‘How I Met Your Father’ Season 2, Episode 11: Recap & Ending, Explained: Is Robert Sophie’s Biological Father?

The 10th episode of “How I Met Your Father” Season 2 had Sophie and Robert connect on a deeper level and want to spend more time with each other. They plan a weekend getaway so that there is more intimacy between them, which will allow them to understand each other better. Jesse is still hung up on Sophie and mad about the fact that she looks happy with Robert. Ellen tries her level best to help him, but Jesse’s mind is too fragile to be dating anyone new. Sid and Charlie, though, take up the skincare regime seriously after having one look at Robert, who, according to them, looks young for his age. Lastly, Val has a date with a guy way younger than her, and he ends up proposing to her, and she accepts. Will Sophie eventually fall in love with Robert, or will there be a deal breaker that is waiting to make an appearance?

Spoilers Ahead


Sophie’s Excitement

Sophie is too excited to go on a long weekend with Robert. Robert, being an older gentleman and a chef, knows how to make a night perfect. Sophie has been having a smooth sailing dating experience with Robert so far, and she has not come across anything peculiar about him that would be a deal breaker. Robert comes across as a genuine guy who would want Sophie to be happy, take her on a date, and plan beautiful evenings so that they get to know each other properly. As Sophie is planning an elaborate weekend with the man of the hour, she is concerned about Val’s acceptance of Swish’s engagement proposal. Though Val thinks that Swish is just kidding and not serious about her, Sophie is making her rethink the decision she made because she raises the important point of what if the Swish was indeed serious about her? Val is not concerned, and the whole idea of her dating a younger man is the kind of validation he gives her, which was nonexistent during her previous relationships and dates. Val is confident that Swish will back out of the engagement soon.


The Lost And Found Game

Sid’s bar has a lost and found box because it is a bar, and people tend to lose things deliberately or by mistake after getting drunk. The lost and found box has collected weird things over the years, and Sid plays a game with it where his friends get to choose things from the box that they would want to take home. Some of the weirdest things have gotten into their hands, and the group has had no qualms about taking them with them. This time around, Val comes across a self-help guidebook on how to cut hair. Jesse inadvertently revealed that it belonged to him, and he got rid of it. Since Val is showing interest in the book, Jesse acts desperate because it belongs to him. Val is suspicious of why Jesse so badly wants it, and she asks Charlie to set up a challenge to know who will get to keep the book at the end of it. Val is not just curious; she wants Jesse to confess why the book makes him want to keep it for himself. Jesse hides a big secret in there; he does not want it to come out the way it will, which will humiliate him once again. Jesse comes across as desperate not to give this book away, so much so that he is willing to take part in the competition to defeat Val.


Sid Goes To LA

On the flight to LA, Sid meets a fellow passenger, Taylor Jean, who is going to meet her boyfriend of a few years. Sid starts conversing with the woman about visiting his wife, and they bond over a long-distance relationship. Sid has never had a connection with anyone other than Hannah over this subject, and finally, he feels heard and someone finally understands the situation he is dealing with. Every day is hard work for Sid and Hannah, and the fact that Taylor understands what he is conveying makes him feel validated too. None of his best friends back home in NYC get the fact that a long-distance relationship is hard, and a long-distance marriage is the hardest. Taylor somehow gets his point of view, and they hit it off on that.


Is Robert Sophie’s Biological Father?

Jesse and Val get into a competition to get the book for themselves. The competition includes wearing crazy outfits stored inside the Lost and Found box. Jesse and Val are too competitive at this point, and they want badly to own the book. Jesse has a legit reason why he is not revealing, and Val is playing mind games with Jesse to know what is in the book, which will force him to confess. Val wins the competition because she is a stylist, and she dresses as per the clothes in the box and looks fabulous in it. Val finds a note in the book, and she finally understands what Jesse is trying to hide. Jesse had written a love song for Sophie, which he kept quite well hidden so that no one would find out. Val understands Jesse’s predicament and his love for her. Val is now the second person who knows about Jesse’s love for Sophie. Val is Sophie’s best friend, and with this information now with her, she feels closer to Jesse as a friend. She also understands the pain he is going through by seeing Sophie go on dates and being unable to express his love because the timing has always been wrong. As the lost and found game ends in rather a somber mood, Val throws the note back into the box, hoping someone from the group will find it. Val also understands the loss of love because she knows she lost a lot through her breakup with Charlie. She can understand the pain Jesse has to go through to see Sophie on dates and plan a future with her.

Sid, upon reaching Los Angeles, gets a follow request from Taylor Jean, and he feels happy to see her name right away. As Hannah welcomes him with his favorite meal, Sid contemplates this long-distance marriage and wonders if it is working out at all. Sid feels tired of going back and forth between two cities in two different time zones. His conversation with Taylor proved that the fundamental issue is the time zone and the fact that there is genuinely a lack of emotion that happens with long distances. Sid is wondering if the marriage is worth all the time he puts into it after a long day’s work. The viewers have not been told what Hannah so far thinks of the arrangement. From the previous season and episodes of “How I Met Your Father” Season 2, it is implied that she is also tired of the money they both spend on flying between two cities. There is a chance Sid and Hannah will finally talk and come to terms with where their relationship stands.

Meanwhile, Sophie learns from Robert that he was a part of the first Lollapalooza that happened in the year 1991, and her memory takes her back to her mother, who reveals that she met Sophie’s father at the same event in the same year. This puts Sophie on the back foot, but as soon as details of the concert come out, Sophie’s memories of her mother talking about her father also come back to her, making her wonder if Robert is her biological father after all. Sophie never tried to get in touch with her father all this while, and she never went in search of him. Sophie feels disgusted to know that Robert might be her father, and that she ended up dating him accidentally without knowing the full information. Sophie freaks out. She was hoping for Robert to be the calm, quiet, and uncomplicated one, but this piece of information surely puts the relationship on the back foot from her perspective. Sophie sends her mother a picture of Robert and asks her if he is her biological father. Sophie is desperate to know the answer because this will set the future for her with Robert. She ends up leaving the house without informing him and ends up running into Barney Stinson (Yes, him). Barney reveals his past of living the life of a womanizer, and he realizes his abandonment issues crept up from his father leaving him.

Sophie wonders if her freaking out is a part of her nature, which stems from her father leaving her and her mother. Sophie’s mother confirms that Robert is not her father. Sophie understands her freak-out was nothing to be worried about, but this surely makes her rethink the idea of never looking for her father. Sophie is now considering finding who and where he is and hoping that it will help her find closure to her running away from her relationship syndrome. Sophie is supported by Barney, but he also says not to expect all of her issues to go away overnight just by talking with the parents. It takes years to build that relationship, and Sophie should be ready to accept her father for who he is. Sophie and Robert finally have the talk, and she comes to know Robert and her mother have had a physical relationship. This makes it a deal breaker for both, and they break up. Robert could have been the right man for Sophie if the big secret had not come out. Sophie was sure Robert was the one, but now she’s going to have to move on.


What Can We Expect From The Next Part Of Season Two?

The next part of the season will be about Sophie looking for her father and finally having a conversation with her mother about him. Sophie now has made up her mind, and she wants to know the truth from the man who chose not to be a part of her upbringing. Sid and Hannah will also talk, and it will also decide their future as a married couple. Jesse, on the other hand, would be happy with Sophie being single. As his way of supporting her, he will help her find her father. This will hopefully help Sophie see Jesse in a different light and probably reignite her feelings for him. Val, though, will probably remain engaged for some time with Swish, and she will be the one who would consider marrying him. Will Swish go through with her feelings? We will find out.


Final Thoughts

Episode 11 of “How I Met Your Father” Season 2 easily could have creeped out the audience, keeping in mind the possibility of a father–daughter relationship topic, but the writing was such that it made it more weird and funny than creepy and gross. The humor did not make the scenario awkward at any point. The show beautifully captures the confusion of Sid and makes the audience also wonder what will happen to Sid and Hannah. This part of the second season ended on the right note, making the audience want to know more. There is a genuine excitement to see what all of them will do to reach their end goal. The writing of this episode made sure to keep the audience hooked till the end.


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Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.

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