Put to the Test

Jay Smouse is in trouble: a coworker test at Whit's End says he's secretly brilliant, and if his rocket-scientist dad sees the results, science boot camp is a done deal. When a phishing scam emails everyone's scores to Connie's entire contact list - including Jay's dad - Jay plans the only fix a heist-movie fan can imagine: breaking into his father's high-security office to delete the message. He tricks young Wyatt into playing lookout, cracks the voice-locked door with a single word... "Pumpernickel?"... and wipes the email just in time. But Wyatt discovers he's been used, Jules learns her prized advice helped a friend deceive his own father, and Connie is so rattled by being called a klutz that she nearly drops every tray in the shop. Whit gathers them all to untangle the mess: a faulty test had everyone living up - and down - to the wrong expectations. In the end, Jay finds out his dad knew about the scheme all along, gets forgiven, and fills out the boot camp application himself.

Found on Club Season 12 - Part 2 Album 79½ · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 2 1013 Crossing the Line After a joyride ends in a dented police car, Jules and her scheming new friend spin an ever-growing web of cover-ups that puts the wrong sister in the hot seat.

1014 Just Another Day Sent on a simple Saturday errand, siblings Morrie and Suzu recount the same day in very different letters home - and one of them isn't writing what it seems.

1015 Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back A young inventor's frustration with her too-perfect virtual world collides with real tragedy when a hit-and-run puts a little girl in the hospital, forcing her to confront hard questions about suffering, purpose, and God.

1 of 2 1016 On the Edge A joyride detour to a scenic overlook leaves two teenage bandmates stranded and fighting for survival, while the family one of them pushed away races to figure out where they went.

2 of 2 1017 On the Edge Trapped on a crumbling cliff ledge after a car wreck, a young woman confronts her past while her sister races against time and doubt to find her.

1018 Keeping Score A boy who rates his friendships with an app that keeps score discovers what happens when every friend gets deleted who doesn't measure up.

1019 Put to the Test When a personality test's flattering results threaten to expose Jay's hidden smarts to his rocket-scientist dad, he plans the one thing he loves most: a heist.

1020 Aunt Vicki When a long-estranged aunt and her eccentric son show up broke at Whit's End, young Wyatt must figure out what forgiveness really requires of a family with a complicated past.

1021 Out of the Spotlight A star quarterback stung by watching someone else get the glory travels back to ancient Israel and learns what true leadership looks like from a prince who lived in his father's shadow.

1022 Being Real During a lonely 3 a.m.

1023 The Smouse Family Christmas A frantic holiday text pulls Zoe Grant into the chaos of a last-minute Smouse Family Christmas Party, where kitchen disasters and meddling grandparents threaten more than just the dinner.

1 of 2 1024 Value of a Buck When a charity that seems too good to be true crosses his path, former con artist Buck Meltsner must confront the man who taught him everything about deception - and everything he's tried to leave behind.

2 of 2 1025 Value of a Buck After his con-artist mentor's death, Buck Meltsner must untangle a cryptic dying message, a charity scam, and a painful secret - all while wrestling with who he really is.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Nick Smouse Jim Meskimen

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Jesse Kellum IV Writer Nathan Hoobler Director · Producer Luke Guenot Sound Designer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Jay Smouse loves heist movies so much that he broke the ceiling at Whit's End while filming one of his own, and now he is working off the damage by cleaning the shop. On the drive there, his dad, rocket scientist Nick Smouse, brings up his favorite summer idea: sending Jay to science boot camp. Nick insists Jay has a brilliant, creative mind, but Jay is sure he would never fit in with kids who memorize formulas and make Latin puns.

At Whit's End, Connie has volunteered the staff to try out a coworker assessment designed by her college classmate Hannah Mae Blake. The results come in sealed envelopes. Jules is told she has a likable spirit and is an excellent advice giver. Whit is called a wise, confident leader. Jay, to everyone's surprise, is described as someone who can grasp complex concepts and find innovative solutions to problems. But Connie's results say she has a pleasant personality and terrible motor skills. Connie protests that she only fumbled the test because she was over-caffeinated, but Jay gleefully starts teasing her as the resident klutz.

The next day, young Wyatt Perkins arrives asking Jules, not Jay, for advice, and quotes Jay's test results back to him. It turns out everyone's results were emailed out from Connie's address. Whit discovers the truth: the test page was hijacked by a phishing scam that sent the results to Connie's entire contact list to trick people into clicking a bad link. Jay is horrified to learn that his dad is one of those contacts. If Nick sees proof that Jay really is smart, science boot camp is a done deal.

Jay decides the answer is obvious: a heist. He recruits a reluctant Wyatt by claiming he wants to delete the email so he can surprise his parents with the good news later, complete with cake and balloons. Wyatt feels uneasy and asks Jules for advice; flattered by her test results, she confidently tells him a true friend helps even when he doesn't want to. So Wyatt follows Jay's script and phones Nick, pretending he wants to buy Jay a thank-you sandwich, and learns that Jay likes turkey on pumpernickel. At the Smouse house, with Wyatt posted outside as lookout under the code name Distraction, Jay slips up to his dad's high-security office door, faces the voice passphrase check, and says, "Pumpernickel?" The lock answers, "Access granted." When Nick comes home early, Wyatt frantically stalls him with questions about rocket science while Jay deletes the email. But when Jay brags that the whole point was hiding his smarts to dodge science camp, Wyatt realizes he was used. Jay shrugs that it wasn't lying, he "just told you stuff that wasn't true," and Wyatt storms off, wishing he had trusted his instincts.

Meanwhile, Connie has been so rattled by her results that she keeps dropping things. Determined to prove the test wrong, she stacks up every used tray, cup, and plate in the shop and carries them in one wobbling tower, even balancing on one foot while Jay eggs her on, until Whit steps in. When Wyatt returns and tells Jules her advice helped Jay trick his own father, Whit gathers everyone in the kitchen. Jules confesses she didn't answer the test honestly; she answered the way she thought a Christian should. Whit explains that the faulty test made all three of them obsess over expectations. Connie stressed so hard about not being clumsy that, as Whit puts it, "You started to live down to expectations." Jay feared what his father would expect of him, even though wanting the best for Jay is what makes Nick a good dad. And Jules took on a role she isn't ready for, because wisdom comes with time and prayer, not a test score. Jules resolves to apologize to Wyatt, and Whit reminds Jay there is someone else he owes an apology.

At home, Jay sheepishly offers to fill out the science boot camp application, and Nick suggests they make sandwiches while they work - "On pumpernickel bread, perhaps?" Jay realizes his dad figured out the whole scheme. Nick forgives him but asks him to skip the sneaking around next time and just talk, because he wants to hear what his son has to say. Jay agrees, then asks whether the coming security upgrade might include a moat, alligators, lasers, and one really impressive explosion.