zone.
How I Met Your Mother started with an almost identical situation with its main couple: Ted and Robin (Cobie Smulders). Much like Jesse, Ted instantly falls for Robin. Similarly, the second episode ends with the couple agreeing to just be friends. This repeated series of events is too specific to not be a direct nod.
Jesse And Sid's Apartment Is Ted and Marshals
Any HIMYM fan worth their salt recognized the classic apartment set revealed at the end of the season premiere. Jesse and Sid bring the gang into their apartment while the traditional theme song chimes. Jesse mentions they got the apartment from an "old married couple who posted it on the Wesleyan alumni group." This is another reference as it is heavily implied that Lily and Marshal were this couple, as they both graduated from Wesleyan.
While still the same, The apartment is painted differently and sports a more modern feel. The original swords also make a comeback. While in most of the original show's background, the swords are most remembered from Ted and Marshal’s epic sword fight in Season 1, Episode 8, "The Duel."
Sophie Sings Almost As Much As Marshall
Marshall is one of the most lovable characters ever written; right up there with Joey from Friends. One of his most lovable traits is his love of singing. Marshall would break into songs randomly and sing about mundane tasks. He also loves dancing which gave him dancer’s hip, but that's neither here nor there.
In the second episode of the season, Sophie sings when it's revealed that her comfort song is "Drops of Jupiter." She sings a few more times throughout the rest of the season. This charming yet straightforward detail seems very Marshall-inspired.
Sophie's Date is a Marine Biologist, Just Like...
The show kicks off with a date between Sophie and Ian, a gorgeous — wait for it — marine biologist! Ian acknowledges how fake it sounds because it's too good to be true. This is a reference to two different characters in How I Met Your Mother.
Firstly, The Slutty Pumpkin (Season 1, Episode 6) is a marine biologist that goes to Antarctica to study penguins (and drink Tootsie Rolls). Secondly, Maggie (Season 5, Episode 10) is also a marine biologist. Both of these women were viewed as ultimate dream girls. This goes to show that only an ultimate dream date would be a marine biologist.
Jesse and Ted's "Cool Shirts”
This one might be a stretch. In episode 4 of season 1 of HIMYM, Ted wears a brown shirt that he had previously forgotten about. The brown shirt ends up giving him confidence and is referenced as a "nice shirt" the entire episode. How I Met Your Father seemingly refers to this.
Episode 2 features the gang going to a club and Jesse thinking the event is a setup for him to date, Sophie. Jesse wears a brown shirt to the date and Sophie comments on how nice it looks, and like Ted's shirt, it's referred to as being nice for the rest of the episode. If it is intentional, it's extremely subtle.
The Captain and Becky Make An Appearance
The most apparent connection to the original show is when The Captain (Kyle MacLachlan) and his wife Becky (Laura Bell Bundy) appear (boats, boats, boats!). This duo is hugely iconic to HIMYM; The Captain's sea-themed delusions contributed and Becky's boats lead to some of the funniest moments in the show.
The start of episode 9 in How I Met Your Father starts with The Captain in bed with someone and Becky walking in on them; she then seemingly calls for a divorce. The scene is abrupt and is interrupted when Future-Sophie (Kim Cattrall) stops the story and says they will be more important in the future. Fans can only hope for more character revivals to these in future seasons of 'How I Met Your Father'.