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The fourth episode of How I Met Your Father Season 1 is titled “Dirrty Thirty”. It is written by series co-executive producer Amelie Gillette and directed by Pamela Fryman.
Plot Summary
The story begins with Sophie (Hillary Duff) and the gang planning her 30th birthday which will follow the theme of Christina Aguilera’s music video, “Dirrty”. The night before the party, Sophie goes on her first date with Drew (Josh Peck) but after having dinner with then inviting him to her party, she scrambles to make last-minute changes to impress him. While she attempts to impress him, the rest of the gang attempt to enjoy themselves despite her antics.
Side Arcs But No Second Fiddles
Now, after being spoiled by the writers in the last episode with a more decentralized storyline that gave each member of the gang a more or less equal time in the spotlight, this latest episode revolves primarily around Sophie’s budding relationship with Drew and the misadventure that follows. However, dear reader, this does not mean that other members of the gang were sidelined. While the story here is primarily about Sophie and the last-minute changes she makes in an attempt to impress Drew who she believes will look down on her and her themed birthday party, this is nothing new. We’ve seen this play out countless times in one form or another.
The arc in How I Met Your Father does not stand out from the crowd necessarily. However, what saves it is the secondary arcs in this episode. Readers familiar with my previous reviews will know that one of the major themes I homed in on in this new series is relationship building and maturation through misadventures in New York City. This is exactly what we get with the other members of the gang while Sophie attempts to impress Drew.
Given that this episode follows a more centralized plot, not much screentime is given to the gang. Although, I will give credit to the writers because when Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Valentina (Francia Raisa), Ellen (Tien Tran), and Jesse (Chris Lowell) pop up on center stage, their arcs were just as dynamic. Without spoiling you dear reader, all I will say is that we have a great combination of stories here. Two of the rom-com variety: one with Sophie attempting to impress Drew and the other with Valentina and Charlie, who strengthen and further their relationship in an unusual albeit entertaining way.
The third arc between Ellen and Jesse is quite different in tone. It is more on the somber side of things but here we really get to see how important that theme of relationship building, and maturation is in this show. So far, in every episode of this series, this theme is reinforced, and the writers continually add depth to each character and to the overall story of How I Met Your Father.
Final Thoughts on This Week’s Episode of How I Met Your Father
Despite using an old trope for this episode of How I Met Your Father, the writers have put out another excellent episode. Although the focal point of this episode was to be Sophie’s attempt to impress Drew, Charlie and Valentina’s arc and Jesse and Ellen’s arc outshone them. If anything can be said about this episode it is that the primary arc acted more as a setting than a plot point. It was certainly entertaining but not as entertaining as watching other members of the gang get to run around and develop in it.
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