In the midst of all this, Winston’s also having love problems. Cat love problems, that is. Having taken full responsibility for Daisy’s cat Ferguson after finding out she was cheating on him, Winston wants to do something for him after going to the V-E-T to have him “rhymes with ‘fleutered.'” Nick and Jess jokingly suggest a cat bachelor party, which Winston laughs off unconvincingly, using a twist on that idea to accidentally come on to a woman named Kylie in the grocery store. She takes his concerns about his cat and her cat, Fatty, hitting it off as a come-on for him and her to go on a date, but Winston has other ideas.
It was nice to have Winston seem more like a fully-fledged person than he has in ages, and not just a weird composite of disparate qualities – is he obsessed with puzzles? Pranks? Magic? The perfect dining experience? CHOOSE ONE – and even though he did occasionally devolve into “creepy cat guy,” and remaining completely, absurdly oblivious to the affections of Kylie, at least Lamone Morris had something to do this time. He’s a great performer, and I’d love to see him used more. I loved the chemistry between Morris and Riki Lindhome, as Kylie, and wouldn’t be averse to a deeper exploration of what their relationship could be. She wasn’t seen much, but Kylie was too good to not be in the show a little more. Winston’s realization at the end was priceless as well, he pulls a great “penny drop” face out of the bag every time. He’s the penny drop MVP.
All told, “The Captain” is another strong effort. It uses its sexuality in a very subtle way, with some nice slapstick moments, tied together with the theme of Schmidt’s revenge. It looked at Jess and Nick’s relationship in microcosm, using The Captain as a device to sum up, to each other, what could potentially break apart their relationship. Schmidt knows that communication would be their weak point, and it’ll be interesting to see how he uses this to his advantage in future episodes of New Girl.
I’m excited! Good work all round, guys!