TV Recap: “How I Met Your Father” – Episode 9 “Jay Street” (Hulu)

A HIMYM character makes a cameo, and the friends are all wondering what is next in their relationships. Episode 9 “Jay Street” is all about the future, and how our choices decide the life we want to live.

It’s 2050 and Sophie (Kim Cattrall) is telling a story to her son about The Captain (Kyle MacLachlan) having an affair. When he questions his mom about the relevance of the story, we dive back to the past of 2022.

The morning after her kiss with Jesse (Christopher Lowell), Sophie (Hilary Duff) is walking on sunshine. Convinced that she and Jesse belong together, she tells Valentina (Francia Raisa) about the kiss, and how it wasn’t an accident but something she wanted to do. She also tells Valentina that she and Jesse have a date that night. The problem for Sophie is Drew (Josh Peck). She needs to breakup with her boyfriend.

At the same time, Jesse is telling Sid (Suraj Sharma) about the kiss and how special it was. To Jesse nothing will stop his date with Sophie tonight. Except for his ex-girlfriend Meredith (Leighton Meester). Sid tells him about Meredith’s single and how the song is all about her desire to get back together with Jesse.

The lovebirds both go to see their significant others. When Sophie arrives at Drew’s apartment, she is surprised by Drew’s parents. After spending time alone with his mom, Sophie confesses that she plans to break up Drew. His mom tells her she can’t because Drew’s dad is about to be indicted for financial crimes.

At Pemberton’s, Charlie (Tom Ainsley) has invited everyone for soccer day. Charlie is a massive fan of the game and hopes that by watching the game they can all bond over his favorite sport. Hannah (Ashley Reyes) has returned for the weekend to plan for the upcoming wedding with Sid, and Ellen (Tien Tran) is trying on a new wardrobe for her job interview at Goliath Market (Nice wink to the fans of HIMYM). While Ellen is looking for outfit suggestions, Sid and Hannah are arguing about how Sophie cheated on Drew, and poor Charlie is desperate for anyone to notice how much the soccer game means to him.

Despite many interruptions, Sophie finally breaks up with Drew. Telling him that he deserves a woman who will love him completely, Sophie leaves Drew to make her date with Jesse. Jesse on the other hand has gone to Meredith’s hotel room, where they talk for a long time about their relationship and why she broke up with him. Jesse learns a lot about how Meredith felt, and that she wants him back. Meredith even invites him on tour with her.

Valentina learns that Charlie is homesick, and that by watching the soccer game, he was thinking it would bring a little piece of home to New York. Trying to make it up to her boyfriend, Valentina makes amends and decorates his apartment with British paraphernalia thinking it might bring a little of Britain to his new home.

Sid and Hannah have made many plans for their two weddings, and the hard work is worth it because in a few more months, Hannah’s surgical rotation will be over in LA and she can move back home to New York. Throwing a wrench into those plans, Hannah informs Sid that she has been offered another position that could extend her stay on the West Coast.

Sophie heads to her date with Jesse but gets a phone call that will change her life. The gallery director likes her picture of Jesse working on the car and will put it on display the next night. Shocked by her success, she arrives at the restaurant, thinking she is late. Sophie sits down at the table only to learn that Jesse hasn’t arrived yet.

Bill’s Perspective:

The call backs to HIMYM are perfect, enough to awaken the fans attention but not enough to detract from the story that HIMYF is unrolling in the first season.

Episode 9 is a bit of a downer. There is a lot of questioning happening in this penultimate episode that makes me wonder about the future of some of the characters.

Naturally, Jesse was going to go back to see Meredith. He needs closure from his breakup and the fact that he seeks it out is great. The show makes it seem like he might get back together with Meredith, but I don’t see that happening.

I do hope Leighton Meester’s Meredith stays. She is an excellent addition and would fit in well with the group at Pemberton’s. Unfortunately, that’s probably not going to happen since Meredith is about to go on tour. Maybe she could make some guest appearances?  

I’m calling it right now; Sid and Hannah will never walk down the aisle. Their marriage seems impossible given the circumstances.

The fact that Sophie is left waiting at the table does mean doom and gloom for the relationship with Jesse. I hope Sophie doesn’t get hurt. Christopher Lowell’s Jesse is a great guy, and he doesn’t need to be the heal in this show.  

Bill Gowsell
Bill Gowsell has loved all things Disney since his first family trip to Walt Disney World in 1984. Since he began writing for Laughing Place in 2014, Bill has specialized in covering the Rick Riordan literary universe, a retrospective of the Touchstone Pictures movie library, and a variety of other Disney related topics. When he is not spending time with his family, Bill can be found at the bottom of a lake . . . scuba diving