Charlie may not be everyone’s first choice of best character on How I Met Your Father (I mean, everyone’s childhood crush Hilary Duff is standing right there!) but you’re in denial if you don’t think he’s the best-developed character so far.
I know the arguments coming my way: Sophie has her arc of a broken family and quest for love. Even Jesse has something substantial to offer with his viral fail proposal video.
But as of yet, the show has not put enough value into these arcs.
I’m sure, or at least hoping, each of HIMYF’s characters will eventually have stories that will be worth getting ourselves attached to. For now, they need to keep laying down that foundation.
So perhaps it is the fact that in only five episodes not only do we know so much about Charlie, but his comparatively “unemotional” backstory (voluntarily giving up his aristocratic inheritance, cry me a river) has actually turned into comedic relief, with his unique characteristics getting us invested in him.
Why Is Charlie HIMYF’s Best Character So Far?
I’m not going to lie, I did not warm up to Charlie in the first two episodes. He’s definitely not Barney, because for that he’d have to be absolutely charming — which he is not.
Instead, Charlie is awkward and naive, stumbling around like the outsider who doesn’t belong, and who, some folks on Reddit think is better off being cut from the show.
I find it partly true that his whole “I’m too rich to know how to do anything” schtick in the beginning came across as a caricature.
But that’s the quirk of his character. In fact, it’s those acts on the show that have some of the funniest moments — Golden spoon around his neck, his subway experience and even getting mugged in broad daylight.
Charlie’s sheltered outsider perspective lets us relive the quintessential New York life, in both its great and not so great ways.
When we look at this city through his childlike lens, it highlights what makes American sitcoms so unique. It also hooks in the international crowd who don’t know what it’s like living on this side of the pond.
But instead of continuing this trope for the rest of the episodes (which would inevitably grow stale), Charlie’s character is given a chance to grow into something more.
He learns how to date Valentina while giving her space, despite a wild goose chase he secures a house (in New York, no less), and by episode 5, he even manages to get a job while helping his new friends get over their past insecurities!
It was actually Tom Ainsley’s acting in episode 5 that sealed the deal for me. There’s just the right amount of animation put into Charlie’s awkward humor, that allows you to slowly simmer into it rather than forcing you to find something automatically funny.
For all the comparisons that HIMYF has been receiving, it has managed to create a rather unique character that is independent of HIMYM.
Plus, have you noticed that Charlie is the only character who has had a solid story with the rest of the group?
By some accidental design, Charlie has developed chemistry with each of the characters; arguably even more than Sophie and Jesse have, who we’ve been pitted to accept will end up together.
There have been criticisms on how the HIMYF group chemistry feels a little forced. While I won’t go as far as deeming Charlie to be the glue who holds them together, I do think he is the driving force that makes the group dynamics mildly interesting.
There’s nothing to say that the other characters won’t pick up the pace — Jesse and Sid have the most potential, while I hope Ellen will spring back from being a letdown.
But when episode 6 comes around, be honest and admit it if you unwittingly perk up when Charlie comes on screen.
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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