'New Girl' Christmas Episode ('The 23rd') Recap

"Why are you guys hugging?"-Jess
"Just guy talking."-Nick 
"About, uh...how moved we are by jazz music"-Paul

"That's a lie. I told him you didn't love him, Jess."-Nick

"What?!"-Jess

"But he said it nicely!"-Paul

The episode began with a cute roommate moment minus Jess (unfortunately these Jess-less/bro-time moments are a rarity). The guys are all wearing roller skates that Jess has given them for Christmas, and Schmidt starts a bro-fight (how many times can I use 'bro' in this post?) because he is apparently the best skater since he had figure skating lessons till he was thirteen.

Jess realizes that she needs to buy Paul a gift, but they've only been dating for about a month, and so she is clueless about what's appropriate. She takes Nick shopping with her, solidifying the fact that he is the guy she trusts the most (can they please hook up already). Apparently she was going to give Paul a homemade nerdy sex gift certificate, but decided it was too ridiculous. She shows it to Nick and he snatches it from her, stating he'll keep it for the future (yeahhh, he'll use that in the future).

Schmidt reminds the group they all have to come to his office Christmas party. He then goes and visits Cece and presents her with a homemade perfume (which apparently smells horrible). He also gets to watch her make out with her hot boyfriend (equally horrible).

Paul gives Jess a super expensive presents (tickets to Vienna etc.), plus the gift of an "I love you". Jess gives him a plush beating heart, and says "Thank you". Equivalent gifts? I think not.

She admits to Nick that she doesn't love Paul, and asks his advice. Nick, unfortunately, runs into Paul on the office party's balcony and lets Jess' secret slip. Jess walks into the middle of the conversation, and awkwardness ensues. Further awkwardness? Nick, Paul, and Jess all get locked on the balcony. This gives us some comedic gems, including Nick answering a phone call from his mom while Jess and Paul discuss breaking up:  "Hey Mom! I can't talk right now, I'm in a real awkward situation".

Jess and Paul break up, and Nick feels bad. He misses his flight home so that he can take Jess and the gang to see a row of Christmas-decorated houses (gee Nick, just ask her out already!). Unfortuantely, by the time they get there all of the lights are off. Nick starts yelling at them to "turn on the lights!", and soon Schmidt, Winston, and Cece join in. Eventually Jess perks up a little and joins in too, and the lights get turned on. As this happens we get to hear Zooey Deschanel as She of 'She and Him' sing a Christmas song in the background, while we watch Zooey Deschanel playing Jess on screen. It's very...meta.

Maybe we'll hook up when 'New Girl' is back in January

'New Girl' Gets Naked (and Awkward)

'New Girl': "Bad in Bed" (S1Ep9)

I'm not sure that a half-hour comedy has ever made me feel so...awkward. Assuming that was what the writers/actors of 'New Girl' were going for in last night's episode (and I'm pretty sure it was) they definitely hit the nail on the head. "Awkwardly Adorable" has become something of a Zooey Deschanel/'New Girl' tag-line on Twitter and blogs everywhere. And, lets face it, she does kind of have that down pat.

When 'New Girl' first premiered I had very mixed reactions. I wanted to like it a lot, mainly because Liz Meriwether created it, and there are far too few television shows on the air that are created by women. But, in all honesty, wanting to like it wasn't enough. The pilot episode just felt incredibly awkward to me...and no, I don't mean that in the awkwardly adorable sense. I fount Jess jarring, and the guys irritating. If I didn't write this blog, I probably wouldn't have stuck with the show. But I did, and I'm actually glad.

I still don't think that 'New Girl' is the best half-hour comedy on television. Not by a long shot. But, every couple of episodes I see one I really like, and that motivates me to keep watching. I laughed out loud during both the wedding episode (S1Ep3) and the Thanksgiving episode (S1Ep6).

I had mixed-feelings about last night's episode. For those of you who'd like a little recap: Jess and her new boyfriend, Paul (played by Justin Long) decide to have sex for the first time. But Jess hasn't had sex with anyone except her now ex-boyfriend in over six years. She stumbles across Schmidt's porn stash, and starts to worry that she isn't good at sex. Of course, she decides it's a good idea to ask the guys for advice. She gets more and more worried (and awkward!) and ultimately has a cringe-worthy almost-sex interaction with Paul. Which involves weird fake voices, some very light unintentional S&M, and awkward (!) lingerie. Literally, the whole scene made me cringe to the extent that I wasn't even sure I wanted to watch the episode. I talked with my roommates about it afterwards (weirdly, we were all watching the show in separate rooms) and they had similar reactions. Do you think that was what the writers were going for? Because while I know that awkwardly-adorable is 'New Girl's' middle name, I think that scene was just plain awkward.

I did think the last scene in the elevator was pretty funny, as were the earlier scenes where Jess confronts the guys (and later Paul) about their porn habits.

And, despite their awkward almost-sex scene in last night's episode, I'm pleasantly surprised by the chemistry that Justin Long and Zooey Deschanel have. It's almost believable that they could date despite all their...awkwardness.

Thoughts?