Highlights
- Waiting a year to fulfill Jodi's Fish Casserole request in Stardew Valley leads to a more rewarding cutscene with the whole family, including Kent.
- Doing quests for villagers is a good way to improve friendship in Stardew Valley, and Jodi's requests contribute to this progress.
- Jodi's Fish Casserole request may not offer a tangible reward, but waiting a year to fulfill it adds a more satisfying and heartfelt element to the game.
One of Stardew Valley's side requests actually has the best payoff if the player waits a year before fulfilling it. Even for a game that is generally not strict about time, that's quite a long time to wait. After all, most of the time when a player has to wait in Stardew Valley, it will be for certain crops to grow or items to ferment. The main exception is random bulletin board requests, which also have time limits for their rewards. However, in one specific case, the player should take their time to get the most satisfying conclusion.
One good way to reach max friendship with Stardew Valley's villagers is by doing quests for them. Requests will appear on the town bulletin board every once in a while to give a villager a random item, and doing so will improve the player's friendship with them. There are also quests that are triggered by other means, such as Robin's Lost Axe request automatically being mailed to the player on Spring 11. While they aren't a replacement for talking to villagers and giving them gifts, doing quests can help the player make a lot of progress toward improving their friendships with Pelican Town's villagers.
Jodi's Fish Request in Stardew Valley is Best Accomplished With the Whole Family
Local housewife Jodi is the mother of Stardew Valley bachelor Sam, and one of the many people in Pelican Town that the player can befriend. Although she isn't a marriage option due to already being married to Kent, she's still worth befriending for the same reasons as every other person in town. The player can receive occasional gifts from her, and she will also send them two recipes in the mail. Jodi has two unique quests that she can give the player. One triggers automatically and requires them to give her a piece of cauliflower, but her other unique request, Fish Casserole, is far more interesting.
Once a player has reached four hearts in their friendship with Jodi in Stardew Valley, they will visit them on a Monday and request that they bring a Largemouth Bass to her house for dinner. There is no time limit, so the player can bring a Largemouth Bass to her house on any day between 7 and 8 PM to see a special cutscene. However, there are two versions of this scene. If the player finishes the request on Year 1, then they will see Jodi and Sam. However, from Year 2 onwards, a version of the scene will play with Kent accompanying his family.
While the cutscene is the only reward, the second version is the better one. Kent's struggles with PTSD in Stardew Valley are mentioned on a few occasions, most notably one of his own heart events. It would be nice to let Kent have a nice dinner with his family after all that he's been through. The same logic can be applied to the rest of the family too. Throughout Year 1, they're worried about Kent, and if he's going to make it home okay from the war. Holding the Fish Casserole dinner after Kent gets home just feels right, with the family together again.
Jodi's Fish Casserole request is unusual in Stardew Valley. It doesn't grant any tangible reward, and it doesn't even count toward achieving perfection in Stardew Valley. It's just a small errand that the player can do for a neighbor, just to be nice. While the reward is minor in the grand scheme of things, the player does have some control over what it is. Holding off until Kent gets home simply feels more rewarding than holding dinner before the family is reunited. While it may seem like a long time, waiting a year to fulfill Jodi's request is worth it.
Stardew Valley is available now for mobile devices, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox One.
