The seventeenth episode of How I Met Your Father ended with the group finally managing to pass the no-phone-for-the-whole-day test. But they learn many lessons from it. Sophie does this test only to keep herself away from social media, which brings the news that her exes have moved on. Val wanted to spend time with her phone because she wanted to distract herself from the fact that she still liked Charlie. Ellen saves Charlie from the catastrophic calamity of a gas leak, while Jesse finally gets along with Parker without the help of his phone or credit card.
Spoilers Ahead
Sophie Falls Into The Parent Trap
Sophie comes up with an elaborate plan to make her father and mother meet because she feels it is high time they are finally introduced to each other. Sophie was raised by a single mother, and for a child like her the prospect of seeing her parents together is exciting. It was probably her dream, and she felt her plan to set them up for dinner would only remind them how much they had missed in all these years.
This is just a scenario that Sophie has created in her head, just like in the film “Parent Trap”. This film is a pop culture phenomenon where a set of twin teenagers switch homes to make sure their parents reconcile, and they stay together as a family. One can empathize with Sophie’s state of mind because she wanted to have parents like Val, who were always together, connected, and concerned for her. She cannot wait to see them together for the first time.
Ellen And Sid Want To Get Rid Of Their Roommates
Ellen feels she needs to push Charlie out of the apartment because she has been earning well, and she would want to live on her own instead of having a roommate around. Ellen feels this way because she has reached a point in her life where she wants to live independently without having to rely on anyone else and spend her hard-earned money the way she wants. Maybe having a roommate at this stage in her life makes her feel desperate, though the viewers know she has no real reason to feel this way, for Charlie is a good friend as well. She does not realize that Charlie might not have anywhere else to go, and her move does come across as selfish because Charlie has been a good friend to her and helped her through the breakup as well. Instead of manipulating him, she should communicate so that their friendship is not put in jeopardy.
Sid was also hinting at Jesse moving out because Hannah would be moving to the city, and they, as a married couple, would want this apartment all to themselves. Sid, just like Ellen, is unable to communicate clearly because he feels his and Jesse’s years-old friendship would be at stake, and that’s why he puts across clues in the conversation in the hope he will pick them up and make a decision on his own. Sid’s reason for wanting Jesse out is understandable. Ellen and Sid plan to bring together the two men and manipulate them in such a way that they should agree to the idea of being each other’s roommates.
Why Was Sophie Angry At Her Parents? Will Sid And Ellen’s Big Plan Work?
To Sophie’s shock, she sees her parents kissing each other outside the restaurant, and she can’t make sense of what she’s seeing. The reason for her reaction is that she feels her plans have all been ruined and will not be executed the way she wanted. Sophie comes across as childish when the parents reveal that they like each other. She reacts this way because this is not what she imagined. Her mind and expectations had gone into overdrive regarding this scenario. Seeing all of them come crashing down because they found each other along the way makes her seem inconsequential in their lives. She runs away from the restaurant because she cannot digest whatever is happening in front of her. Sophie reacted this way, maybe because she feels overwhelmed about her mother and father’s newfound love.
Sophie reveals that she felt left out by her parents, as they both started only talking about them and forgot all about her. This proves that things around us will never be in our control, and one must be okay with the changes that life throws at us. Sophie takes time to calm down, but she finally apologizes for her behavior because she finally realizes it was their happiness that mattered and not just hers. Sophie is slowly becoming more accommodating, and it will serve her well in the future.
The duo who had issues with Charlie and Jesse, place a cam inside the latter’s apartment just to have a view of how the two would bond, as they had been manipulated by Ellen and Sid into having an impromptu sleepover. They also planted a game that would help them come to the point of wanting to move with each other. Ellen and Sid are so desperate that it seems they have left no stone unturned in making this experiment a success. They are willing to do anything to avoid a conversation because they are too scared to do that. This also brings their friendship into question because Sid and Jesse have been honest with each other for a while, so it does not make sense why he would try to use some other routes to convince him to move out. This does not seem plausible because the two of them know each other very well.
Ellen and Charlie, on the other hand, are not old friends, but they have become closer since they became roommates. Jesse and Charlie finally find out where the camera is placed and are as confused as the viewers are. The perpetrators finally admitted to their ploy because they thought this would be the only way to solve the problem. Jesse finally agrees to move out of the apartment because he knows Hannah and Sid would want a space of their own, and he would do the needful for their relationship. It is an indication of their long-term friendship, which relies on the trust and love they share for each other and their desire to do everything they can for each other. Ellen admits to her mistakes and changes her mind about wanting to be alone, as she sees that having a roommate would help her in many ways, and Charlie has proven that. Thus begins their true friendship from here on.
What Can We Expect From Episode 19?
The next episode might have Jesse being around Parker more than he should, and Sophie would have a problem with them being around the group more than before. This would again bring the spotlight to the two of them. Jesse will also be moving to another apartment to make space for Hannah, and there will be a lot of dynamics that will be tested. Jesse might have a new roommate, and there would be some light friction over there.
Final Thoughts
This episode, yet again, was low on plot and more on the unnecessary use of humor that just didn’t land. Just like the last few episodes, the emphasis was so much on drama that a lot of aspects were simply forgotten. The second season is about to conclude in a month, and as viewers, we just hope there is going to be something of substance instead of stretching the plot like bubble gum.
