15 Of The Best Moments On 'New Girl' So Far
New Girl, the sitcom that premiered in fall 2011, stars Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day, a bubbly and quirky woman who loves crafts and adorable animals. After breaking up with her boyfriend Spencer, she moves into an apartment with three strangers she met on Craigslist. The strangers (Nick, Coach, and Schmidt) all find her behavior strange initially, but over time the group becomes close friends. So far, 116 episodes of this quirky and awesome show have been aired, making it five seasons old. The show has been a huge success, achieving commercial popularity and lots of enthusiasm for all the main characters. The show has also won various awards, including the Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012, and the ASCAP Award for Top Television Series in 2013. New Girl has found its place within the comedy genre, but despite that the show is also heart-warming and emotional. Here are 15 of the best moments in New Girl so far. Warning: this contains spoilers, of course!
15 "Kryptonite"
The second episode of New Girls begins with Jess accidentally breaking the TV after a quick game of indoors basketball. Nick, Schmidt, and Winston all convince Jess to pick up her own TV from her ex-boyfriend Spencer's house to replace the one she broke. However, Jess doesn't want to see her ex, and we're sure that most of us can definitely relate to that! The hilarious scene begins with the group driving to Spencer's, but Jess doesn't pull over - instead she keeps driving around the neighborhood in circles, trying to build up the confidence to pull over. Winston puts a romantic ballad on in the car, and the song motivates Jess to pull over and knock on Spencer's door. Spencer opens the door and is polite to Jess, but he refuses to give her TV - what a douche. She finally (and rightfully) sees red, and she forcefully pushes into the house to get the television. In a heart-warming gesture, her housemates help to get her things, and she walks out with the TV, telling Spencer to “suck it.” Everyone loves to watch someone get what they deserved, and Spencer definitely didn't deserve a free TV. That's karma!
14 “The Landlord”
This episode contains one of the best New Girl moments between Nick and Jess and, uh, their landlord. Jess contacts the landlord about issues in their home, unaware that she is a secret tenant that he doesn't know about. In the end, he doesn't mind, and he is happy to fix her furniture - which makes Nick think that he wants to sleep with Jess. In his own words: "Any time a man shows a woman how to do something from behind, it's just an excuse for him to get really close and breathe on her neck - watch any sports movie!" Excellent observation. The best moment actually starts slightly later, when they find out that the landlord is actually hoping for a good time with both of them. Nick is horrified, but Jess says she is willing to go through with it to find out if Nick will too. The three then start to dance together, which is made even more hilarious by the song that the landlord puts on: Send Me On My Way from the film Matilda. Super hot right?!
13 “See Ya”
One of the most hilarious and heartwarming moments happens in the season one finale, when Nick freaks out about moving in with Caroline, his on-and-off again girlfriend. After Nick throws the rental van's keys away, the group ends up stranded in the desert. After a few hours of drinking next to the van, Nick and Jess leave the group. In a touching moment, Jess tells Nick that she wants him to be happy, so she will support his decision to move in with Caroline. End scene, right? Nope… the pair are then confronted by a coyote. Both of them have different solutions to the problem; Nick decides not to move and Jess decides to holler and shriek to scare the coyote away. In her own words; To beat it, you have to become it.” This hilarious and weird move actually scares the coyote away, and the pair celebrate loudly (which then scares Winston, who runs off into the night!).
12 “Menzies”
Season 2 has many brilliant moments and this episode is definitely full of them. The episode follows Jesus during that time of the month, with lots of relatable moments. When Schmidt asks Jess to help out with the bills, she becomes seriously emotional, before announcing that she is on her monthly time. "I feel like I want to murder someone, and also I want soft pretzels," she says. Later she goes to a job interview, and everything is going well until she sees a picture of the interviewer's dog on the table, causing her to break down in tears. The dog is admittedly totally adorable - he is even sitting in a teapot. Now that is cute. The emotional roller coaster that Jess goes through is relatable for a lot of women, and the portrayal of a woman during this time is funny rather than judgemental. Let's be honest, we've all watched funny animal videos when it's that our time of the month!
11 “Pepperwood”
Season 2 also gave us Julius Pepperwood, Nick's crime-solving alter ego. Pepperwood is clueless, clumsy and determined, aka the perfect mix. The episode starts with Jess telling Nick that she had a breakthrough with one of her adult students. She asked the class to write a descriptive story about anything, and a student called Edger nailed it. Nick reads the disturbing story and concludes that Edgar is a psychotic killer. Cue hilarity. Nick sneaks into Jess's class as Pepperwood, wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses - the perfect disguise. Later, he follows Edgar home with a reluctant Jess. He then tries to break into Edgar's shed, scaling the window and falling in through a window. He stands up - and is then promptly knocked out by Edgar's girlfriend. The scene is funny from start to finish, and it also gave viewers the chance to see more of Nick and Jess together - after all, the pair are adorable together.
10 “Elaine's Big Day”
The season two finale had a few amazing moments, like a surprise guest appearance from Taylor Swift! She played wedding guest Elaine. The best moment of the episode has to be the pranks played by Winston, Nick, and Schmidt at Cece's wedding. Schmidt enlists the pair to help him when he realizes that he is in love with Cece. The pranks begin when Winston (A.K.A Prank Sinatra) swaps the traditional wedding music for Cotton Eyed Joe. The moment was hilariously awkward, but it was topped by Nick's prank - as the couple says their vows, Nick drops a badger on the ceremony. The wedding is called off, much to the relief of viewers, who wanted Cece and Schmidt to get back together. Despite this, the episode is still a huge success; it ends the marriage storyline in a (mostly) believable way and manages to make the situation funny instead of sad.
9 "Menus"
Season 3 episode 8 deals with a situation that many of us have been through, trying to exercise when you're painfully unfit! Coach worries that Nick will turn into the “boyfriend 15” (an overweight guy with a cowboy hat on a bike, riding in circles) if he keeps dating Jess and not exercising. Nick agrees, which is surprising as he hates exercise and is often called 'lazy' by his friends. He prefers drinking and watching TV to exercising - just like most of us. No judgment here, Nick. The pair goes running, but Nick quickly gets tired and falls to the floor. They also use a jump rope, but Nick claims that it is broken and unusable. Coach then tries to get Nick to do a few push-ups, but Nick struggles to lift his body from the floor. Eventually, Nick gives up and orders Chinese. Maybe this moment is so funny because it is relatable, or maybe it is just the pairing of Nick and Coach. Either way, we love it.
8 “Thanksgiving III”
“Thanksgiving III” has another brilliant moment between Coach and Nick - and it is also to do with Nick dating Jess. Coach receives a Thanksgiving Feast E-vite featuring Roger the trumpeting Turkey from Nick and Jess, which makes him accuse Nick of becoming less manly. To prove to Coach that he still has a secure manhood while dating Jess, Nick invites the gang to eat Thanksgiving in the wilderness. The group agrees, expecting to pack food and take it with then, but Nick has other plans. Terrible plans. He wants to hunt and forage outside for food, as he thinks this is the manliest option. Armed with a kitchen knife duct-taped to a pole, Nick sets off with Schmidt and Coach in tow. The scene is brilliant, with quotes like “If something's in there and you get injured, I promise you I will kill you fast.” Now that is true friendship. In the end, they only find a rotting fish… delicious.
7 “Prince”
This episode is one of the show's best and it features iconic musical legend Prince, who sadly passed away this April. Jess and Cece are invited to Prince's house party after nearly being hit by his driver, but before they set off something surprising happens. After a few months of dating, Nick says “I love you” for the first time to Jess. Instead of saying it back, Jess just gives him gun fingers… awkward! Later at the party, Nick and Jess are talking about the moment when a voice interrupts. It's Prince, and he gives them some love advice. Then the best scene ever begins: a Prince-and-Jess montage, including ping pong, outfit swaps, and candles. It made fans cry with laughter, securing its place as one of the best New Girl moments ever. Prince is the star of the episode, and every scene with him is hilarious or heart-warming. It is a great tribute to the star's sense of humor.
6 “Dice”
In the second episode of season four, a newly single Jess decides to download Dice (which is basically Tinder). Every show does come up with the best names for this app. After a disastrous date with a guy who has inflatable furniture, she asks Schmidt to train her up for the dating world, so she is less trusting of strange men. "I know I am gullible because people tell me that and I have no reason not to believe them," she says. Thankfully, Schmidt accepts… and hilarity ensues. He starts by bringing her to their local bar for 10 trial dates, where she has to practice making up excuses to leave. Atta girl! The scene is brilliant from start to finish, and we think most women can probably relate to the feeling of going on a disastrous date! Scratch that, we definitely know that most women can relate to this since unfortunately, this seems to happen more often than not.
5 “Walk Of Shame”
Season 4 episode 18 also makes the best moments list because it deals with something a lot of people can relate to; the walk of shame. Cece and Jess get their hair done and decide to go out to show it off, leading them to a party at Bearclaw's apartment. The next morning they both wake up in strange beds, with messy hair and make-up; sound familiar? Lots of women have been through this experience, and this episode nails exactly how it feels; the pair are hungover, tired and thirsty, and their phones don't have battery. As they walk home in their heels, the pair try to steal water and look back on their nights, which had viewers laughing every few seconds. The best thing about this episode is the fact that neither women feel the need to apologize for their late night activity. They know they can do whatever they want, as long as they're safe.
4 "Clean Break"
The season finale for season 4 comes with one highly anticipated moment; Schmidt's proposal to Cece. The episode actually begins with Schmidt throwing about his box of memories with Cece, but he regrets it immediately and ends up paying $500 to get it back. After he has the memory box back in his hands, he finds out that Cece loves him back. His reaction is totally adorable, and it made fans fall in love with Schmidt even more. He quickly finds Cece, and the proposal is everything that fans wanted; it is beautiful, sentimental, emotional, cheesy and funny. One of the best parts of this is that it fully concludes the season 4 wedding theme. The first episode of the season began with the roommates joyfully pulling down wedding invitations from their fridge, and 21 episodes later Jess sticks up one final wedding invitation: the most important wedding invitation yet. Full circle, baby!
3 “Bob & Carol & Nick & Schmidt”
This episode from season 5 is one of the most enjoyable for one reason: Nick and Schmidt. Who doesn't love a good bromance in any type of show they're watching or movie for that matter. But Nick and Schmidt are honestly one of the best pair on any sitcom. The pair have been best friends since college, and in this episode, viewers get a really good look at how their friendship works… and of course, it is side-splittingly funny from start to finish. The story begins when Nick's cousin and his wife ask him to help them start a family. Nick agrees willingly, but Schmidt has other ideas, as he wants to be part of Nick's first child's life. The episode is filled with hilarious moments, such as Schmidt's life plan for Nick (that Nick wasn't aware of). The episode highlights true friendship, which can sometimes seem a little too close.
2 “Road Trip”
“Road Trip” is the episode most fans have been waiting for for months, and that would be Schmidt's bachelor party. In his attempt to have a super-manly party, he ditches his laid-back Vegas plans in favor of drinking in the desert. Of course, nothing goes to plan - and it is brilliant. The episode features the excellent return of Big Schmidt, Robby, and J. Cronkite Valley Forge, plus Nick and Winston. The group ends up at a bar in the middle of the desert, and Schmidt manages to annoy the locals by asking for ice in his drink. Very, err, manly. One thing leads to another and the Schmidt ends up challenging the other men to a fight outside. Nick is horrified by the idea, but he decides to step up and help Schmidt as his best man. Cue the best slow motion fight scene ever, set to Katy Perry's “Roar.” Of course, they lose terribly, but Schmidt is just happy that he did something so 'badass'.
1 "Landing Gear”
The final episode on our list is the season 5 finale, and the most recent episode of New Girl. The episode covers Cece and Schmidt's wedding, and it gives fans everything that they were expecting. The episode has everything: a classic prank from Winston that fails, resulting in him being dressed in a photo booth curtain for most of the night. Schmidt tries to fly to Cece's mom to convince her to come to the wedding, but he ends up stuck on the plane all day after flight problems. He eventually makes it back to the loft, and he finds out that Cece's mom has given them her blessing for the wedding. As he walks into the loft, the guys give him a yarmulke and he notices that the floor is covered in rose petals. There is a cellist and Peter Gallagher, and the scene had many fans reaching for the tissues. As a final goodbye to the old Schmidt, Schmidt even smashes the legendary douchebag jar from season 1. Ah, true love!