Title Sister II

Two-Sentence Summary Abby Day’s time in the loft is starting to wear on Jess, who devises a plan to look at apartments behind her back, but the plan goes awry when Nick lives up to his “horrible liar” reputation and Schmidt falls under Abby’s seductive spell. Meanwhile, Coach tries to help Winston after the latter fails his police academy entrance exam.

Favorite Line “Girl, I got an obligation at a sandwich meeting to go to.” (Winston)

Episode M.V.P. Let’s get this out of the way right now, I didn’t really love this episode. I wasn’t the biggest Abby fan after the first episode of her arc, and I can honestly say that I liked her even less after “Sister II.” This show has a cast that can seem too big for its storytelling style and half-hour format as it is; adding another person into the group (even just for a three-episode block) is going to throw the dynamics of the show off in a major way. I wanted more of Abby and Jess and less of Abby and Schmidt (or actually no Abby and Schmidt would have been ideal). But I am thankful that the writers are giving me more of one of the twosomes I’ve really loved this season: Winston and Coach. I thought Lamorne Morris and Damon Wayans Jr. really carried this episode. They made me laugh the hardest (especially Winston at the gym and Coach trying to help Winston through his job interview), but they also had the most heart. I really believed that Coach sympathized with Winston and wanted to help him. These two characters felt like friends as well as partners in comedic hijinks, and that’s when I love New Girl the most.

Favorite Moment While Coach and Winston were consistently the funniest part of the episode, the single biggest laugh for me came when Nick and Schmidt were fighting about how Nick pronounces (or thinks others pronounce) his name. Thinking that the “k” makes a difference is something so in-character for Nick. And the scene gave me absurd, flustered Nick and indignant Schmidt—two of my favorite versions of these characters. Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield bring out the best in each other as comedic scene partners, and this was yet another moment to add to their highlight reel.

Question of the Week Do you think Abby has been a spark for this season of New Girl, or are you like me and wish she would just go away?

A New Girl GIF* For My New Girl Feelings

Like Sky Knife, bringing Abby into this group of characters for longer than one episode might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it’s really not. Why have Sky Knife when you can have True American, and why add another ingredient into a cast that has strong enough chemistry on its own?

*I have no talent for GIF-making. Thankfully, I am highly skilled at searching Tumblr for the best GIFs. I take no credit for this beauty.