Charlie seems to be one of the most confused characters in HIMYF, and it is not because of the actor. In fact, despite the actor giving it his all, the audience is left confused about who Charlie represents in this spin-off series, which draws parallels to the original, HIMYM.
A few episodes in, we knew that Charlie was the Barney of HIMYF. However, as the show progressed, we also saw a few traits of Ted and Marshall in Charlie. While I think the writers are trying to make Charlie a perfectly flawed character (which I’ll explain how), it is translating into Charlie being Ted, Marshall, and Barney at the same time, and the result is far from good.
So why exactly is Charlie trying to be like Ted, Marshall, and Barney simultaneously and failing at it?
The writers are trying to create a better version of Barney through Charlie. To make him more relevant to the current times, Charlie is given traits such as the sensibilities of Ted, and the uncertainty of Marshall, thus creating a half-baked, confused character.
Let me quickly try and dissect Charlie’s character. This can help you understand the problem and why the audience is not a big fan of him.
To begin with, it was cemented that Charlie was the new Barney of HIMYF. The writers tried to create a catchphrase moment in an earlier episode, but Charlie simply lacked the charm to pull it off. So the first problem is that Charlie isn’t as witty as Barney, which leaves fans underwhelmed every time they see him in a scene. Considering the sense of humor and the style of comedy people relate with today is much more evolved, the current jokes still seem to follow the same style as before, which doesn’t work.
The second problem I see is the writers trying to compensate for Barney’s problematic qualities. No matter how funny, charming, or charismatic Barney was, his traits were questionable, and his humor was blatantly sexist at times. While I understand that the writers are trying to course-correct by making Charlie more aware and sensitive, they’ve intentionally or unintentionally given him qualities of both Ted and Marshall.
We see him act sensitively at times like Ted would and doubt himself from time to time like Marshall. While this is just one quality from each character, I feel there’s so much more the writers are trying to achieve.
When I look at the way Charlie is being portrayed, I see that he is just the right amount of flawed to suit the current times. It’s almost like he only has the flaws that a ‘woke’ crowd would accept. For instance, he is unsure of himself in numerous scenes, which this generation related to. In another example, he is super caring, which means there would be times when he would almost play an altruist and end up getting hurt. This is something today’s generation relates to as well.
As you see, the writers are trying to make the character perfectly flawed. However, they haven’t taken into account that today’s generation also looks for authenticity and some form of depth in characters, even if they are part of a sitcom. This is pretty much why shows like The Good Place, After Life, Fleabag, etc., work. Charlie lacks that depth.
The writers seem to have made Charlie relevant to current times by giving him certain traits, but they haven’t given him an evolved sense of humor. Furthermore, his presence doesn’t leave an impact because there’s nothing authentic or unique about him that will make us invest our emotions in him.
As you see, these are some of the reasons why Charlie might seem to play Ted, Marshall, and Barney at the same time and fail at it in a legendary fashion. While I’m not entirely invested in any other character either, I guess the thought of not knowing the father kills me. So I just hope I can see the father soon, at least by the end of this season, and move on to better shows.
About How I Met Your Father
How I Met Your Father (HIMYF) is a spinoff series of the incredibly successful CBS show, How I Met Your Mother. The original show ran for nine seasons, from 2005 to 2014, quickly making its mark with a dedicated cult-like fanbase.
HIMYF was announced to start production in April 2021 with the Lizzy McGuire star Hilary Duff playing the lead called Sophie, narrating her journey to her children in the future.
The show’s flashbacks will start from Sophie and her close friends navigating love, life and struggles in the modern era of dating, paying bills and more, in 2021.
Created by writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger of This Is Us fame and directed by the original show’s director, Pamela Fryman, the first season of HIMYF is revealed to have 10 episodes. No further details have yet been released.
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