How I Met Your Father: Season 1/Episode 9 “Jay Street” – Recap/Review (with Spoilers)

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Sophie breaks up with Drew while Jesse visits his ex for answers, and Charlie tries to get everyone to watch soccer together.

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Aired	3/8/2022
Network	Hulu
Directed By	Pamela Fryman
Written By	Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Ama Quao, Ally Thibault
Introduced This Episode
Lou	Phil Abrams
Sue	Joely Fisher
The Captain	Kyle  MacLashlan
Becky	Laura Bell Bundy
Portia	Jessica Blair Herman

Recap

– Will They, Won’t They? – Jesse, Sophie, Drew, and Meredith

After the last episode’s cliffhanger kiss, Sophie resolves to break up with Drew and meet up with Jesse the following night. But when she goes over to Drew’s place, she meets his parents for the first time and finds out they have bad news to share – Drew’s father could go to jail for fraud. Still, Sophie follows through, and the two break up with a very civil discussion.

Meanwhile, Sid tells Jesse about Meredith’s new single, and Jesse immediately listens to it. The song’s all about Meredith missing “Jay Street.” Jesse confronts Meredith about the lyrics and gets roped into hanging out with her. Meredith finally admits she does miss Jesse, even though she had to break up to find out who she was on her own. Meredith offers Jesse a spot as the piano player on her upcoming tour.

The episode ends as Sophie is waiting at the restaurant for Jesse to show up, but not before the future Sophie pauses for a snack break, walking past the same photo of Jesse hung up in her apartment that got her into Naomi Reisberg’s New Voices gallery.

– More Wedding Planning and Fighting – Hannah and Sid

Hannah’s visiting Sid in New York, and, as usual, their relationship is struggling. Even though Hannah previously agreed on two weddings (one in the US and one in India), she never misses an opportunity to discuss how stressful it is to plan two weddings.

Sid makes matters a lot worse when he offhandedly categorizes Sophie’s kiss with Drew (Hannah’s friend) as the “good” kind of cheating. In the end, Hannah confesses their long-distance relationship is making her uneasy, and to top it all off, she’s planning on pursuing a post-residency fellowship in Los Angeles, extending their time apart by another year.

– Friends Soccer Day! – Charlie and Valentina

Charlie tries to get everyone together to watch a soccer match, but no one seems interested throughout the whole game, including Valentina. He gets upset because he’s been feeling homesick for England, so Valentina makes it up to him later by decorating her apartment with British paraphernalia and dressing up as all five Spice Girls.

She suggests they might have their own family to watch soccer with, and Charlie looks distinctly uncomfortable as the two embrace, although we don’t find out why.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Will Jesse accept Meredith’s position and desert Sophie for a chance at making up with his ex? Will he show up for Sophie or stand her up?
2. What is on Charlie’s mind that’s making him uncomfortable about Valentina?
3. Speaking of breaking up, are Sid and Hannah able to stomach long-distance for an extra year, or will they call off their wedding?
4. How is the Captain (a character from How I Met Your Mother briefly mentioned at the beginning of the episode) involved with Sophie’s story?

What Could Happen Next

1. It would be too easy for Jesse to show up at the restaurant ready to commit to a relationship with Sophie. The last episode still needs some conflict, so Jesse either won’t show up or will have second thoughts about Meredith.
2. I get the sense Charlie might break up with Valentina – perhaps he’s even heading back to the UK and his family after his homesick spell.
3. Although that seems a little too predictable, Sid and Hannah could break up, mirroring Marshall and Lily’s failed engagement at the end of season one of How I Met Your Mother.

Review

Highlights

Sets Up Intrigue for the Next Episode

Ending with a “to be continued,” this episode is full of cliffhangers heading full-steam into the season finale next week. Every character is left with a storyline thread to explore in the next episode – except for, perhaps, Ellen. Her extremely minor subplot about finding an outfit for a job interview might not get referred to much next week.

Furthermore, Future Sophie’s promise that the Captain will somehow weave into the story adds another level of mystery into the mix. All this means that viewers are left wanting to find out how everything will be resolved in the season’s last episode.

Low Points

Sid and Hannah’s One-Dimensional Relationship

I can’t imagine Sid and Hannah not breaking up at least once before this show is done. Every episode they’re in together (except the first episode), they are fighting with each other somehow.

And their reconciliations are pretty weak, too – for instance, in this episode, nothing specific happens to Hannah that leads her to apologize. It doesn’t seem like their relationship has much going for it, while it has a lot of stress bearing down on it. It’s only a matter of time before the two calls it quits (either temporarily or permanently).

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