6 Theories About The Captain On How I Met Your Father

Although the new How I Met Your Mother reboot How I Met Your Father has thrown in some small easter eggs referencing the original sitcom, it didn’t bring in any HIMYM characters until the end of Season 1. The penultimate episode of the season kicked off with a seemingly random scene involving characters that HIMYM superfans will definitely recognize... but their connection to the new cast of characters is still a total mystery. So, just how does the Captain tie into HIMYF? Let’s run down some theories about how he will — in narrator Sophie’s words — “be important later” in this new story.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from How I Met Your Father Season 1, Episode 9, “Jay Street.” Instead of picking up after Sophie and Jesse’s big kiss, the penultimate episode of the season started off with a melodramatic scene that didn’t seem connected to the show at all. In it, Kyle MacLachlan reprised his role as sea captain George van Smoot, his recurring character from Season 6 of HIMYM. Known by his nickname the Captain, the character was introduced as the intimidating husband of Zoey, a woman with whom Ted grew very close. Zoey actually wound up divorcing the Captain in order to be with Ted, and although this was initially scary, since the Captain always seemed to have a murderous look in his eyes, he actually wound up having no hard feelings for Ted. Later, he even offered Lily a job in Rome.

In HIMYM, the Captain ended up with Robin’s co-anchor, Becky. But now, HIMYF revealed things aren’t all smooth sailing for the two, since Becky caught the Captain as he was having an affair with another woman. The end credits revealed woman the Captain was sleeping with is named Portia and is played by Jessica Blair Herman — who, interestingly enough, also appeared on an episode of How I Met Your Mother back in 2010. Her one-episode HIMYM character was named Trish, though, so she’s probably not playing the same role.

When telling her son about the Captain, the older Sophie emphasized, “this affair will be important later.” So, how does it fit into the rest of the story? There are a few options.

1. The Captain is Sophie’s father.

Because of her mom constantly jumping from boyfriend to boyfriend, Sophie never really got to know her father. The first season already introduced Sophie’s mom, so could it also be setting up a reunion with her dad? The Captain seems like he may be the right age, plus fatherhood is obviously a central theme of the series. Narrator Sophie may be laying the groundwork to introduce her son’s grandpa into her story.

2. The Captain will become Sophie’s stepfather.

Maybe the Captain isn’t Sophie’s biological dad, but he might become her father in the future. His immediately evident promiscuity echoes Sophie’s mom’s own dating habits — no doubt the two would hit it off if they met, and maybe even make each other believe in monogamy.

3. The Captain is Jesse and Ellen’s father.

Jesse and Ellen haven’t really revealed much about their childhood so far, including any details about their parents. If Jesse’s dad was revealed to be the philandering boat captain, it would explain a lot of his commitment issues.

4. The Captain is Charlie’s father.

No, he doesn’t have a British accent like Charlie, but the captain did quote Winston Churchill and mentioned the Royal Navy, which could suggest he may have been based in England. Fans also know he’s pretty wealthy, which is the only thing they know about Charlie’s family as well.

5. The Captain knows Ian.

The concept of life on the sea was actually introduced in the series premiere. Sophie’s relationship with her seemingly perfect match, Ian, fizzled out after he moved to Australia for a marine biology excursion. If the Captain and Ian somehow know each other, it could bring Ian back into the fold for a possible reconnection with Sophie.

6. The Captain offers Sophie a job.

Considering what the Captain did for Lily in HIMYM, it wouldn’t be totally out there to expect him to do something similar for Sophie. Maybe he needs a photography consultant at some point, and that helps her career take off.

The Season 1 finale of How I Met Your Father drops on Hulu on Tuesday, March 15.