The A and B story this week dovetail together rather well, maybe because they are both about the same thing, but also because it gives Nick and Jess a chance to have another one of their wonderfully funny and insightful conversations. Discussing the paths that their respective friendships and the idea that everyone has changed so much, Nick brings up a salient and interesting point. “If we met them now, would we still be friends with them?”
The answer, in this case, is probably no. But there is a shared history and a depth of affection worth saving, and thus the two break apart to salvage their friendships.
Nick buys Schmidt a cookie, which he breaks to resemble a Jewish star. When Schmidt rejects said token of affection, Nick breaks down into a hilariously baffled series of half-sobbed defenses (“Gave me cookie, got you cookie!”) He tells Schmidt that he is the only turtle he needs – which is good since the pet store was out of turtles anyway – and a three-way bro-hug ensues. The most telling part of this, however, is how Nick says he doesn’t deserve the amount of thought and attention his friends give, but all that matters to them is that they know he is trying.
Meanwhile, whatever Jess’s arc could have given us is cut short by a ridiculous excuse to talk about the Ford Fusion for 2 or 3 minutes. Jess ends up taking Cece’s turn on the revolving platform with the vehicle because of Cece’s prohibitive hangover. The experience shows Jess how hard her friend’s job is, and her talk with Nick reinforced her concept of friendship. Following their reconciliation, everyone gets together to watch Clueless, and Cece and Jess come to the logical conclusion that any friendship must face. Even though we may not be friends forever, we are still friends right now, and that alone is something worth fighting for.
Even better, though, is the realization that Nick comes to while eating cake with his hands: “I’ve got two perfectly good forks at the end of my arms!”
And that is why we watch New Girl, to mixture of heart and humor and performance that is almost unmatched in the 30-minute sitcom market.