There are countless reasons why New Girl Season 4 has been such a resurgence for the FOX comedy, from giving each character an interesting storyline to refocusing on the friendship dynamic that made the series such a beloved show to begin with. However, if you ask me the main cause for this bounce back in quality, it would be that New Girl has been able to just have fun again without much of the angst that it created last season between Nick and Jess’s relationship problems and Schmidt’s next-level douchiness. Even the weaker, less character-focused episodes of New Girl Season 4 have been such a joy to experience, because sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and watch this group of friends goof off and do incredibly stupid stuff.
Tonight’s “Walk of Shame” is a great example of what a “fun episode” of New Girl is like. If you’re searching for some sort of central theme that connects the storylines together, you could argue that the episode is about taking risks and doing the unexpected, which we see in the actions of not only Jess, Cece, and Paul (returning guest star Justin Long) but also in Coach and May’s decision to continue their relationship, despite all the craziness that ensues at the benefit.
However, while it certainly does explore the idea of risk taking and adventure, “Walk of Shame” is mostly just an excuse to let Zooey Deschanel and the constantly underutilized Hannah Simone show off their comedic chops, which I’m completely fine with. Even though we got a much deeper and richer Jess and Cece friendship storyline last week in “Spiderhunt,” this week’s episode still mines a lot of strong material from their scenes together.
Jess and Cece’s choice to join Bearclaw (returning guest star Josh Gad) and Ken at their house for a party isn’t purely because they both just got their hair done at the salon–it’s an expression of just how strong of a friendship that they have. Similarly, the fact that they don’t sleep with Bearclaw and Ken isn’t just an emotional reaction to recent events (Jesse’s breakup with Ryan, Cece’s resurfacing feelings for Schmidt) but a reaffirmation of their friendship–they only need each other (and some booze) to have a fun, memorable night, even if it leads to an awkward walk home the next day.
And as I said before, it’s all just so much fun, from the moment they walk out the door and greet the sun like it’s a deadly beam of light to their arrival at the children’s birthday party (“Kids unwrap presents so slowly,” laments Cece in one of her many laugh-out-loud lines of the night) to their meeting with Paul, who they convince to leave behind his clown gear and join them on their walk. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire episode, and that was before we even got to the closing tag with the now classic “Gay Wolf” song, performed by Jess, Bearclaw, Paul, and May.
The rest of “Walk of Shame” is also a ball, although it’s anchored in something a little richer, as Coach’s worries about how Nick and Winston could embarrass him in front of May are born out of his desire for something more real in his life. Coach’s main arc in Season 4 of New Girl has been his search for something deeper and more meaningful, whether it’s professional (look only at his freak out in “Teachers”) or personal. It’s completely in-line with what we’ve seen from his character this year that he would be scared that he wasn’t good enough for May, especially when their tastes are so different.
Thankfully, May proves to be not only smart and sophisticated but also incredibly understanding, and her performance of the Monday Night Football theme for Coach (which she learned specifically for him) is as sweet as anything we’ve seen from New Girl this season. Perhaps if her and Coach’s relationship continues to develop and deepen, she could be the possible explanation for Damon Wayans Jr.’s exit at the end of Season 4, as maybe Coach decides to move away to start a new life with May, having finally found that real connection that he has been so desperate to discover.
“Walk of Shame” may not be one of deeper or more ambitious episodes that New Girl has given us so far this season, but its capacity for fun goes a long way in making it so enjoyable. Sometimes the best TV is just fun TV. “Walk of Shame” certainly qualifies.
Other thoughts:
– Bearclaw’s pronunciation of Cece’s name is up there with some of Schmidt’s most hilarious pronunciations.
– I really need a flashback episode to Nick, in all of his vested glory, at Schmidt’s work dinner.
– I also want to see an entire New Girl musical episode dedicated to the woodland critters’ musical that Jess and Bearclaw wrote together.
– Lamorne Morris finds new ways to make me laugh every week. This time it’s his snake sounds after Nick calls Coach and Schmidt “lousy serpents.”
– Great to have both Josh Gad and Justin Long back in this episode. They’d both rank as two of my favorite New Girl guest stars.
– How Coach and Schmidt can recognize that something is different with Nick and Winston: the fact that they’re drinking at a normal pace and that nothing is stuck to them.
– Winston wants everyone to know that Jesus’s hair should be admired and that people shouldn’t just overlook it “cause of all the miracles and stuff.”
– So many of Cece’s lines were on point tonight, but this one may have been my favorite simply because of Hannah Simone’s delivery of it: “I’m a grown woman who’s in love with her ex-boyfriend. And I’ve been stealing my neighbor’s wifi. I mean, what have I become?”
– “FYI: You guys live with the cat, too, but I get to reap the benefits.”
– “This isn’t what it looks like, man. We’re just trying to squeeze something out of my buddy. We’ll be done when it’s out.”
What did everyone else think about tonight’s episode of New Girl?
[Photo via FOX]
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