HIMYF did an excellent job of modernizing the appeal of How I Met Your Mother for a new generation. While Sophie from HIMYF is more like Ted than Barney. She is a more developed and fully formed singleton than the previous How I Met Your Mother figure. The Hilary Duff-led comedy spinoff overcame weak pilot reviews to win over many reviewers. And fans in time for the season 1 finale of How I Met Your Father.

While How I Met Your Father tries to avoid explicitly reproducing too many of the previous show’s plots and character beats. And humor, there are sure to be some parallels between the spinoff’s heroine. And the major characters of How I Met Your Mother. However, cameos by How I Met Your Mother’s characters in How I Met Your Father demonstrate that the former program. It still throws a long shadow over its successor. Fortunately, Sophie from How I Met Your Father improves on key aspects of both of the ’00s sitcom’s heroes.

Unlike Ted in How I Met Your Mother, who was always looking to fall in love and was much too quick to label every romantic partner as “the one” after meeting them, Sophie had an absolute dread of commitment. However, this imperfection does not define her character, making Sophie more approachable and relatable than in How I Met Your Mother’s Barney. The season one finale twist of HIMYF found Sophie heartbroken by Jess reconciling with his ex, Meredith, but understanding and accepting her fear of commitment caused him to move on. Barney never experienced this level of development, staying a one-dimensional foil for Ted until the end of How I Met Your Mother.

Why Is Sophie More Compassionate Than HIMYM’s Barney?

Sophie’s absolute dread of commitment, unlike Barney’s, does not turn her into a cartoonish, disgusting liar and shameless player. She may enjoy her independence as a single woman without becoming Barney’s callous caricature of a thoughtless lothario. This exaggerated detail always stood in handy contrast to Ted’s too sentimental worldview. While Ted was prone to leading on a love interest before abandoning her. Barney lied, cheated, and plundered his way into scores of hearts, making Ted’s destructive tendencies less visible.

However, Sophie’s decision to break up with Drew after recognizing they weren’t suited for each other showed that she wasn’t as immersed in romance as Ted. Her readiness to accept that Jesse had gone on demonstrated that she wasn’t as amoral as Barney. Barney would have continued to pursue a love partner although they had reconnected with their ex. Sophie made the noble decision to move on and focus on herself. This reaffirmed that, although sharing certain features with the How I Met Your Mother antihero. The How I Met Your Father heroine is not a Barney clone.