Sophie (Hilary Duff) and Valentina (Francia Raisa) are helping Ellen (Tien Tran) get ready for her first day at work with Goliath Market. Ellen is excited for her first day and lets her friends know that she sometimes sees herself as the star of her own reality show.
Sophie and Valentina are both excited for Ellen, but they reflect on how they have been in New York longer, yet their careers are in no way as successful as Ellen’s. To cure their woes, they are going to institute a “Pathetic Deirdre” brunch.
Sophie (Kim Cattrall) in 2050 tells us that Deirdre (Eden Sher) was an old college friend that she and Valentina would invite to lunch when they were feeling bad. Apparently, no matter how bad life was for Valentina and Sophie, it wasn’t as bad as Deirdre’s life which always made the two friends feel better about themselves.
Jesse (Christopher Lowell) and Meredith (Leighton Meester) are shooting a video to alert her fans that Jesse is coming back on tour with her. Sid (Suraj Sharma) is less than enthused by their sweet embraces. Unable to take their cuteness Sid decides to walk away, just as Charlie (Tom Ainsley) is coming into work.
Charlie is very excited and shares with Sid that he has started dating again. Wondering what Jesse and Meredith are doing rubbing their noses together, Sid tells him that they are happy. (Sharma is so incredibly perfect with sneering sarcastic comments about the Jesse and Meredith relationship.) Sid has serious misgivings about their relationship, but opts to support them.
Ellen is on her way to work, and very excited. (Cue the neon credits which allows Ellen to live her own reality show life. This was funny, and a great set up for what is to come for Ellen with her first day at work.) Getting her pass at the front desk, Ellen’s enthusiasm is rubbing the clerk at the desk the wrong way. Opting to take the stairs and avoid embarrassing herself in front of her boss, Ellen gets locked in the stairwell.
Deirdre tells Valentina and Sophie that she can’t meet them because she has a book reading. Shocked that she may has written a book, Sophie and Valentina arrive at the event and can’t believe the crowd and that Deirdre did write a book. Sophie is certain that the book is about them and as the book reading begins, it most certainly focuses on their friendship.
Their announcement video begins, and while Jesse tries to organize with Meredith about what to say, she ignores him and barely lets him say anything. Thinking the video was pretty good, Jesse complains that it felt like a solo, and Meredith grumpily agrees to do another take.
Charlie has been enjoying the bachelor life with many women, and while he thinks he has a fool proof plan for one-night stands, one of his dates shows up at the bar. The gift baskets that Charlie has been giving to his one-night stands backfires with this girl telling him that she likes him. This is not what Charlie had in mind.
Ellen is struggling to keep climbing to the 51st floor, and as the levels go by, her sanity is starting to disappear. Getting to her floor and finding the door locked, Ellen opens the door to the storage closet and finds herself locked in.
Throughout the book reading, Valentina and Sophie hear Deirdre describe how each brunch they had was the perfect exercise in cruelty. Unwilling to stick around and apologize, Valentina and Sophie try to sneak out, but get caught and invited to the stage. Deirdre tells them that she is sorry, because she used Valentina and Sophie as her pathetic friends.
Jesse and Meredith shoot their video, and both differ in who rekindled the relationship. Sid watches the dubious video taking place, and is very concerned that Meredith is going to leave Jesse again, and break his heart.
Deirdre tells them that Sophie and Valentina were her cheer up loser friends. When ever she was feeling down she would hang out with Sophie and Valentina because their lives were so pathetic compared to hers. (The next few flashbacks show the brunches from Deirdre’s perspective, which is far different, and a lot funnier than Sophie and Valentina’s recollections.) Disputing what happened, Sophie and Valentina are angry, and tell Deirdre that she was the pathetic one.
The calm Deirdre is shattered by how irritating Sophie and Valentina are. Unable to hold her composure, the crowd starts to turn against Deirdre. Happy to see that Deirdre is fighting the angry crowd, Sophie and Valentina leave to go get day drunk.
Poor Ellen is left crawling through the vent system to get to work. Arriving at the staff meeting in the vent system, attendance is called, and Ellen calls out present from above. Celebrating her win, she crashes through the vent, and takes her seat at the table.
Jesse is upset that Meredith is telling her fans that she took him back. Admitting that Jesse took him back, Meredith tells Jesse that everything they are doing is a movie, and the reality is not important to the story they tell. Swayed by Meredith, Jesse excepts the first video that Meredith made is the one to use.
Talking with Sid, he tells Jesse that Meredith is always going to be the main character and not him. Upset, Jesse leaves the bar. Charlie and his one-night stand are making plans for a picnic when the basket delivery company arrives with more baskets for Charlie. His one-night stand wants to know what’s going on with all the baskets and realizes that the baskets are thanks for one night stands and leaves.
Back at the apartment, Sid talks with Jesse and learns that he is upset. Jesse tells Sid he’s best not to come to the next concert because when he sings on stage with the woman he loves he wants to look out to people that care about him. He quickly leaves and Sid is left speechless.
Bill’s Final Thoughts:
So this episode has done two essential things, established the conflict with Jesse and Meredith’s relationship, and shown us that Sophie and Valentina’s lives are not as great as we think they are.
Jesse’s relationship with Meredith can’t last. Sid is right, and Jesse is too blinded by love to notice. I’m just happy to see Suraj Sharma take such a major role. I just wish we saw Ashley Reyes’ Hannah this week.
The other half of the story this week is exploring how Sophie and Valentina are living their ‘best?’ life. Clearly life is not perfect for the two, and seeing their brunches from Deirdre’s perspective was a nice role reversal. Sophie is struggling, but she has hope for the future.
How I Met Your Father continues to expand their characters with interesting plot lines that allow us to see the characters as fully fleshed out human beings. With that, some great comedy that will brighten your day.