‘How I Met Your Father’ 1×06 Review: “Stacey”
Romantic relationships take center stage, for better or for worse, on this week’s episode of ‘How I Met Your Father.’ As Drew and Sophie go on a weekend getaway with Hannah and Sid, Charlie and Ellen throw the dinner party from hell back in the city. Keep reading for our ‘How I Met Your Father’ 1×06 review!
“A Romantic Getaway”
There has been a slight break since the last episode because Sophie and Drew are approaching a month together. When Sid and Hannah get a plus two at a farm upstate they’re scouting as a potential wedding venue, they decide to invite Sophie and Drew along with them. This is particularly devastating to Jesse, who was looking forward to creating a road trip for the drive up there. However, instead of celebrating their first romantic weekend as a couple, Sophie freaks out because Hannah accidentally calls her “Stacey,” which is apparently Drew’s ex-girlfriend’s name.
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Sophie goes into a full-on spiral. And thanks to Valentina’s truly masterful social media skills, she finds Stacey’s social media profile and can hyperfixate on the great love affair she imagines Stacey and Drew had together. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t had sex with Drew yet, and as she’ll eventually confess to Sid, Drew is her first serious boyfriend. It’s a whole lot of yikes that could be avoided if Sophie would just talk to Drew. However, we are in a sitcom, so there can be no easy solutions.
Drew doesn’t help matters by lying to Sophie about never having been to the hotel they’re staying at. It’s such a weird lie that just creates more unnecessary drama. I feel like there had to be an easier way to have Drew and Sophie talk about their pasts. I still maintain that Drew and Sophie are so adorable together. They’re both awkward in a cool nerd kind of a way. It is clear, though, that their relationship is not long for this world. As we enter the second half of the season, it feels like they’re going to amp up the Jesse/Sophie possibility more, even if it doesn’t feel completely earned yet.
“It Felt Like the Right Decision”
We also really started to see the cracks in Sid and Hannah’s relationship. As Sid told the story of how he decided to drop out of medical school and buy a bar, it was clear that he felt like he had made completely the right decision. And he did. It was the first time he ever felt like he was making a choice for himself. It just reminded Hannah of how he felt like he could make a major life decision without even consulting her.
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My absolute favorite moment of this episode was the hallway talk between Sid and Sophie, where they console each other over the mistakes they’ve made in their respective relationships. For Sophie, it was stealing Drew’s phone and trying to delete texts from Stacey. For Sid, not consulting Hannah about decisions that would affect them both. I won’t say that I saw chemistry between the two of them in a romantic sense. I did see the beginnings of a deep friendship, though. It felt like they were two people who could come to love each other in some capacity.
Let me be clear, the main reason I am opposed to the possibility of Sid being the father is because it is obvious that Jesse and Sophie are going to be a couple by the end of the season. I feel about Sid the same way I do about Charlie as a father option. The drama it would cause in the friendship between Sid and Jesse is not worth it.
Hannah and Sid end the episode in a good place. They manage to have an adult conversation about how Sid’s choices have impacted both of their lives. I want to root for them, but it is obvious the distance is eventually going to defeat them.
“The Party of the Century”
We’ll address the Charlie/Valentina stuff in a moment, but let’s start with the very odd love triangle between Ellen, Jesse, and a new woman named Mia. Jesse has been dating Mia for approximately a week. Unbeknownst to him, though, Mia is also the first woman that Ellen has slept with since her divorce. Jesse met her the morning after Ellen hooked up with her. And that could be awkward in itself, but also, Mia is objectively terrible. She is every cliche of an activist, starting from her sneer at Valentina for wearing a leopard-print dress. The only reason she isn’t completely insufferable is that she’s played by Margo Harshman (Tawny from “Even Stevens”) and I could be happy thinking about that show for five seconds.
Thankfully, Jesse dumps Mia. Once she leaves, he admits he was just tired of being single. He wanted to be the one at that dinner with Sid and Hannah. Ellen awkwardly asks if it’s because he misses hanging out with Sid and Hannah or because he wants to be with Sophie. That entire interaction just felt so bizarrely awkward. Jesse has barely gotten over his “proposal fail,” so anyone he dates now is probably going to be a rebound. It feels like they’re really trying to rush us into this Jesse/Sophie pairing in a way the show hasn’t earned yet. Considering Sophie and Jesse have barely interacted since she started dating Drew, it feels weird that anyone is commenting on how Jesse wants to be with Sophie.
“A Horny Carmen San Diego”
We’re going to end with my favorite storyline of the episode, though. Charlie finally tells Valentina that he doesn’t love hearing her comments on her past sexual exploits. She tells him she wouldn’t care if he told her about his exes. That is until she finds out that she is not the first woman he has ever moved to a new country for. Six months ago, he moved to Brazil to be with a woman. There have been a few other women in the past as well. Her entire demeanor changes, and she is pissed that she isn’t his first.
Image via Hulu
It ends in the most chaotically adorable romantic gesture from Charlie, though. He shows up at her apartment with his passport, which is filled with the stamps of countries for his past lovers. Charlie proceeds to light the passport on fire as a show of his devotion to Valentina. He made sure to soak it in lighter fluid, so it would be more dramatic. It goes up in flames. Once they get the fire contained, Valentina admits that she is in love with Charlie. He tells her he feels the same. And here’s the thing. Every single moment Charlie and Valentina have had together feels earned and natural. Maybe it’s that I really think Francia Raisa might be the best actress on the show, but I’ve loved seeing this relationship unfold. I’ve even completely turned the corner with Charlie. This couple can never break up.
We are already closing in on the end of the first season, but fortunately, the series was picked up for season two earlier this week. How are you feeling after this episode? Are you as in love with Charlie and Valentina as we are? Find us on Twitter to share your ‘How I Met Your Father’ 1×06 thoughts. Be sure to check out our site for more content!
