How I Met Your Father (Season 2), Episode 9 Recap & Ending Explained: Episode 8 (Rewardishment) saw the gang use a unique way to get their dares done. As some respond to reward, and others to punishment, they practiced Rewardishment. The innovative idea saw all six of them successfully complete their tasks, but Jesse was 600 seconds too late. This required the group to drink the drippings (spills from all the drinks on the bar mats), resulting in a trip to the emergency room.
Apart from the slow acceptance of Jesse and Sophie for each other’s status and a hint of sparks flying between the two, the show seems to be on autopilot, i.e. they are just functioning on an episodic basis. Furthermore, plenty of story-lines such as the painting, Ian, and the big one, i.e. Barney Stinson, have been put on the back-burner. Of course, we weren’t expecting every episode to be legendary and awesome. The makers just wanted us to “Wait for it” and we had to do just that through episode 9 as well. But this episode did take things forward.
Here’s what went down in the ninth episode of Season 2 of How I Met Your Father- The Welcome Protocol.
How I Met Your Father (Season 2), Episode 9 Recap
The episode began with the entire gang at Pemberton. Sophie, Charlie, Ellen, Sid, and Jesse were doing pushups as Valentina cheered them on. Four of them gave up in exhaustion as Sophie put one arm behind her back and attempted one arm pushups. As Valentina declared the winner, Sophie got back to her feet and looked delighted. The prize for the winner of the competition was Valentina’s plus one ticket for Flubber: The Musical. Sophie seemed happy at being able to attend a party and happier at having burned through 200 calories.
Sid, Charlie, and Jesse claimed that they had let Sophie win and called for “Strong” on three. Sophie heard them and replied, “whatever helps you sleep at night.” How did Valentina get tickets to the musical? It was due to her promotion that she received in Episode 6 (Universal Therapy) that saw her begin dressing Daphne Dupree. As someone who worked with a Broadway Star, perks were natural. The duo left to get ready for the evening.
Sophie and Valentina showed up at the reception. The former met an unnamed chef who played with the entrée before handing it to her. Valentina then met Daphne before Sophie saw her dress and pointed out someone else who was wearing exactly the same one. Daphne looked through an official photographer’s camera and broke it, as she didn’t like the picture he had clicked. This prompted the roommates to come up with a plan to save the day.
Sophie spilled sauce (as per the carefully orchestrated plan) on the other person who had Daphne’s dress on and offered her an overcoat to cover it. That ensured Valentina was saved and did not have to face a furious Daphne. After they celebrated, Valentina spotted another person with the same dress.
They used the same Reese with ‘out’ her spoon joke and tried to convince the lady to swap dresses with Sophie. She didn’t seem bothered as she had already spilled, but they told her it was a famous person’s costume from a show that she missed. Upon hearing that, she agreed. Hence, went to a supply room and took off her dress.
Valentina took the dress to the second victim, who had spotted Daphne and looked exuberant at her shopping choices. Unfortunately, the first victim spotted the second victim, and they embraced. As Valentina asked God for a favor due to being a good person, Daphne walked to the scene and lambasted her dresses for giving her a not so unique outfit.
Meanwhile, the chef walked into the pantry, saw Sophie, and quickly turned around as she panicked and screamed at him to do just that.
Valentina met Daphne in her dressing room and got called an incompetent junior stylist. The stat said she would ruin Valentina’s career. Daphne also lashed out at her reps for her current role, which they claimed would help repair her reputation. After the musical star admitted she could be a bit cutthroat and explained why, Valentina came up with a plan to save her client’s reputation in exchange for her future in the fashion industry.
Once Valentina and Sophie left, Jesse, Sid, Charlie, and Ellen decided to hang out at Pemberton and have fun. Sid offered to allow the group to have one drink free, and Jesse wondered if he could bring a new female friend to meet the group. As the group had a two-week rule before introducing someone new, Jesse invoked The Welcome Protocol.
Audiences then saw old Sophie explain exactly what that was- it was a complex method used whenever a group member wanted to dazzle a new love interest. They had used it on Rachel before.
Sid called it exhausting to try on a “one day nobody.” Ellen pointed out an issue with The Welcome Protocol being used on a girl. In the absence of Sophie and Valentina, she would have to be the bathroom bestie by default as well as the giggler. She said it was impossible to play both. Jesse argued that once invoked, The Welcome Protocol cannot be revoked.
Jesse got Dana to Pemberton, and the group began The Welcome Protocol. As Dana spotted the tuxedo on a Jack bottle and referenced The Shining, Sid muttered that she was worth the protocol. When she quizzed him on it, he smoothly saved himself by saying she was the pro to call for movie trivia.
The group was delighted to meet Dana as she was interested in their interests, didn’t laugh at them, and really fit in. Unfortunately, Jesse changed his mind despite her being great, as she didn’t have “it.” Hence, he invoked the “Fake Emergency Protocol.”
How I Met Your Father (Season 2), Episode 9 Ending Explained
The end of the episode saw Sophie and the chef bond in the kitchen. He gave her a chef’s coat to spare her blushes and then curiously inquired about how she was half naked in his pantry. She said it was to help a friend. That friend put her plan into motion to save her career and repair Daphne’s image. Meanwhile, the group pulled off the fake emergency protocol at Pemberton.
Did the Fake Emergency Protocol work with Dana?
Dana’s relative walked in at the same time the quartet finished saying their carefully rehearsed lines. The news was that Dana’s grandma was in the hospital. Jesse then sarcastically congratulated them for coming up with a fake emergency in response to his fake emergency. Safe to say, Dana was not impressed and dumped Jesse on the spot. So it did work, but Jesse, talking too much, saw it fall flat.
Did Valentina’s plan work?
Valentina and Daphne went back to the main area where the latter invited Nance and Jill. She said she was proud to share the stage with impeccably dressed women. This turned public opinion in her favor and she began her performance. Hence, it is safe to say that Valentina’s plan worked and she saved the day.
Why did Jesse try to rush things with Dana?
Ellen sat with a dejected Jesse at the bar counter. She asked him why he rushed into something with Dana and wondered whether it was about Meredith. Jesse said he was over Meredith, but rushed into something because of the sparks with Sophie over the last two episodes. He wanted to move over Sophie, but ended up getting hurt even further.
What happened with Sophie and the chef?
Sophie stirred a bowl only to learn that she had made her own ranch. The two even revealed that they googled each other, which seemed to break the ice between them. As the chef prepared something for her, she questioned him if that was his move. He said he had a 100% record with it and proceeded to ask Sophie if they could go out for dinner one day. She just smiled, ignored his comment about the age gap, and kissed him to close the episode.
What did you make of this episode? How I Met Your Father will return next week with Episode 10- I’m His Swish.
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How I Met Your Father TV Series (2022- ) Links: IMDb, Wikipedia
How I Met Your Father TV Series (2022- ) Cast: Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa
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