Wednesday, May 6, 2015

New Girl 4x22 "Clean Break" (The Essentials and the Non-Essentials)


"Clean Break"
Original Airdate: May 5, 2015

In a month, I will be moving for the third time in three years. That's what happens when you live in apartments, usually: you bounce from complex to complex year to year because of your lease. You know what I've realized about moving and moving frequently? I've become a lot less sentimental because of it. When I moved away to college -- the first time I had ever been away from home -- I took every photograph, every poster, every little thing from my room that made it feel like home. When I moved out of my parents' house and into an apartment, I didn't take as much stuff (mostly because I didn't have room for enough stuff.) When my roommate and I moved from our old apartment to the one we're currently in, I shed a lot more of my stuff along the way. And as I'm preparing to pack up and move again, I'm finding that I'm more willing to throw things into the "discard" box than the "keep" one.

When you're someone like Coach -- an Army brat whose life has basically been a series of cardboard boxes and duffel bags -- it is always easier to throw things, and people, into the "discard" box in your life. As he repeatedly tells everyone in the aptly titled "Clean Break," what you need to do in order to move forward is shed all of the emotional baggage, all of the memories, all of the "non-essentials" in your life. Whenever you move, you need to make a clean break or else you'll never really move on. And while part of that is sometimes true (sometimes you really do need to get rid of all you have, all the baggage, and start fresh), for Coach, the idea of a "clean break" has always been a defense mechanism. Since he moved so much as a kid, Coach just found it easier to accept the inevitable -- to harden himself to emotional attachments and pretend he didn't care about people -- because he knew he would eventually have to leave. And what's the point in forming bonds with others that are meaningful when they'll just be ripped away from you as quickly as you formed them?

The truth is, of course, that people are important and relationships are important and that making a "clean break" isn't always the solution. It doesn't stop you from being emotional. It doesn't, also, stop those relationships from being meaningful to you. In "Clean Break," the fantastic season finale to a rather exceptional season of New Girl, we say goodbye to Coach but we also watch our other characters struggle to cleanly break with their pasts and relationships. And, in typical New Girl fashion, we realize that our characters are a lot more emotionally attached to one another than they let on.

I'm going to take a moment here to commend Rebecca Addelman and Kim Rosenstock on their script. The story is by Rebecca, the teleplay by both and it was an absolutely amazing way to end what is -- in my opinion -- proof that you can take a weak season and use it as a springboard for something amazing. Rebecca and Kim are two of my favorite New Girl writers and honestly two of my favorite comedy writers, period (Rebecca, of course, penning the now iconic episodes of "Cooler" and "Parking Spot" and Kim at the helm of the exceptional "Birthday" and the equally wonderful "The Crawl") because they understand so well how to balance the comedy with the pathos -- the shenanigans and jokes with the heart and emotion. If you didn't at least get a bit choked up during "Clean Break" toward the end of the episode, I am pretty sure you're a robot. What Rebecca and Kim do so well separately -- creating episodes that are true to characters' hearts and also their faults -- they do excessively well together in this episode. "Clean Break" is a season finale that follows more of the trajectory of season one's "See Ya" in terms of emotion and heart. That episode, like this one, features the group fractured into different pairs, but ultimately both season finales are stories of what it means to be loved in a community of people.

Since "Clean Break" was jam-packed with so many amazing moments and stories, let me do something a bit different and split my New Girl review similarly. While a lot of these stories overlap, these are some of the most important components in the episode:

Coach/Winston



When Coach tells Jess at the beginning of the episode that since he's moved around so much, he's learned how to pack by himself -- how to condense his life into a single duffel bag with only the essentials and nothing sentimental -- she's really disappointed. She had a goodbye party planned for him: a giant soiree that would celebrate his new adventure. What I love so much about Coach is extremely evident in "Clean Break": he's a guy who is guarded and gruff because he had to be. Because the moment he let his walls down and let other people in, he would have to leave them again. And it hurts Coach to leave his friends. He constantly pretends that he's okay with leaving and doesn't want to take any mementos of his time in the loft. He's done this a hundred times before: packed up, moved on, left his old life. Coach knows what he's doing and he knows why he's doing it, too.

He tells the other men in the loft that they need to make "clean breaks" with their past relationships -- he advises Schmidt to get rid of the box of stuff he's held onto from his relationship with Cece and he advises Nick to... well, to just get rid of his junk. Coach thinks that making a clean break is the only way to move forward and he thinks it's the only way to make moving forward not hurt. The more you hold onto the "non-essentials," the harder it's going to be to go anywhere else in life. Throughout most of "Clean Break," there's a focus on Winston and Coach, as the former tries to get the latter to keep something sentimental. It's played for laughs throughout most of the episode because Winston and Coach have a crepe pan they bought together one night when they were drunk and Winston is surprised that Coach isn't taking it with him. To Coach, it's a non-essential, but to Winston -- it's revealed -- it's symbolic. What Coach is saying by not taking any memento from the loft, by pushing everyone away, is that they didn't matter to him. That he doesn't care to remember them. That he won't be thinking about them in New York.

For Winston, he tells Coach that he realizes now that he's a "non-essential" in Coach's life. And that huts him because they're friends. He wants Coach to take the pan because it means their friendship actually means something. Coach, funnily enough, finds it easier to make "clean breaks" in life because he knows if he doesn't, he'll become emotional. He's refusing to take the pan because his relationships mean so much, not because -- as Winston thinks -- they don't mean anything. Eventually in "Clean Break," Coach does something he has never done before: he gets a bigger suitcase. He starts to take mementos from the loft. He breaks down with Winston and he realizes, I think, that clean breaks are a way to pretend nothing matters. Sometimes clean breaks are necessary but it's foolish to think that they're a way to protect you from feeling sad when you have to say goodbye.

At the end of the episode, Coach actually says goodbye to everyone (and I cried), wearing a scarf that Jess knitted for him in the episode. You can see in his face that he truly is going to miss these people -- these weird, wonderful people he loves so much. So he bids them goodbye in a heartfelt way, jokingly calling Jess by the name he called her in "Coach," bidding farewell to the group of people who became his family so that he can embark on a new journey with May in New York City. As the group stands on the curb and waves goodbye, Coach looks back at them out of the car window. And I think he realizes in that moment what we realize, too: clean breaks leave you feeling cold and emotionless. And even though it's harder to hold onto memories and people when you leave, it's also better because it means you carry the love you had for them with you, too.

It was beautiful.

Schmidt/Cece



Under Coach's advice, Schmidt decides to make a clean break from Cece and from their past and from all that he has kept of their relationship by dropping his box into a donation bin. As soon as he gets rid of his mementos, though, he immediately tries to get them back. The way that New Girl has developed Schmidt and Schmidt/Cece over the course of this season has been so wonderful. Last year, a great number of viewers had problems with the way Schmidt was written. And it was understandable. He cheated on both Cece and Elizabeth and then moped around. He dated Jess' sister. He had the tendency to blame everyone else for his problems instead of himself. He moved out of the loft and away from the people he needed most to keep him in line. And in season four, Schmidt became such an amazing, wonderful, developed character.

Oh, sure, he still had his issues and his quirks but he worked through them. He became more compassionate and understanding. He tried to focus on making himself better. And though he spent most of the season convinced that the one thing he needed most was to leave his friends behind and become wealthy, he ended a relationship with Fawn because he realized what he really wanted in life was something meaningful and real. The man we see in season four isn't the same we left in season three. He's better. He's still flawed and he's imperfect, but he's better. In "The Crawl," he tends to a drunk and sick Cece not because there's anything in it for him, but simply because he's realized the value of her friendship. Her friendship, you guys. When has Schmidt ever been just friends with a woman besides Jess when there was nothing in it for him?

So in "Clean Break," Schmidt comes to the realization that he doesn't want to throw away the part of his life that Cece once frequented because he loves her. He can't let her go and he can't make a clean break because he doesn't WANT to. He doesn't want to cut that part of his life out. He wishes he could change the things he did to hurt her, but he doesn't want to ever forget what it was like to be in love with her because he's STILL in love with her. Cece, meanwhile, is off climbing a mountain in order to forget Schmidt and find herself. What I think has been so great about this season of New Girl for Cece is that her arc has been all about HER. It has, in some part, been about Schmidt but it's really been about who she is and what she wants out of life. She's going back to school and wants to become a better version of herself not for a man but because she just wants to. She quit modeling. And climbing the mountain both was and wasn't a way for Cece to get a clean break from Schmidt.

Why I think the Schmidt/Cece romance works this year is because we've seen how much these two characters have evolved without each other. We've seen them come to the realization that they're still in love with one another on their own. Other character have helped them, of course, but season four has been all about (in every story, really) growing and changing and making yourself the best version of you that you can be. It means struggling. It means sometimes throwing your hands up in the air in defeat. Sometimes it means accepting that your life isn't what you thought it would be and it doesn't look like how society thinks it should. What's so wonderful about the way New Girl developed these two, in particular, this year is that they reminded us of who these people are, at their cores, how much they have grown, and why they work best when they're together.

I love how much Schmidt has grown. He's learned, this year, that at this point in his life, he wants love above everything else. He's learned how to be a better friend to the people he cares about, including Cece. And so, in his speech, when he tells Cece that he values their friendship above all else, my mind flashes back to "LAXmas" and "Oregon" and to "The Crawl" and I truly believe that these two have a friendship. I truly believe what Schmidt says -- how much he values and cherishes her as an important part of his life. And I really believe that Cece feels the same. That they've had a rough history that was peppered with mistake after mistake, but that they want to start again. They don't want to start over -- they don't want a clean break from each other, and they don't need a clean slate because their mistakes made them better people -- but they want to start again. They love each other and honestly, the performances from Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone completely and utterly sold that to me. There was such a softness, such a sincerity, and such an earnest vulnerability during their reconciliation that made me weep.

Because one of the items in Schmidt's box is a five dollar bill. It seems insignificant and we get a brief not-really-"Pilot" flashback to the night Schmidt and Cece met when she donned Jess' overalls so that the woman could go out on a date. And in those flashes, we know that Cece tells Schmidt to put five dollars in the jar, but we don't know why. As it turns out, it's because Schmidt said: "I'm gonna marry you, girl." In the present-day, Schmidt drops to his knee in the threshold of the apartment's door and asks: "Girl, will you marry me?" (After delivering a speech that made me totally and honestly cry.) Cece accepts and the rest of the group cheers from the kitchen. What "Clean Break" reminded us of, in terms of Schmidt/Cece is that sometimes you can make a lot of mistakes and still be worthy of love. Not because, contrary to popular belief, you're flawless and not because you'll never make any mistakes ever again but because when you fight to be a better version of yourself and another person fights to be a better version of themselves, too, you deserve each other in the end.

Nick/Jess



I've loved Nick/Jess since the pilot episode of New Girl and I loved (even though it hurt me desperately) "Mars Landing" because it reminded us that sometimes loving someone else isn't enough. Sometimes no matter how much you love them, that love cannot solve all of your problems or fix all of your differences. I don't think that season three suffered when it did suffer because of this pairing. I think it suffered because it constricted itself -- because it didn't allow Nick and Jess to be in stories or relationships with others. In the fourth season of this sitcom, Nick and Jess spent a vast majority of the episodes separated either by storyline or by relationships with their signficant others. But "Clean Break" circled us back to the idea of them as a couple as Coach discussed how Nick and Jess needed a clean break from each other once the group realized they had kept a "sex mug" all year. The mug, as it turns out, was a sort of code that one of them placed on the hall table as a secret way to let the other know that they were ready for... well, you know. It was a way for the two to be conscious of everyone else in the loft and not be gross about PDA.

And Nick and Jess kept the mug. Winston, actually, reveals that the mug was placed on that hallway table just the other week which means... one of them caved. The one who confesses to putting the mug out is Nick. The one who actually put the mug out? Jess. First of all, the most wonderful thing about Nick Miller is that he'll always protect and stand up for Jess. He lies to the group and says that he's the one who put the mug out because he doesn't want her to suffer. Nick Miller has proven, even in this season ("Oregon," specifically) that he'll do just about anything for Jess. (A fact he said when they were dating in "The Box.") When Jess tells him the reason why she put the mug out in the first place, she asks if he's ever thought about... well, about revisiting them. She wonders if HE has ever wanted to put the mug back out. And Nick does what he does best -- lies (reminiscent of telling Jess the kiss was a mistake in "Parking Spot," he tells her in "Clean Break" that he hasn't ever thought of it; she walks away offended and he calls out after her. KUDOS FOR ANOTHER BRILLIANT PARALLEL).

Nick has thought about it, though, as he tells Jess in her bedroom. How can he be expected NOT to when he lives across the hall from such a beautiful woman? How can he possibly have a clean break from her that way? What I loved about this episode in terms of Nick/Jess was this: it doesn't try to solve their problems and it doesn't try to erase their history. Nick and Jess are in a really complex, weird place again and though they both still have feelings for each other, clearly, they're both tip-toeing around each other as if on eggshells. How do you live with someone you loved -- and still might love -- without making everything weird and complicated? The fourth season of New Girl didn't spend a lot of time on Nick/Jess and I think that was perfectly fine, really: we don't need an entire episode about Nick and Jess discussing their feelings for one another. Nick has made it clear time and time again that if he had to choose anyone to be with, he would always choose Jess. Jess has proven time and time again that she's scared to let herself be in love with Nick, but that doesn't stop her from falling.

So we didn't need an arc about them getting back together or talking about whether or not they still have feelings left for each other because we know they do. It would be impossible to believe they did not. Why "Clean Break" was so perfect was because it didn't seek to solve a problem and it didn't seek to provide a cliffhanger for the next season. All it did was remind us that the door is still propped open and that relationships are complicated, especially for these two. When Nick and Jess decide to make a clean break from each other, they symbolically toss the mug into the garbage. And then, later that night, both sneak out of their respective rooms to remove the mug from the garbage can... only to find that it is already gone. (Winston took it for Ferguson, shhhh.)

"Clean Break" provided hope for Nick/Jess and it also provided a believable, true-to-life explanation of what these two are still feeling. Relationships are complicated. Love, as Cece pointed out to Jess last week, is messy. It's not simple and it's not easy. And making a clean break isn't going to necessarily solve all of your problems. It certainly won't prevent you from having feelings or emotions.

The way that this finale ends is exactly the way all of the finales have ended for this show: with an open door. Sometimes you need to make a clean break. But not all the time. No, sometimes what you really need is to hold onto that mug, to start a new adventure, to drive off into the sunset, to have a dance party in your room. There, quite honestly, is where you'll find the one thing in life worth truly having: hope for the future.

Additional de-lovely aspects about the episode include:
  • Show of hands: who's really sad that this season is over? Season four was a stellar one and now I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself except to probably re-watch this season over the summer. Yup. That's how enjoyable it was.
  • "Clean Break" had SO many wonderful callbacks. Let's see if we can catch most of them: Jess taping one more save the date onto the fridge ("The Last Wedding"); Nick and Jess' conversation about thinking about putting the mug out was very reminiscent of "Fluffer"; Jess and her pink wine ("Pilot"/"Fluffer"); Winston's "brown lightning" nickname ("Bully"); Nick's sunglasses ("Big News"); the time Coach trained Nick ("Menus"); the glass grapes ("Spiderhunt"); Coach not remembering Jess' name ("Coach"); a non-"Pilot" pilot flashback with Schmidt/Cece; Nick and Jess unable to sleep ("Table 34" and "Winston's Birthday" respectively); Nick's workout clothes/Jess being attracted to him ("Basketsball"); Winston's "shame shame" fingers ("Cruise"/"Walk of Shame"); Jess knitting ("Basketsball"/"The Box"); the mention of The Jar. Did I miss any?
  • The song playing over the final scene ("Rivers and Roads") made me cry. Seriously, like tears streaming down my face CRYING.
  • "You said 'razzle dazzle' and we said we're not doing it."
  • "It doesn't mean anything." "Or does it mean EVERYTHING?"
  • "Everything you own is trash." "You're basically a hoarder."
  • JJ Philbin (executive producer and writer on this show) got to have her dad guest star and it was amazing and hilarious.
  • "I found an ant farm full of wrappers. Is that essential?"
  • Winston's voicemail to Cece was HYSTERICAL. I actually cackled.
  • "We are non-essential. Message received." :(
  • "WHY ARE YOU SO SECURE? YOU'RE FULL OF THINGS NOBODY WANTS." I say this a lot but Max Greenfield was perfection in this episode. Seriously.
  • Jack McBrayer guest-starred and he was great.
  • "It smells like all our fingers."
  • "I live across the hall from my beautiful ex-girlfriend." AWWWWWWWWWW.
  • "WHO ARE YOU CLARIFYING THIS FOR?" That was such a hilariously meta moment, I cannot even.
  • "Go buy yourself something special. Like a burrito." "I love burritos."
  • Did I mention that I cried? Because I spent the entire final five minutes of the episode just in tears.
That's it for this season of New Girl, you guys! Thanks for sticking with me for another year of reviews. How did you all enjoy the season/"Clean Break"? Hit up the comments below and let me know your thoughts. Until then. :)

5 comments:

  1. If I wasn't laughing during this episode then I was crying. Sinceriously. What a wonderful episode to finish a wonderful season. I lost a little enthusiasm for this show last year but man did they knock it out of the park in the fourth season! I have to echo what you said in your review "I believe". Everything the show has done this year is something that I believe. I believe that Schmidt and Cece have grown and have built a wonderful friendship and love. I believe that Coach deeply loves these people. I believe that Nick and Jess still feel strongly about each other. And because I believe in these characters and can remember how they've gotten to where they are, I feel for them and cheer them on and I cry with them too.

    Oh man, when Winston called Coach on the crepe pan I nearly died. It was so obvious what Coach was doing and it was so understandable. From the beginning Winston was the only one of the guys who wasn't buying into the whole "clean break" idea. Winston seems to me to be the most emotionally healthy of the guys. All year we've seen him care about others deeply and look after them. He reflects on what he feels and thinks about what he wants. He's come to realize what he wants to do, that he wants to be friends with his partner, that being a cop will also be complicated for him and on and on. I love him so much for so many reasons. So I can see why it is Winston who really calls Coach on his issues. And I also feel for Coach. Shutting down is how he handles his pain and he is hurting because it is hard to say goodbye. But he comes a little further in understanding that there is a difference between moving forward in a healthy way and trying to erase your past or pretend it doesn't matter. By the end Coach just lets himself admit that he is hurting and will miss everyone (and that breakdown scene with Winston was so beautiful and hilarious all at the same time.) There is a quote by David Whyte that immediately came to mind as I watched Coach leave: "Heartbreak is how we mature; yet we use the word heartbreak as if it only occurs when things have gone wrong: an unrequited love, a shattered dream… But heartbreak may be the very essence of being human, of being on the journey from here to there, and of coming to care deeply for what we find along the way.… There is almost no path a human being can follow that does not lead to heartbreak."

    Schmidt has really come into his own this year. He has grown so much while still remaining slightly pretentious and worried about appearances as well as all the other hilarious things that make us love him. But he can also do sincerity and honesty and put Cece and others before himself. My favourite moment was when he told Cece that he loved her but that her friendship mattered to him more. He was totally honest about his feelings and completely respectful of hers and made it very clear that what was most important was that she was in his life in some way, even if not the way that he wanted. Talk about progress and growth! And all the selfishness and screwing up last year actually contributed to a feeling of triumph as I watched him come to understanding himself this year and especially in this episode.

    The little touches of Nick and Jess were wonderful, not over the top or trying to push something that hadn't been built, not ignoring any issues from the past, but full of hope. I'm so glad you used that word because it is one of my most favourite of all words. Their talks really complemented the whole theme of the episode- when do you move on and what does it mean to move on and does moving forward mean leaving people behind?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I wasn't laughing during this episode then I was crying. Sinceriously.

      SAME. I genuinely couldn't tweet jokes fast enough and I missed a few things on the first time around because of it (when the group moves into the kitchen to give Schmidt and Cece privacy, Nick moonwalks away and it's HILARIOUS.) This season has been such a great example in how you can reset your show and make it about your characters without compromising the heart or the relationships. EVERY OTHER SHOW -- ahem, Community -- take some notes.

      have to echo what you said in your review "I believe". Everything the show has done this year is something that I believe. I believe that Schmidt and Cece have grown and have built a wonderful friendship and love. I believe that Coach deeply loves these people. I believe that Nick and Jess still feel strongly about each other. And because I believe in these characters and can remember how they've gotten to where they are, I feel for them and cheer them on and I cry with them too.

      That's the biggest compliment I could pay Liz, Brett, Dave, and the writers this year: they created arcs that weren't extreme but were subtle enough to grow all of their characters. I mean, let's see:

      Nick started this season lazy and unsure of who he was -- he ended it being the part-owner of the bar and hopeful about his future with Jess.

      Jess started the season scared to be in a relationship with anyone -- she fell in love, broke it off, and ended it hopeful that there may still be a door for her and Nick.

      Cece began this season waffling in her career path -- she learned to accept herself, flaws and all, bettered herself by going back to school, and became vulnerable again in love.

      Schmidt began this season convinced he wanted power and fortune -- he ended it certain that all he wants in life are friendship and real, true love.

      Coach began this season insistent that he just wanted to hook up, be the "hot" teacher, and the cool one in the loft -- he left in a stable relationship toward a bright future with the love of his friends carrying him there.

      Winston began this season trying a new career path -- he ended it successful in his career, confident enough to tell others what they should do, and -- most importantly -- with Ferguson. ;)

      Delete
    2. Winston seems to me to be the most emotionally healthy of the guys. All year we've seen him care about others deeply and look after them. He reflects on what he feels and thinks about what he wants. He's come to realize what he wants to do, that he wants to be friends with his partner, that being a cop will also be complicated for him and on and on. I love him so much for so many reasons.

      YES. THIS. THIS WAS WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND SO SAD. Winston and Coach were the perfect two characters to have that conversation together and story together. And you're right -- Winston is the fixer in the group and he's the one who tries to get everyone to open up, emotionally. People just GO to him this year with problems. Jess. Cece. Nick. Coach, etc.

      By the end Coach just lets himself admit that he is hurting and will miss everyone (and that breakdown scene with Winston was so beautiful and hilarious all at the same time.)

      SAME. Winston's sobbing made me laugh like crazy but their actual conversation had me misty-eyed.

      My favourite moment was when he told Cece that he loved her but that her friendship mattered to him more. He was totally honest about his feelings and completely respectful of hers and made it very clear that what was most important was that she was in his life in some way, even if not the way that he wanted. Talk about progress and growth! And all the selfishness and screwing up last year actually contributed to a feeling of triumph as I watched him come to understanding himself this year and especially in this episode.

      *standing ovation* YUP. THIS. THIS A MILLION TIMES. SCHMIDT HAS GROWN SO MUCH THAT HE VALUES WOMEN AS FRIENDS AND HE WANTS LOVE, NOT POWER. Ugh, so wonderful and perfect and beautiful. I cannot even.

      The little touches of Nick and Jess were wonderful, not over the top or trying to push something that hadn't been built, not ignoring any issues from the past, but full of hope.

      YES AGAIN. It was just enough to give us closure/open the door, but not so much that it was unbelievable.

      Delete
  2. You mentioned so many of my fav moments too:
    - Rivers and Roads was simply the perfect way to end that episode and this season and I was bawling too, especially when he sings 'Rivers til I reach you'. SOB!
    - I love how the episode showed how Coach and Nick are really on unhealthy opposite ends of a spectrum. Coach gets rid of everything and Nick can't get rid of anything.
    - Winston just slides in dressed as the Statue of Liberty and is the only one participating in Jess's vision. Cause he's AWESOME.
    - "Everything has meaning. Everything is connected to something else." The expression on Nick's face as he says that killed me.
    - "Those pancakes are paper thin!" Crepes are the best and I zealously guard my crepe pan. I'm right there with you Winston.
    - "It's not like everyone hasn't seen your Felicia Rashad box." and then Winston's expression!
    - "I bet he said something chauvinistic that comes from a place of insecurity but ultimately leads to something endearing." And Winston just defined Schmidt in one sentence. My man is on fire.
    -"aka Winnie the Bish aka aka" That whole message was the best and it makes me want to watch Winston and Cece hang out all of the time. "I hate that you're so good at this." "I was so nervous." How is everyone in the world not in love with Winston Bishop?
    - "That's word play. It's also a free writing lesson."
    - "If I were off my rocker would I take a weekly selfie with my cat?" "Oh, Winston.."
    - "Desperate times call for Nick Miller."
    - Max Greenfield absolutely killed all the physical comedy with the donation box.
    - "This crepe belongs in the belly of someone with a heart." Beautiful crepe catch. I wonder how many takes that took.
    - All the facial expressions from Max after McBrayer asks "You Jewish?" were amazing.
    - "Oh, you knit fast."
    - "Winston had fallen asleep polishing his candelabra.." hahahaha I might have pulled a muscle laughing at that one
    - Nick getting stuck in Warrior Pose was so wonderful. And his body actually creaks. Wonderful
    - "Stop blowing the whistle. You're sexually safe."
    - "No no, it's not by mistake Coach. I like to know more about the cast and crew."
    - "I know how hard it is to get those pantyhose up and I just sometimes wanna rip em down." That's hot Nick. Super hot.
    - "I'll see you in autumn, winter the latest."
    - Of course Jess has a massive confetti thrower thing just sitting in the kitchen. Of course.

    This episode is a perfect example of why I love this show. It's very smart and very silly and very funny and deeply emotional all at once. Thanks for season 4, New Girl. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YOU MENTIONED ANOTHER CALLBACK I FORGOT: THE CANDELABRA. Wasn't that from the end of "The Box"? I think it was.

      Max Greenfield absolutely killed all the physical comedy with the donation box.

      I seriously couldn't breathe, I was laughing so hard.

      "This crepe belongs in the belly of someone with a heart." Beautiful crepe catch. I wonder how many takes that took.

      RIGHT?!?!

      Nick getting stuck in Warrior Pose was so wonderful. And his body actually creaks. Wonderful.

      HIS BODY CRACKING DURING THAT ENTIRE SCENE WAS HILARIOUS. The fact that everyone knows Nick will die young because he has the body of an 80-year old man is perfect.

      "I'll see you in autumn, winter the latest."

      This reminded me so much of what Schmidt was talking about during "The Last Wedding" because summer was ending.

      Becca, I'm so glad you've enjoyed this season as much as I have. AND I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS, OBVIOUSLY. I can't wait for next season! :) :) :)

      Delete