NEW GIRL Recap: Don’t Suppress the Jess at the “Wedding”

In this week’s episode of New Girl, Jess comes to Nick’s aid when the boys are invited to a “Wedding” they know Nick’s ex, Caroline, will be attending. Jess agrees to go as Nick’s girlfriend so that Caroline can’t pull Nick back into her ‘backup plan’.

Jess is all excited. She loves weddings! They are made for fun and dancing, particularly, her version of the Chicken Dance. Oh, she also brings big fake teeth to go with her killer dress. But Schmidt tells her that she can’t do anything Jess-like at all. Jess agrees, “I got it. Suppress the Jess.” But you know, it just can’t be done. Sooner or later, the real Jess that we know and love must burst through.

When Caroline approaches Nick and Jess, Jess pours on the girlfriend act, seemingly shutting Caroline down. However, when Jess is talking with Schmidt, leaving Caroline and Nick alone together, the two run off, with Nick calling out to Jess that he thinks this time they may have a real chance together. So all Jess’s efforts go wrong.

Schmidt has reacquainted himself with a high school sweetheart, Brook, who he wants to hook up with, however, Gretchen Nelson is also at this wedding. Gretchen and Schmidt always end up having sex together at every wedding they attend together. She’s coming onto Schmidt pretty strong and is determined to have her fun with him.

Jess meets Brook in the ladies room as she’s cutting off the bicycle shorts. Brook thinks she’s deranged and leaves in tears. Jess finds Caroline and Nick in the photo booth and tells Caroline that Nick is hers and that she’s not letting him leave her and their baby. Caroline says she’s got a boyfriend anyway and Nick is devastated. He says he’s never leaving the photo booth again. Schmidt tells Jess that everything that went wrong is all her fault. Jess gets angry and tells them all that she’s not heloing them anymore and that she’s going to have fun because that’s what she’ there for. She grabs her fake teeth, sticks them in her mouth and declares, “Jess is back!” Good girl!

Winston finds her blowing bubbles all by herself at a table and begins telling her that the guys were being jerks, but they really love having her around. And so does he. Schmidt comes over and tells them that Nick won’t come out of the booth and keep calling for Jess. So Jess goes and tells Nick that he’s got to let Caroline go and not let himself be her backup anymore, which he does.

Nick walks over to Jess and asks her out on the dance floor. As Phil Collins croons out “Groovy Kind of Love”, Nick starts doing the Jess Chicken Dance. All the guys join in for the slow motion version of the dance. This is why I love this show. I love that Jess is strong enough to be comfortable in her own skin, and I love that the boys will always have her back, no matter what.

In the final scene, Schmidt is in bed at the mercy of Gretchen Nelson.