My sophomore yr of faculty began with “How I Met Your Mom.”
I had simply moved into my first residence with 4 roommates, a few of whom I’d recognized for years and others who have been successfully strangers. As one other College of Michigan Welcome Week unfolded, we began day by day on the sofa bingeing this present none of us had ever seen earlier than, turning into instantaneous followers. Whoever woke first every morning would begin the day’s viewing, the theme music beckoning us to crawl out of our respective bedrooms in a Pavlovian undergraduate hangover ritual.
We by no means discovered our means again to the collection, then in its sixth season on CBS, however would at all times keep in mind it as a vital a part of turning into roommates (our WiFi password, created that week, was “Swarley”). I’ve solely revisited “HIMYM” as soon as since its infamous 2014 collection finale — it aged poorly sufficient for me to make quick peace with by no means returning once more — and had no real interest in Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger’s “How I Met Your Father” (to not be confused with the ill-fated “How I Met Your Dad”) when it premiered on Hulu in 2022. Did we actually must revive this immediately stale comedy? Hadn’t the multicam sitcom gone out of trend?
Nobody was extra shocked than I used to be once I binged all of “How I Met Your Father.”
Starring Hilary Duff, Chris Lowell, Francia Raisa, Suraj Sharma, Tien Prepare, and Tom Ainsley, “How I Met Your Father” is probably the most logical comply with as much as its predecessor within the present local weather. The primary season was all the things critics claimed; a bit clunky, a bit out-of-touch with its character demographic, and banking on ranges of “HIMYM” nostalgia that I didn’t absolutely imagine existed — nevertheless it additionally dropped throughout my second pandemic winter spent dwelling with my mother and father, not sure of when, how, or if I’d return to New York Metropolis or to something resembling an grownup life. At the same time as I rolled my eyes at the way it misrepresented metropolis life and its 30-year-olds sounded 40, “HIMYF” grew to become an sudden consolation, an opportunity to numb my thoughts and chuckle at some simple punchlines whereas the forged quietly charmed me.
When Season 2 Half 1 premiered a yr later, I felt equally dismissive; sure, I had loved the primary season, however I acknowledged its flaws and had clearly not been in the very best place mentally. I used to be pleasantly shocked for the second time when “HIMYF” Season 2 was a marked enchancment from its debut season, leaving “How I Met Your Mom” additional within the rearview as the brand new forged and writers discovered their footing. For me, watching the present in 2023 was a relieving reminder of the yr in between; of getting a brand new job, discovering an residence, shifting again East, and settling into my new-old life. It additionally forged a light-weight on new developments which were creeping up for years now and appear to have hit a tipping level.
Later this month, I’ll be attending my faculty roommate’s marriage ceremony; the third to tie the knot since we graduated, on the first marriage ceremony we’ll all attend collectively the place everybody can be partnered apart from me. I discover myself experiencing the inevitable isolation of many others of their early 30s, surrounded by {couples} and weddings and youngsters (!) and unable to assist feeling left behind. As I binged the again half of “How I Met Your Father” Season 2 (which premiered in late-Might), I marveled at how a lot of the mates on the present have been single and located myself questioning what it’s wish to have an on a regular basis squad in the identical boat — although I undoubtedly have up to now.
I don’t notably thoughts being unpartnered; very similar to Duff’s protagonist Sophie on the prime of Season 1, it’s been the vast majority of my expertise, and between that and having no siblings I could be higher geared up than most for my present circumstance. What I by no means actually ready for was my singleness being juxtaposed with so many others’ lack thereof. Whereas I nonetheless have single mates, there’s a shared feeling of preventing towards the tide — whether or not or not the singledom is a alternative — towards societal expectations and the general pattern of our age group, and being surrounded by individuals who have been as soon as single but don’t at all times empathize with our standing and struggles. Watching the 30-somethings on “How I Met Your Father” appears like a peek into an alternate actuality the place the shared journey continues past faculty or our 20s (because it does on “New Lady”). It’s the sensation I get once I commune with single mates, and a consolation everybody deserves.
A lot of “How I Met Your Father” is relationships; missed connections, mates working by way of battle, love that grows or shifts or ends. Seeing these points play out — even at breakneck pace, with sitcom silliness — doesn’t change the truth that I’m sharing all of these experiences in real-time. Instructed from the long run identical to its predecessor, “How I Met Your Father” has the present of hindsight and large image, whereas I’m nonetheless determining how disparate tales and characters will all match collectively down the road. Life adjustments might be sluggish and deliberate, or as quick as a TV plot twist — and something in between.
“HIMYF” will not be notably revolutionary, groundbreaking, or status, however I’m really grateful to have a tacky multicam collection accompanying me by way of this weird second; Even the format and manufacturing take me again to a time when my life and my mates’ weren’t so totally different. The present’s firm may not appear like my very own (or even my favorite TV friends), however they’re messy and goofy and put a smile on my face. The missteps and shenanigans make me really feel seen (or sane), and likewise remind me of sharing these shenanigans with individuals whose lives have understandably modified. If I shut my eyes throughout that lo-fi cowl of the theme music, I can nearly really feel that sophomore yr residence, when all I needed to do was press play to get the gang collectively.
The “How I Met Your Father” Season 2 finale airs July 11 on Hulu.
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