New Girl S03 E01: All In (Or, 'I Needed Your Underwear To Sow Into My Underwear').

So 'New Girl' is back! Nick and Jess are together, Schmidt has to choose between Elizabeth and Cece, and Winston is given an insignificant and random plot line, as per. I thought this episode was okay. Not brilliant, but okay. A fairly strong start for season 3.

Nick and Jess

We pick up where season 2 left off, with Nick and Jess driving off in a car together. They keep saying how 'All In' they are, then Jess tells him to pull the car over so they can have sex, then Nick makes this face: 

They then go home, and both stand awkwardly outside the door. Nick raises the question, 'How is this going to work? We having only being dating for 30 seconds and we are already living together'. Fair point. The answer is...they run away to Mexico. Stupid plot line, but I can over look it, because is it just me or is Nick looking even hotter than usual this season?

Anyway, they end up in Mexico...

...and Nick gets arrested because he isn't authorized to be on a hotel beach, which seems a bit extreme but there you go. I'm not sure about Nick and Jess together- they are cute and there is a lot of gazing into each others eyes, but they are also less funny as a couple? It should be interesting to see where the writers go with it. 

Anyway, Schmidt, Winston and Jess all go to Mexico again to rescue Nick from jail. Nick gives a speech about how him and Jess 'won't make it' if they live in the loft, so shreds his passport. Jess gives a rambling but touching speech about how they are a 'family'. 'There is no us without Schmidt and Winston'. 'I believe in us'. 'I am all in' (I hope this doesn't become a set catch phrase for their relationship). 

Schmidt

Schmidt spends the episode trying get Nick's attention, and trying to pick between Cece and Elizabeth. He achieves neither. He can't pick because 'he is in love with both women', so he dates them both instead. Weirdly, Schmidt is so cute I can't get angry with him for this douche bag move. Later on he says, 'I can't lose them, and I can't hurt them', and I actually believe him. Whilst Schmidt initially decides to stay with Elizabeth because 'he was with her first', I think he loves Cece more, and I think these guys will end up together. 

Anyway, the funniest scene of the episode happens when Cece walks in the loft and Winston, thinking Schmidt has broken up with her, tries to console her. As Winston is saying 'I'm sorry about Elizabeth', Schmidt frantically cuts in with 'he made love to her'. Schmidt tells the story of Winston making love to Elizabeth with this face, and the whole thing is hilarious:

One of my favourite lines was 'Tell her what you did Winston, and make it short, which is not what you did to Elizabeth'. Schmidt then makes the story worse by randomly saying to Cece that 'Winston came into my room this morning and asked for a pair of your underpants'. Both Winston and Cece are furious:

(I realise the majority of my photos this week are screen grabs of hilarious facial expressions, but hey ho). Winston acts as a good friend should and confirms the story: 'I needed your underwear to sow into my underwear'. Cece then smashes his puzzle on the floor. Schmidt then makes it even worse by saying 'Winston, you have been working on that puzzle for quite some time now, and some of the pieces are upside down...also, is that an almond?' 10/10 for this scene. 

Schmidt and Winston have a fight and have a hilarious dramatic walk off with each other:

And by the end of the episode, Schmidt is still dating both women. 

Winston

Winston's 'thing' this episode is being obsessed with puzzles. I hate how the writers introduce a new 'thing' for Winston every single episode, then drop it like it never exists. Anyway, apparently Winston gets 'a little bit weird' when he starts a puzzle. He is also terrible at puzzles. 

There is a funny moment where Winston asks Schmidt what he thinks will look like, and Schmidt freaks out: 'The pictures on the box! It's a Japanese Garden!'

Contrived as this may seem, it actually sets up a pretty funny Winston moment later, when it is revealed he is colour blind, and thinks green is brown and brown is green. 'What colour is Kermit the frog?' 'Brown'. Schmidt then says 'Winston...what colour do you think you are?'

Overview

This wasn't the best episode I have ever seen, but it definitely wasn't the worst. In the future, I hope Nick and Jess's relationship isn't filled with too many cutesy moments and declarations of love. Schmidt is hilarious as usual, but I do think the Cece / Elizabeth plot line is slightly out of character. Finally, please, PLEASE 'New Girl' writers, GIVE WINSTON SOMETHING REAL TO DO!