The Baby-Sitters Club – Jessi and the Superbrat

By: Sammi Turano

Jessi (Anais Lee) is in ballet class, remembering how her mom would sing her “Always Be My Baby,” which helped her fall in love with dancing in her Princess Tiana nightgown. As she dances she reflects on getting into the school and how she is no longer the best.

After class she fills her mother (Brandee Steger) in on her struggles in class. Her mother reminds her that this is what she signed up for, but Jessi still worries about it.

Her sister Becca (Isabel Birch) asks her about quinoa, which their mom explains is the grain their daddy hates. Jessi is still talking about ballet and auditions, which may conflict with Becca’s singing recital. Their mom says they are all going as a family.

Later on Jessi is at a meeting, where she realizes she is left out of things, making her feel bad. Dawn (Kyndra Sanchez), Mallory (Vivian Watson) and Claudia (Momona Tamada) explain that she was at ballet, so she wasn’t asked to come along.

Mary Anne (Malia Baker) and Stacey (Shay Rudolph) are decoding a text from Logan when Kristy (Sophie Grace) answers the phone. It is the father of TikTok star Derek Masters looking for a sitter. Jessi is available, so she gets the job. Mallory says that her brothers were friends with him back in the day.

Later on Jessi is practicing ballet while Mallory hangs out. Mrs. Ramsey comes down to do laundry, but also ends up embarrassing and dismissing Jessi and her feelings. Jessi complains about this to Mallory, who tries to remain diplomatic.

Mallory is invited to stay for dinner and she accepts happily.  Jessi’s dad (Doron Bell) comes down with Squirt to wash one of his toys and tell them to come up for dinner. Jessi dawdles, only to be yelled at by her mom.

At her sitting job she is shown how to help Derek (Luke Roessler) prepare for his videos thanks to his dad Chaz (Noah Bean). She is jealous that he is so supportive of his son and his career. After Chaz is gone, Jessi and Derek bond over their upcoming auditions.  He offers her advice and tells her that if she is the best, they cannot say no after the audition.

Jessi finds out she only made it into the chorus for her show, which makes her feel like a failure. She is too afraid to tell her friends, so at the next meeting she lets them believe she has the lead.

During her next practice Jessi is even more frustrated. She decides to talk to Derek about her problem and he advises her to go the online route. She thinks this is a good idea and a good way to get attention.

Later on she talks to Mary Anne about it when Mrs. Ramsey comes down to do laundry. She compliments Mary Anne’s outfit and talks about how she used to dream about becoming a star. Mary Anne says Jessi now has the same dream. However, Mrs. Ramsey is not happy about it and ends up getting into an argument with Jessi over it, giving her some tough love. It comes out that Jessi didn’t get the lead in front of Mary Anne, forcing her to tell the truth.

At her next job Derek tells her that his views are down, while Chaz is upset about how things are working out, particularly with the last audition. Jessi tries to cheer him up by dancing and making him ice cream, even though it is forbidden by his dad. Chaz comes home and is upset about them eating dairy and not making the video. He tells her he is going to have to call her manager, meaning Kristy.

Chaz and Kristy end up having a heart to heart and come to an understanding over ice cream. Mary Anne then texts her with the idea to take the kids to go see Jessi’s recital.

On recital day, Jessi ends up feeling happy for the lead dancer and appreciating her role in the chorus. She is thrilled with her dancing, and even happier when the club and kids surprise her with love, flowers and congratulations.

Mary Anne tells Jessi that the girls will always show up for her and gives her a hug. Her family also hugs her and tells her they are proud of her. Derek gives her flowers and hugs her, saying he wanted to see her before he moves back to LA.

The episode ends with everyone eating ice cream and celebrating Jessi’s success.