The Plot Thickens In This Week's Episode of New Girl… [Spoilers]
Bridget Reed Morawski ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff
As any dedicated New Girl fan knows (and has subsequently gossiped about), there has been quite a bit of insinuated sexual tension brewing between Nick and Jessica. While they’ve always cared for one another in a friendly way, more and more they have been showing a deeper level of intimacy in their conversations. I think that this probably became most obvious during episode twelve – Cabin – when Nick’s current fling absconds in the middle of the night parting through only a handwritten note…but taking his wallet. Sam walks out of the living room to pack his luggage, which leaves the two alone. Jess then tells Nick that his fling never deserved him anyway, leaving Nick asking what she means by that.
Less-than-subtle scenes like this are scattered throughout the last couple of episodes. It was almost unbearable in Pepperwood, in which Nick investigates one of Jess’ students that he believed was out to kill her. Since Cabin, I’ve been dying for the writers over at Fox to finally let them kiss – or at least admit to loving each other, for crying out loud. Every New Girl fan has wanted them to get together since the beginning of the first season, but until the last few episodes there was little to support a sudden kiss…
…Which then occurred at the very end of the latest episode, Cooler. I can’t stop saying it. This episode has left my wanting so much more. I’ve actually been talking to anyone that will listen to me long enough about how desperately I want next Tuesday to come.
My guess is as good as any as to what will happen in the following weeks. I have several scenarios in mind though.
Worst case scenario: Jess decides that she wants to stay with Sam, and moves out of the apartment to live with him. I really doubt that this will happen though. The room-mate dynamic is way too strong for Jess to abandon ship; plus, how will the show function as a sitcom about a girl living with three wacky, male room-mates if she no longer lives with them?
Best case scenario: Jess breaks up with Sam, Nick and Jess get together, all is cotton candy, rainbows, and snow days. But let’s be honest, the writers can’t be this nice to us. They already gave us the kiss half way through the second season; they can’t be expected to give us the entire relationship too.
Most likely scenario: Jess breaks up with Sam because she isn’t sure what is going on, but things are on hiatus with Nick. They’ll probably decide not to explore their relationship for a few episodes – or, worse, for a season or so – until Nick gets more mature or Jess can’t handle not being with him.
This episode has really helped move the storyline along. As much as I love the show, I’ll be honest; some of the first episodes of the second season were leaving me wanting something new. They were hysterical as they almost always are, but I felt like the group was stagnant in their positions in life. Sure, Nick was dating the stripper (who was surprisingly likeable for being the rowdy, carefree stripper she is). But that relationship was never going anywhere. Schmidt and Winston also were sort of stuck in the post-break up, pre-closure phase that we’ve all experienced. With Jess and Nick finally kissing we can really expect some brand-new plotlines that we’ve never encountered on New Girl before.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, this episode took the cake for me. It was so fantastically well written and executed that it left me with my mouth gaping open and staring at the television midway through The Mindy Project.