New Girl - Review - "The Crawl"

New Girl last night took advantage of the upcoming romantic holiday to tell a story about Nick reeling from his break-up with Kai and his bounce back with the guys, Schmidt and Fawn Moscato, and Jess and Ryan. Nick asked the gang to partake in a bar crawl that he has been working on for nearly a decade to get the right vibe between different bars along the road. In a weird sense of irony, I too took part in a Valentine's Day-themed bar crawl this past weekend in Washington, D.C... The gang had a much better time than I did. Now let's dive into tonight's episode, "The Crawl."

"Hello, good February, I'm interested in casual sex." The crawl starts out at O'Malley's Irish Pub where Cece plans to out-drink Nick, Winston elects to be designated DD complete with a backpack of water and towels, while Nick is at the whim of Fawn and a social function/fundraiser. Ryan drops a bombshell on Jess and asks her to move in with her while he thinks about switching jobs so the other faculty will respect him. "The crawl is for all." Jess has a crisis of conscience and talks it out with Cece and a stranger in the bathroom while Winston and Nick comfort Ryan with alcohol, who feels like he jumped the gun with Jess.

Coach ends up running into the same girl at every bar, Fay/Fate, who may or may not be stalking him, but you knew from the first bar that she was going to get with Coach. They were both raised as Army brats and missed each other by a mere months. Something tells me this is the set-up for Coach's departure (yes, it's true and was confirmed last week that Damon Wayans Jr. would be leaving at the end of this season). Finally, Jess talks with Ryan about the move and decides to move in with him.

"Sparks are flying like the Right brothers between you too, and I would know, I have their biography in my backpack." Fawn Moscato shows up at the end of the crawl and admits to Schmidt that she wants a relationship, much to Cece's dismay. I knew in time Cece and Schmidt would get back together. They seemed perfect for each other and it's time they made that jump in their relationship. Now, to the real issue I had with this episode that negates what came before it. After Jess and Ryan discussed moving in together, Jess convinces Ryan to take a position with his alma-mater in the United Kingdom and promises that they'll make the long distance relationship work. What was the point of arguing over moving in if you were just going to excuse that notion a few hours later. It just felt like sloppy writing to throw a wrench in Jess's plan for a relationship that works. The crawl ends and Nick has a moment of sadness with completing the crawl and realizing he has nothing to go back to. The gang brings him back up and proves that they are the best when they look out for each other. I think this was the episode I was looking for to set up the remainder of the season so we shall see. Tune in next week for an all-new episode of New Girl and comment below with your thoughts.

About the Author - Edward Slothus

Edward Slothus is a young professional working in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. An avid pop-culture, film, and television fan, his favorite shows include LOST, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, New Girl, Outlander, and (for inexplicable reasons that go against all sanity) The Leftovers.