How I Met Your Father: Season 1/Episode 2 “FOMO” – Review/Recap (with Spoilers)

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Sophie, still hung up on Ian, struggles to live in the moment with Jesse, and Charlie tries to make new friends.

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Aired	1/18/2022
Network	Hulu
Directed By	Pamela Fryman
Written By	Isaac Aptaker Elizabeth Berger
Introduced This Episode
Jasper	Stony Blyden

Recap

Sophie Spends Time with Jesse at FOMO

All Sophie wants to do is listen to “Drops of Jupiter” on repeat and wallow in self-pity after Ian’s rejection last episode. But Valentina persuades her instead to live in the moment by going out to hip club FOMO that night and to help expand Charlie’s social circle by inviting Jesse and Sid. When Sophie DMs Jesse, however, Sid and Ellen convince him that Sophie’s into him and goad Jesse into accepting.

Sophie, however, is clearly not over Ian – as she demonstrates when she becomes obsessed by a text from Ian which continues their long-running inside joke of sharing photos of Jason Momoa lookalikes. Still, when Sophie realizes Jesse (AKA “The Loosest Hips in Cincinnati”) may be interested in her, she agrees to get a drink with him, before running into the perfect Momoa lookalike that she just has to send to Ian. Unfortunately, there are no photos allowed at FOMO (as one rhyming bouncer emphatically asserts), and Sophie gets kicked out.

When a stood-up Jesse learns that this social outing hasn’t actually been a setup between him and Sophie, he heads back to Pemberton’s in defeat. There, Sophie meets him and apologizes for the misunderstanding. She admits they’re both messes, and they agree it’s probably best to just stay friends.

But as Jesse’s comfort song, “Drops of Jupiter,” plays on the jukebox, Sophie and Valentina share a glance suggesting that these two messes just might be perfect for one another, and Sophie decides not to send her text to Ian after all.

Valentina Needs Charlie to Get a Life

Valentina is ready to break up with Charlie because she feels smothered living with him, but instead, she conceives a plan to get Charlie to give her space by having him befriend the guys they met last week.

Valentina prepares Charlie for this “traditional American friends setup” by advising him to act more “of the people” to get Sid and Jesse to like him. This leads to some great conversational moments with Charlie desperately trying and failing to come across as just one of the guys (apparently guys don’t like cake or reading).

But after Jesse and Sid bail, Valentina comes clean that she needs her space, and she thinks the two of them should break up. Charlie is upset that she didn’t just talk to him in the first place and agrees that they aren’t working out.

At Pemberton’s, Charlie drops the pedestrian act and surprisingly charms Sid with his fancy cufflinks and discerning eye for paint tones. Valentina brings Charlie the best bagels in NYC and apologizes to him. He tells her he’s going to move out in order to give their relationship a proper go, and the two head off (with the bagels) to have make-up sex in the storage closet.

Ellen Fails to Snag a Woman’s Number

Ellen is super psyched about her first big night out in NYC, and she peels off from the main group soon after they arrive at FOMO to get her flirt on. But it’s a swing-and-a-miss (6 times) for Ellen, who gets too drunk and is off her game altogether. Still, Ellen’s as cheerful as ever at the end of the night, pointing out that NYC is full of potential girlfriends for her, unlike her small hometown in rural Iowa.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Did they just leave Ellen, a newcomer to the city, all by herself at FOMO?
2. Does Ian’s Momoa text reveal some second thoughts about not giving long-distance with Sophie a shot?
3. Now that Charlie is moving out, where is he going to stay and how will he afford it?

What Could Happen Next

1. Sophie starts falling for Jesse after their shared “Drops of Jupiter” moment, setting up the central “will they/won’t they” pairing for the rest of the season.

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

This story is about the journey, not the destination. I’m gonna get with a whole bunch of dudes before I wind up with Dad.
— Future Sophie

Review

Highlights

Charlie’s Traditional American Friends Setup

Charlie trying to downplay his well-to-do background is, without a doubt, the comedic highlight of this episode. Even on a second viewing, his comment about cake being hoity-toity got a genuine laugh out of me. His fancy mannerisms and style are reminiscent of Barney Stinson, but notably without the arrogance and misogyny that made Barney such a controversial character.

Like Barney, Charlie is somewhat of an outsider among the other main characters and seems to be shaping up as the primary source of comedic relief. But unlike Barney, Charlie is grounded and refreshingly naïve (after all, he did renounce his family’s wealth and move to the US for a girl he’d just met). I’m personally looking forward to seeing more of his bromance develop with Sid and Jesse throughout this season.

Jesse and Sophie’s Chemistry

While the pilot hinted at Jesse and Sophie’s potential, this episode confirms that the two characters do have a certain chemistry that makes a future relationship seem very plausible (and inevitable). At the same time, Sophie’s “let’s be friends” speech indicates that whatever happens between the two won’t be easy or straightforward.

How I Met Your Mother fans may be reminded of Ted and Robin’s relationship, which became a central theme throughout the show’s run (for better or for worse). Could the writers of How I Met Your Father be planning a similar trajectory for Jesse and Sophie?

It Feels Like a HIMYM episode

The whole crazy atmosphere of FOMO and the random inside joke about Jason Momoa feel like it could have been directly lifted from an episode of How I Met Your Mother. This episode balances lighthearted comedy with down-to-earth relationship drama in a way that really matches the tone of How I Met Your Mother. For fans of the older show, this helps How I Met Your Father feel more like the sequel it is, rather than just another random show.

On The Fence

Jasper is a Clichéd Zoomer

So far, the only bartender at Pemberton’s we’ve seen other than Sid is Jasper, an NYU student who feels like he was written by an out-of-touch Boomer parodying Gen Z. He’s distracted, always on his phone, and flaky at work. Considering the show’s target audience is twenty- and thirty-year-olds (and the oldest Zoomers are now 25), it just seems like an odd and potentially distancing choice.

Ellen Gets Pushed to the Side

Ellen’s storyline this episode feels so disconnected from the other characters, making her stand out as a bit of a sixth wheel. And even though the show goes out of its way to characterize Ellen as someone who has absolutely no game, it’s not obvious what she’s done to earn this reputation.

Sure, she has some moments, but that hardly warrants the reaction of one woman who walks away with a disgusted look after Ellen barely says anything. My hope is that we see more of Ellen in the next episode, including her significantly interacting with a main character who isn’t her brother.

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