New Girl: Cruise

May 6, 2014 9:54 PM - Season 3, Episode 24

Nick and Jess get the gang to come on a non-refundable cruise with them to make things less awkward. Or more fun. Something like that.

Schmidt is actively trying to win Cece back (as long as he can hide it from her) and Nick tried to kiss Jess. Coach is terrified of boats and being locked in their suite for three days didn't make him any less scared. And Oscar from The Office guest-starred.

Also, apparently their suite came with a bathtub and not a toilet? Otherwise I don't know why they did "bad things" to the tub and also smell terrible.

Nick and Schmidt will be bunking together again and this season at least leaves us with Nick and Jess still in the same apartment. We started the series with her moving out of her ex's apartment, though, so I wonder where we're going from here.

posted by Margalo Epps (13 comments total)

Didn't really watch the episode, it was on in the background, but Coach's antics during the lifeboat procedure demo was hilarious.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:14 AM on May 7, 2014

If this were a series that could be serious, it might end in five years with Nick and Jess back together, more secure in their futures and who they are.

I don't think it'll go that way, though. I predict more awkwardness as Nick and Jess work through new romances next season.

Also, as awkward and weird as Schmidt and Coach are, I think Winston pretty much will win that battle. He just does the wrong thing in every situation.
posted by Night_owl at 6:26 AM on May 7, 2014

There's the great theory - if it can be given that name - that you can watch the whole show with the assumption that Winston is a serial killer.

Suddenly, everything Winston does becomes amazingly creepily awesome.
posted by viggorlijah at 7:51 AM on May 7, 2014 [6 favorites]

Is Winston still with the creepy but kind of awesome girlfriend whose name I can't remember?
posted by zorrine at 8:49 AM on May 7, 2014

We've never seen or heard of Winston breaking up with his girlfriend and I'm suddenly unsure if he's been trolling for girls alongside some of Coach and Schmidt's shenanigans. It's hard to tell because in a show of weird people, he really does win the weirdest award. (My favorite is his inability to play pranks. Unfortunately the serial killer does line up well with the direction that many of his so-called pranks go.)

I do wonder how Winston got all the sugar.
posted by Margalo Epps at 9:31 AM on May 7, 2014

God, I was such a fan of this show and I've just been thoroughly beaten down with how terrible the last few episodes have been. There's so much silliness...and so little character development. It's like the writers just threw in the towel and said "We can't figure out how to make their relationship work in the context of the show, so we're just gonna break them up."

I used to watch it for the humor and delightful sexual tension. Now I get all of that from The Mindy Project.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:17 AM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

I think the addition of Coach has really ruined the dynamic.
posted by something something at 1:43 PM on May 7, 2014

I miss the character development, too.

My favorite thing about this episode is that a friend of mine was in it! He'd mentioned a while ago that he shot it, but I'd forgotten and didn't know which episode it was. So it was fun to see him on screen. (He had a small speaking role.)

As for the rest... I dunno. I think there is a lot of potential for mining how the characters deal with their breakup, dating other people, and so on, but I'm no longer confident this show will deliver on that potential.
posted by Superplin at 5:01 PM on May 7, 2014

I agree that this episode wasn't as good, but I will say that I am glad that the episode ended without them getting back together and/or having sex. The writers could have taken it there, and I'm glad that they didn't.
posted by likeatoaster at 6:25 PM on May 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

God, I was such a fan of this show and I've just been thoroughly beaten down with how terrible the last few episodes have been. There's so much silliness...and so little character development. It's like the writers just threw in the towel and said "We can't figure out how to make their relationship work in the context of the show, so we're just gonna break them up."

My wife and I used to watch New Girl pretty regularly, but with the introduction of Jess's sister, my wife quit. The sister's character was the point that pushed my wife over the edge of "this show tries too hard," especially when compared with The Mindy Project, the other "adventures of a kooky young lady and her diverse/wacky friends." That's super-basic versions of both shows, I know, but given that the shows air back-to-back, FOX was pretty much setting them up to be compared one vs the other. IMO, TMS more balanced/realistic characters, for a sitcom.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:36 AM on May 8, 2014

I stopped watching when Nick and Jess finally became a couple, and I haven't missed it. Is it worth starting up again?
posted by tracicle at 11:26 AM on May 8, 2014

This season has been uneven, but I've still liked it.

I thought this episode, Cruise, and the previous one with the school dance to be above average for this season. Re-adding Coach has changed the dynamics, but some of the scenes with the four guys have been hilarious.
posted by skynxnex at 12:14 PM on May 8, 2014

I used to love both this show and "Happy Endings", but this season of "New Girl" has made me extra bitter that "Happy Endings" is the one that got cancelled.
posted by candyland at 3:31 AM on May 21, 2014