Jay Smouse

Jay Smouse- as seen on Whitsend.org

Hello dear followers of the AIOFansite. Today we are going to look at one of the more iconic figures of AIO- Jay Smouse. Before 2009, there was no Jay, and no one had even thought of a character like him. But after the hiatus, this changed. AIO brought in knew characters, removed the older characters. Many fans were enraged, but some fans (including myself) decided to stick with it, and see how things turned out. After bummer albums Album 51 & 52 (excluding a few episodes), Jay stole the hearts of the fans. In album 53, he excelled as a main character. Ever since, he has been a fan favorite, and important character. 

Jay starred in the winner of the AIO script writers contest, A Jay in the Life. Though the episode was never produced, we are told it would have changed the character. Assuming this change means that Jay would have become a christian, we are lead to another question: will the AIO team write Jay's salvation into the story line? Jay is a major protagonist in both The Green Ring Conspiracy, and The Ties that Bind. As he also showed in Mistaken for Good, and Thirty Jays Hath September, he has a good heart. On several occasions he actually admits he only is a bully because he has a reputation to keep up, which brings us to another point: Jay is a bully. Taken he is the funnier side of the Rodney Rathbone split (Vance King taking the more devious side), he is not very intimidating. Most of his escapades have something to do with Vance King, such as Target of the Week, Mistaken for Good, Groundhog Jay, and The Ties that Bind.   

As much of his "tough guy" approach is faked, he ends up making you laugh rather than fright. He always tries to hide the nice things he does, such as in Mistaken for Good, and Thirty Jays Hath September. He thinks that he is the toughest guy around, but Whit easily sees through this screen as just a lack of self confidence. 

Jay also has an ongoing rivalry with Barrett Jones, which was one of his first features expressed, in his first episode, When You're Right You're Right.  Jay constantly annoys Barrett with his continuous banter, and as Emily, Barrett's little sister puts it, "They've been bickering for years."  

And now to our last point of Jay, he is an avid Elvis Presley fan. This fact is mentioned in, Unbecoming Jay, The Friend Formula, Thirty Jays Hath September, and The Ties that Bind.

He has Elvis belts, jumpsuits, records, and even a doll, and can do a mean Elvis impression.

-Trenton Landmark<><

All in all, Jay Smouse is one of the best loved characters in AIO since the hiatus.