How I Met Your Father 2×01 “Cool and Chill” Spoilers Ahead
How I Met Your Father Season 2, Episode 1, “Cool and Chill,” is the type of solid premiere that sets up what’s to come without leaving you in agony over the waiting process. It’s hilarious, fun, and doesn’t miss a single beat in addressing all the elephants in the room. While characters aren’t exactly acting like adults, they’re not acting like children either, which is an excellent first step in allowing the series more credibility in its sophomore year.
In hopes that the show will differ from its predecessor, it already feels more established in permitting friendships to take center stage. And though the relationships are a large part of the story, How I Met Your Father 2×01 is the type of episode that brings all the ugly to the surface to show what matters, which in this case are the platonic bonds equally. It’s the found family they’ve uncovered together without ever searching for one another in the first place, making it that much more glorious.
Cool and Chill
Sophie Tompkins is neither cool nor chill, which is why the episode works so well as a premiere. Cool and chill would apply to brushing things under the rug and visiting them on a rainy day. But How I Met Your Father 2×01 sets everything on a dramatic stage with the “Electric Boogie” (Electric Slid) playing in the background to give us far more hope and happiness than intended. The thing about Sophie’s prospects on this show is that regardless of what we ship, we have one clear answer to the question we’re all asking. We know who the father is. He’s not just a character the show will introduce in the final season, make us fall in love, then take him away just as quickly. He’s someone we know and already care for, making the deconstruction much more engaging.
And in the uncool state of being, everything comes out in the open. People (mainly Jesse) are fully aware that Sophie saw him kissing Meredith, that he’ll only be leaving on tour for a month, and that Drew is distressed after the breakup with Sophie. We’re not entirely sure what’s going on with Ian, but neither does he, making the process one we’re all in on together. And despite breaking up, as predicted, Charlie and Valentina can’t keep their hands off each other. Heck, Sid and Hannah aren’t even cool about how calm their elopement was. No one’s cool—no one’s chill.
But the episode packs a punch when it makes a clear statement about how this friend group is in it for the long haul with one another, promising viewers that things are only about to get crazier before they reach a type of quiet that’s worth appreciating. But right now, in this wild chaos where they’ll break into the electric slide for the sake of friendship, the episode is everything necessary to showcase that they’re the right bunch.
Still, we can’t end this without talking about the emotions stirring within both Jesse and Sophie when he realizes that she went back for him. Duff and Chris Lowell were riveting in their silent conversations, reminding us of how grueling the shot of Sophie in the Season 1 finale was. There are ways to go for these two, but the evident longing in this episode that’s missing from all of Sophie’s other prospects is bold and palpable. How I Met Your Father 2×01 “Cool and Chill” authenticates why the show’s prospects are so worthwhile because the friendships are so grounded and vulnerable. The characters care about each other tremendously, and in an episode that celebrates love and marriage, steadfast devotion is at the center of it all. While feelings have yet to come to the surface, they’re bursting in a way that’s making the story thoroughly engaging.
Further Thoughts
- Do we get a transcription of what term Valentina and Charlie coined with all the curse words?
- Ellen remains the best!
- “I have an order for ‘Sad’.”
- THE SPRAY TAN!
- Okay but real talk, I kind of hope we still get to see a bigger wedding eventually for Sid and Hannah. It’s what they deserve.
- Hilary Duff and Josh Peck’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” on Spotify, WHEN?
- Ellen’s dramatic walk-off after learning that Jesse will be leaving was hilarious, as was her explanation.
Now streaming on Hulu: What are your thoughts on How I Met Your Father 2×01 “Cool and Chill?” Let us know in the comments below.