Note from Marvelous Geeks’ Team: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the [series/movie/etc] being covered here wouldn’t exist. We stand with and for them.
The How I Met Your Father cancelation comes just as the show finds its footing, making the circumstances much worse. As imperfect as the show was, it was miles ahead of the original with a diverse cast and a significantly more trusting friend group. Unfortunately, now that the show won’t be returning for Season 3, myriad questions remain in the air, and a devastating TikTok theory has our hearts in pieces.
Sophie Tompkins’ story is far from over. For starters, the writers and actors deserve to show us what they always planned while getting paid amply for their work. But studio greed continues to get in the way of well-developed stories, and it’s as heartbreaking as ever. Who is the father? What happens to all the characters? Do they get their happy endings? This theory suggests that all but one will.
How I Met Your Father’s Jesse Walker Might Not Make It to the End
TikTok user @mikaelmmelo points out that the show foreshadows Jesse’s death and, in the process, proves that Sid is the father. In our Season 2 coverage, I consistently note that in order for Sid and Sophie to get together, the breakup between her and Jesse needs to be so amicable that there are no hard feelings. They need to fall entirely out of love. The friendships on this show are too meaningful, especially Sid and Jesse’s. Neither would ever betray the other like this, and as much as TV shows want to make such love triangles normal, they are damaging to real relationships.
The theory details how the show implies that Jesse isn’t alive in the future, and as tragic as it is, it makes complete sense. First, on a show with a more diverse cast, the series not showing us Sophie’s son increases the chances that he’s likely a person of color. We saw the kids in How I Met Your Mother because the series featured a primarily white cast. As the theory states, Jesse promises that he’s not going to break Sophie’s heart, and considering she still has his photograph on the wall, there’s a good chance that he didn’t. Judging by everything we know about his character thus far, we can be confident that he won’t be the one hurting her, at least intentionally.
The pieces align when we examine the sadness in her eyes coupled with “Forever Young” playing as they kiss. If this is true, Sid and Sophie finding comfort in each other and eventually building a relationship works in an organic way that doesn’t involve betraying someone they love dearly.
Why This Storyline Would Work in a Way the Original Didn’t Manage
Here at Marvelous Geeks, we’re all romance fans through and through. It’s all about the happy endings. We don’t need or want any character we adore to die at any point. How I Met Your Mother messes this up in more ways than one when it introduces us to Tracy during the ninth and final season, only to reveal that she’s been dead all along and Ted would like to move on with Aunt Robin. This way, Tracy always felt like an afterthought in the show, making her death worse. It also doesn’t help that Ted’s revelation ruins all the glorious buildup and character development we get with Robin and Barney’s relationship.
Now, How I Met Your Father can change this because, throughout the two seasons, it shows us the importance of each character while underscoring their friendship as a group. Tracy’s death was impactful but simultaneously profoundly frustrating because we didn’t know her. It made viewers angry because it never felt like the show cared about her as much as the idea of her, whereas many viewers found themselves attached to her. And if Jesse dies, it’ll make other viewers angry as well, but not to the same degree as if he were an afterthought throughout the show’s run. Jesse is an enormous part of the friend group, and his relationship with Sophie is as vital as any endgame ship or final identity.
The How I Met Your Father cancelation may be final, or there might still be hope. Stranger things have happened in entertainment. But what’s important is that in its short time, this show establishes a friend group that’s easy to care about and a set of characters easy to adore.