New Girl: "Jess and Julia" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

In this week's New Girl, Jess and Nick's new girlfriend, Julia -- or rather, "person he's sleeping with" -- finally butt heads. And what better wide-eyed ingenues to square off than Zooey Deschanel and Lizzy Caplan?

New Girl's Hannah Simone Talks Cece and Schmidt
While Julia and Nick sorted out their ho-hum "labeling" issues, Julia begrudgingly agreed to help Jess get her out of an $800 traffic ticket. It was fun to see these two comediennes interact with each other (who knew there weren't dessert people?), and I'm really hoping that Julia sticks around, at least for a little while longer. Her whole bit with Jess in the bathroom was really great, especially in regards to "monopolizing the crying area."

Equally entertaining this week was the addition of Jess's friend Sadie (June Diane Raphael). She brought an interesting dynamic to the group, and for once -- as Schmidt so lovingly pointed out -- the girls got to outnumber the boys. And I guess "crochet time" is a thing?

And speaking of gal power, we got another helping of the female persuasion in the form of Kali Hawk as Winston's new love interest Shelby. As we learned from Nick and Schmidt, our Latvian b-ball pro lacks game more than just on the court. Winston's storyline definitely wasn't the greatest this week, but it had its moments. It was nice just to see more of Winston in general, but I would argue that handbells are still a more appropriate vehicle for character development.

Schmidt, meanwhile, spent the entirety of the episode lecturing about his idealistic hygiene demands in the bathroom, particularly towel etiquette. While this C story kind of meandered, the big payoff came in the final scene when Nick casually claimed responsibility for Schmidt's dampened towel. Their exchange at the end was easily this week's highlight.

And I would be remiss not to mention Nick's sweet bartender tricks, although I assure you, words won't do them justice. Best just to leave it alone.


Max Nicholson is a writer at IGN. He's kind of an acquired taste, but you can follow him on Twitter at @Max_Nicholson.

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