After such a strong previous episode, there was a module of apprehension about this episode. Would it reach the newly set New Girl standard or would it fall short? With the first mention of Caroline, Nick’s ex-girlfriend who he nearly left the gang for back in season one, it was clear this was going to be a somewhat painful episode to watch. The revelation that even after going out for coffee with Caroline to talk things over, Nick still failed to mention his current relationship with Jess only made things horrendously worse, as we all remember the strange will they/won’t they sexual tension that existed back in season one. This sends Caroline slightly insane, enough to actually smash a car she mistakenly believes is Nick (he dodged a bullet with that one) and barge into their apartment in search of answers.
Jess, on her half, invites ex-boyfriend Berkley (Adam Brody) over to teach Nick a few pointers on dealing with ex-partners that only invites more trouble. Nick is adamant that Berkley must still harbour feelings for Jess, which she adamantly denies, but, predictably, turns out to be true. As far as clichés go, this seemed a rather obvious one for New Girl to tear from the book, and it didn’t even have the added benefit of adding a lot more comedy to the show. I’m not even sure why he was there, except to fill in a bit of time.
Schmidt, meanwhile, is feeling the loneliness at his own loft and invites Winston and Coach over to inspect his extremely sex-friendly accommodation. He generously lends them an invitation to borrow his spare room when required, and what else could this lead to but an awkward three-women-in-the-loft-who-can’t-know-about-each-other situation. The boys dealt with it, eventually, but all in all it really added nothing to the episode except for the reintroduction of Bertie to Winston’s life – the eccentric bus driver that Ferguson the cat (remember him?) led Winston to meet back in episode nine. She’s a bit of a curious character and I, for one, am hoping she sticks around for a while.
Back in the loft, Nick ultimately soothes his problems with Caroline, completely with with an added confession that – yes, all early New Girl suspicions were correcy – Nick did in fact fall in love with Jess “the moment she walked through the door”. A sweet moment, but was it really necessary? By the end of this episode, I felt nothing had happened besides some closure being brought to a situation that really didn’t need closure to begin with. Perhaps harsh of me to say, but I found this episode a bit of a disappointment.
Review Score: TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
New Girl airs in Australia on Channel Ten.
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