How I Met Your Father season 2 episode 16 recap & review: The Jersey Connection

Open Go TV / June 22, 2023 / Reviews

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In episode 16 of How I Met Your Father, Jesse learns that his colleagues don’t like him, Ellen snoops on her girlfriend, and Charlie and Valentina go on a date. The episode is streaming on Hulu.

Recap

Sophie is feeling the pressure of her new full-time job, even though it has only been 5 days since she started. She meets Jesse, Ellen, Rachel, and Sid at Pemberton’s for a drink.

Jesse notices that his co-workers are having a get-together at the bar without him and when he asks them why, Drew says that his colleagues hate him for an undisclosed reason.

Ellen suggests going to the movies but Rachel says she has a work thing she has to attend. Ellen is suspicious of Racehl’s behavior and Sid says they need to go on a stakeout to uncover what’s going on with Rachel.

Charlie shows up at Valentina’s apartment in a suit because they have a reservation at a fancy restaurant run by the winner of a child cooking show that they made back when they were still together.

Valentina doesn’t think it’s a good idea for them to go together but Charlie wants to give it a try. When they arrive at the restaurant, they realize that the atmosphere is way too intimate and it will take all of their willpower to get through dinner.

Ellen, Sid, and Sophie follow Rachel all the way to New Jersey and see her waiting outside an apartment complex. While they’re waiting, they see Jesse walks past and Sophie peels off to find out what he’s up to.

She follows him to a bar where Jesse takes part in the open mic night and sings a terrible parody song about his colleagues. Ellen and Sid see Rachel meet another woman and Ellen assumes that her girlfriend is cheating on her.

Charlie and Valentina decide to leave but on their way out, they see the owner and head chef crying inside a dining cart. Valentina asks him what’s wrong and he says that he can’t talk to her but he can talk to Charlie about it.

Ellen and Sid walk into the apartment that Rachel went into and Ellen finds out that Rachel is simply looking for a new apartment. She overhears that Rachel is looking for some space because Ellen is “a lot”.

Sophie talks to Jesse after his performance and he tells her that these parody songs are a way for him to let off steam. Sophie realizes that one of his colleagues had a jacket from the same bar and deduces that she must have heard Jesse making fun of them with one of his songs.

Charlie sits down with the young chef who says that he was stood up by his crush. Charlie gives him a little pep talk as Valentina looks at him with appreciation.

Rachel sees Sid and Ellen as they’re trying to sneak out and Sid and the realtor pretend to get phone calls and leave. Rachel tells Ellen that she just wants her space from time to time but Ellen says that she won’t change who she is so Rachel needs to accept that part of her.

Sophie takes Jesse back to Pemberton’s and tells the other teachers that they can roast Jesse to make things even. Once they’ve all had their fill, they make peace with Jesse and agree to start fresh.

Jesse thanks Sophie and she leaves as one of the new teachers approaches Jesse and chats him up. Ellen breaks up with Rachel and Sid tells her about Jesse’s parody songs to cheer her up.

Valentina asks Charlie if he’s changed his mind about having children since he did so well with one just then. He says that he’s certain he doesn’t want children and says goodbye to Valentina for the night.

Review

This episode is a significant improvement on the last few with genuinely entertaining shenanigans in each of the subplots. There is also a great deal of emotion right at the end which lands well thanks to the background song choice.
The cutaway gag when Charlie tries to recall the times that Charlie and Valentina spend together that hasn’t led to sex is quite funny. It’s subtle and unexpected which is why it works so well.
The cringe-inducing moment when Jesse sings his parody song is also well-written. When the audience experiences a true visceral emotion to something happening on screen, it can be considered a success.