Valentine’s Day on New Girl is a messy affair particularly when hearts have been broken and others are contemplating the next stage in their relationship. Nick’s way of dealing with his breakup is to come up with a mandatory bar crawl as he attempts to avoid sadness through planning and copious amounts of alcohol. Jess and Ryan also have big changes to contemplate as the show tries to work with the confines of a guest star love interest.
Breakups are rough at any time of year, but Valentine’s hammers home how single you suddenly are and Nick’s bar crawl idea is not a surprising one as it provides an alcohol fueled distraction. His friends can’t really say no to participating because of said breakup even if they have fancy dinners planned/can’t drink because they are on call/are at a function with their maybe girlfriend and a group centric episode such as this one are always very enjoyable. Throw in some relationship high stakes and we’re golden. They know Nick is going to crack at some point which is why they all attend despite their other commitments and the whole thing swells into something so much bigger thanks to what Jess refers to as Nick’s “weird Mason-esque charisma” and the amount of lonely souls drinking in bars on Valentine’s. A bar crawl on a regular night might not achieve this level of attention, but on VDay you’re golden.
Jess has a different relationship quandary and as we have seen in the past with the finger guns situation she has a tendency to avoid declarations that come out of the blue. When Ryan asks her to move in she pretends she doesn’t hear and instead runs to Cece for a bathroom (!) conference. As both Cece and the unseen but heard woman in the toilet suggest, there really is no reason why she shouldn’t move in with Ryan – the cons list consists of his toaster being really old. The show knows they are perfect for each other and in part this is because they haven’t really given Ryan any flaws and the only source of conflict has been from the teachers at school. The reason why he is looking for a new job is because the teachers have turned on ‘Jyan’ (the worst parts of both their names) and this is one occasion where a throwaway line works instead of showing because we have already seen the teachers being difficult when it comes to this pairing. It does feel like a contrivance in that they need a reason to have less Ryan on the show particularly when he gets offered his dream job, which just happens to be in England.
By the time he gets offered the job they have overcome Jess’ avoidance issue or her lot of hair hearing related problem as Nick puts it and they decide they can do the long distance thing. In other relationship updates Schmidt stands up to his love interest Councilwoman Fawn Moscato (using her full title because it is amazing) and tells her he is tired of doing everything on her time. The ‘not taking her shit’ approach works as Fawn shows up later to say that yes she wants to date Schmidt. Prior to this moment Schmidt has been taking care of a very drunk Cece; Cece thought she could drink as much as Nick but she didn’t factor in Nick’s depth of sadness and general amount he normally consumes. Drunk Cece gives Hannah Simone the chance to shine in multiple ways including how much she wants chicken wings and her not so convincing suggestion to Winston that she has doesn’t have feelings for Schmidt. Winston is in smart perceptive mode with his backpack full of treats (okay no one wants the female condom, but the nuts and beer are good).
This has turned into the slow burn will they/won’t they of New Girl and Schmidt has fondness for this holiday because back in season 1 it was the first time he hooked up with Cece. This is a pair that has of course been together in the past and while this season has focused on repairing their friendship, it is also hard to deny the amount of chemistry and intimacy. Just look at the bathroom scene as Schmidt holds her hair back pre-vom and he says “somehow this isn’t repulsive.” Now that’s love.
Coach spends the whole episode offering up cheesy lines just so he can hookup with someone and instead he finds his dream girl. After a lot of verbal sparring they find out they have a lot in common and I’m glad May is still going to make Coach work for it by giving her an email address rather than a phone number. It was announced last week that Damon Wayans Jr. won’t be back for another season which is disappointing as this group has really found its groove. Maybe May will develop into something more than just a few episodes arc.
New Girl Style Watch
Another jumpsuit from Cece that makes me reconsider my feelings about this garment and this one is by Elevenses. It probably comes as less of a surprise that I covet Jess’ Kate Spade dress with embellished Peter Pan collar. Yes it has pockets.
TV Ate My Wardrobe 
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