Ask anyNew Girlfan about the best episodes of the show, and many of the same episode names will come up over and over again. There is Season 2, Episode 15, “Cooler,” where Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) had their first kiss. There is also Season 4, Episode 6, “Background Check,” where Winston had to get his background check at the police academy while everyone else had to help Jess hide what she thought was a bag of meth.
Additionally, no fan can forget Season 2, Episode 14, “Pepperwood,” where Nick and Jess broke into Jess’s student’s shed when Nick thought that the student was planning to kill her.New Girlis still one of the funniest hangout comedies, for its standout episodesand its unique and funny characters. There are some clear standouts amongNew Girl’s best episodes,and then there are some severely underrated episodes that tend to get overlooked. These are the 10 most underrated episodes of the show.
10"Neighbors"
Season 2, Episode 4
In Season 2, Episode 4, “Neighbors,” a new group of neighbors in their twenties moved into the empty apartment across the hall. Jess had recently been fired from her teaching job, so she was working at Casserole Shanty and struggling with money. The new neighbors took an instant liking to Jess, much to her surprise. Schmidt (Max Greenfield), on the other hand, kept trying to win the neighbors over, but they hated him. In the subplot, Nick kept pulling pranks on Schmidt, with Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris) trying to get in on it.
This episode does not get a lot of attention, but it is valuable first and foremostfor the introduction ofPrank Sinatra, Winston’s prankster alter-ego.Winston was horrible at pranks, notorious for either going way too big or way too small with them. This episode hilariously introduced that concept. Additionally, it did the great thing of taking the loftmates out of their normal dynamic and showing them around outsiders, so that Jess was faced with Nick’s age-old problem of how to make new friends when they did not like Schmidt.
9"Wedding"
Season 1, Episode 3
In some ways,New Girltook some time to find its footing, particularly with Winston’s character. The early episodes are definitely great and well-loved, but they were never quite on the same quality level as the middle seasons when the show really found its stride. That being said,Season 1, Episode 3, “Wedding” is one of those hidden gems that tend to get lost in the earlier episodes.In it, the guys went to a wedding, and Nick enlisted Jess to act as his fake-girlfriend in order to make his ex, Caroline, jealous. Meanwhile, Winston competes with a child to be the ultimate wedding usher, and Schmidt reconnected with a woman who was bad for him.
“Wedding” had some very funny moments, from Jess’s personalized version of the chicken dance, to Nick’s cranky old man tantrum in the photo booth. Additionally, this was a great episode for buildingJess and Nick’s will-they-won’t-they romancein Season 1. What really made this episode special, though, is the emotional core. Jess had already had some nice moments with the guys by that point, but this was where they faced the conflict of the loftmates trying to make Jess act more “normal.“By the end of the episode, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston accepted Jessas she was, and they all broke out in the Chicken Dance on the dance floor.
8"Longest Night Ever”
Season 3, Episode 9
One of the most hated storylines ofNew Girlfans is when Schmidt cheated on Cece Parekh (Hannah Simone) with Elizabeth, and then Cece went out on a date with Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.). Although this was a painful time inSchmit and Cece’s love story, it made for a hilarious episode. In Season 3, Episode 9, “Longest Night Ever,” Coach and Cece went out on a painfully awkward bad date that ultimately ended well. Additionally, Nick lost Furguson, so he and Winston spent the night looking for the beloved cat. The real highlight, though, was Schmidt and Jess’s storyline.
Nick was supposed to look after Schmidt during the date, but when he lost Furguson, he got Jess to look after Schmidt instead. This led to Schmidt totally freaking out, getting weird with the couch pillows, and actually running away to try to get to Cece on her date. Jess chased him down, and finally, in a moment of kindness towards Cece,Schmidt asked Jess to hit him with her car.As soon as she bumped him, though, Schmidt started screaming at Jess, and then she accidentally hit him with her car again for real. It was hilariously odd, and one ofNew Girl’s biggest laugh-out-loud moments.
Season 3, Episode 15
New GirlSeason 3’s biggest issue was a loss in tension and momentum onceNick and Jess finally got togetheras a couple. This led to more than a few mediocre episodes, and a general dismissal of a lot of the season. One of the better episodes in the season is Season 3, Episode 15, “Exes.” In this episode, Jess and Nick ran into Caroline (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) while out on a date, and Nick totally freaked out and hid from her. This led Jess to try to mend fences between Nick and Caroline, while using her own friendship with her ex-boyfriend, Berkley (Adam Brody),as an example.
This episode is so funny, because it put Nick and Jess in a classic sitcom situation as they had to navigate an angry Caroline. Even more so, Nick kept telling Jess that Berkley was actually in love with her. When it turned out that Nick was right, Nick was vindicated rather than jealous. He even encouraged Berkley to keep confessing his love for Jess. Additionally, it led to a beautiful romantic moment where Nick tells Caroline,“I fell in love with Jess the moment she walked through the door.“In the subplot, Winston and Coach used Schmidt’s apartment for hookups, and the three of them had to navigate all being there with women at the same time.
6"Tomatoes”
Season 1, Episode 22
When Julia broke up with Nick via cactus, Nick decided to throw himself into plants of his own, in Season 1, Episode 22, “Tomatoes.” The loftmates did not think that Nick could handle growing tomatoes, due to his notorious bad history with plants. Nick kept trying and failing to grow tomatoes while Winston secretly helped him, and the two of them fought about Winston’s intensity about his own relationship with Shelby. Meanwhile, Schmidt went on a date with Cece’s roommate, Nadia, after Cece encouraged him to see other people. Additionally, Jess went out to dinner with her boyfriend, Russell, and his ex-wife, Ouli.
This episode had it all: Nick becoming way too intense about tomatoes, Jess singing to break up the exes' fight at the restaurant, and Schmidt developing a very unfortunate injury after his date with Nadia.The episode also had some really powerful growth for the show’s relationships, as well. Cece finally told Schmidt how she felt about him, starting their first official relationship. Jess realized that she wanted passion, so she broke up with Russell, and then got into a massive, immature, blow-up fight with Nick that hintedat their slow-burn relationship that was to come.
5"Teachers”
Season 4, Episode 8
In Season 4, Jess was finally Vice Principal of a middle school. After Jess lectured the teachers at her school about dating each other, she was more than a little dismayed when the attractive new teacher, Ryan Geauxinue (Julian Morris),started working for her. Jess spent a significant part of the season fighting her attraction to Ryan, which was especially difficult to do at the teachers' retreat in Season 4, Episode 8, “Teachers.“The entire retreat was hilarious, with Jess constantly getting thrown into romantic situations with Ryan, and Coach being forced into the position of being her buffer.
This episode was very funny, down to each of its subplots. Coach had a bit of a crisis about whether he could handle teaching health, which landed him on the roof of one of the buildings at the conference. Additionally, back at the loft, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston attempted to have a “Guys' Night.” Instead, Nick ended up teaching Schmidt to do laundry and teaching Winston how to use a ruler. They then had a group heart-to-heart that Jess would have been devastated to miss if she had ever learned about it. Ultimately, Jess and Ryan end the episode trying to stay platonic, but they eventually get together in the next episode,Season 4, Episode 9, “Thanksgiving IV.”
Season 4, Episode 16
Season 4, Episode 16, “Oregon,” has gained a negative reputation amongNew Girlfans, mainly due to how poorly Ryan Geuaxinue was written off,as Ryan was one of Jess’s better boyfriends. After being a loving, attentive, and devoted boyfriend to Jess for a handful of episodes, Ryan then completely dropped the ball after he moved to England for work. He bailed on Jess’s dad’s wedding at the last minute, and he stopped responding to her calls and texts.In order to cheer Jess up, Nick really came through for her. Nick got everyone in the group to participate in the activities that Jess had planned for Ryan, and he was constantly checking in on Jess and reminding her that she deserved better.
Additionally, Schmidt tried to help Cece with her high school crush, Jake Apex, but she ended up rejecting him because she was still in love with Schmidt. Jess’s mom, Joan (Jamie Lee Curtis) broke down crying when Ryan did not show up, and she also participated a group drug trip. Additionally, one of the best scenes was the group throwing rocks into Crush Pond at the end of the episode, with Schmidt choosing to toss a massive rock, and Coach hilariously choosing to call out the name “Gladys.”
3"Wedding Eve”
Season 5, Episode 21
Schmidt and Cece’s wedding episode, “Landing Gear,“gets a lot of praise, but the rehearsal dinner episode is also very hilarious and underrated. In Season 5, Episode 21, “Wedding Eve,” the group finished dinner and got ready to call it a night. Then, Jess panicked after Sam said that he wanted to talk to her, and she found a ring in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile, the hard-drive with Schmidt’s wedding vows got destroyed, so Nick tried to help him rewrite them. Additionally, Winston told Aly that she would make a beautiful bride one day after only a month of dating, and then she ran off.
This episode is truly great.In some ways, “Wedding Eve” felt like a sequel to “Cooler.“There was the game of True American, the presence of Sam again, and the big moment at the end of the episode that led towards Nick and Jess’s relationship. This time, instead of a kiss between Nick and Jess, though, Sam told Jess that he knew why she could not marry him. As the elevator doors closed, Sam told Jess,“It’s Nick.“This episode also marked Aly and Winston exchanging “I love you’s,” Coach returning for the wedding, and Schmidt’s mom getting engaged to her longtime partner, Susan.
2"Menzies”
Season 2, Episode 7
After another unsuccessful interview for a teaching job, Jess decided that the problem was her period in Season 2, Episode 7, “Menzies.” Jess spent the whole episode struggling with her period, her job, money problems, and her breakup with Sam. To increase the matter, Winston also claimed to be experiencing"Sympathy PMS"alongside Jess. Nick, fed up with both of them, stormed out in anger and walked to a park. This was the first appearance of Tran (Ralph Ahn), Nick’s silent new friend whom he met in the park. Tran bathed Nick in a swimming pool, leading him to become suddenly very calm.
This episode is just fantastic.“Menzies"wasNew Girlat its comedic best, with Jess and Winston suffering from period symptoms, and Nick going on a newfound journey of calm after meeting Tran.The Schmidt and Cece subplot was sadder, with them almost getting back together, but her rejecting him due to his new relationship with his boss. However, the boss in question was played bythe incomparableCarla Gugino, who was a delight to see on the show. Overall, the episode is a true classic, and very underrated to this day.
1"The Crawl”
Season 4, Episode 15
New Girl’s best Valentine’s Day episode does not get enough credit beyond being the introduction of May, Coach’s long-term partner. However,Season 4, Episode 15, “The Crawl,” is the most underrated episode ofNew Girl.In this episode, Valentine’s Day occurs right after Kai had dumped Nick. Rather than be upset about the breakup, Nick focused on the fact that Doug’s Alehouse had just opened, marking the coordinates that he needed to complete the Bar Crawl that he had been working on for over a decade. Even though it was Valentine’s Day, the others attended, because Nick declared attendance to be mandatory, and they were worried that Nick would crack.
This episode does whatNew Girldid best, which was pairing all the main characters up together for a big event while they each dealt with emotional crises.In this case, Ryan asked Jess to move in with him, causing her to panic and pretend that she did not hear him. Cece had to hide her feelings for Schmidt whileseeing him with Fawn (Zoe Lister Jones). Winston could not drink because of his police job, so he became the group’s “Mary Poppins.” Coach had to get over his dating fears to make a connection with May. Winston found out about Cece’s feelings for Schmidt and became her confidant. Nick threw himself into the Crawl to move on from his breakup with Kai, and he ended up recruiting dozens of people along the way, ending in a fantastic speech.“We will feast on the spoils of this night for a thousand moons!“Ultimately, “The Crawl” is truly an episode for all.
