New Girl - Review - "Walk of Shame"
Ernie, short for Ernest, otherwise known as Coach's first name!!! Last night's episode of New Girl featured the return of guest stars Josh Gad and Justin Long, otherwise known as Bearclaw and Genzlinger. Jess and Cece were astonished with their blowout hairstyles and decided to take Bearclaw up on his offer to join them at his house party. Cut to the next morning with Jess and Cece finding out that their phones have died, the car has been towed, and there is no way they are walking in their heels back to the loft…it's a walk of shame. Meanwhile, Coach tries to work on his relationship with May because he feels like they just aren't compatible. Coach's attempt at a jab using the Monday Night Football theme was hilariously awkward and would be used as a setup for a payoff later in the episode.
On Jess and Cece's walk of shame home, they run into Genzlinger while trying to siphon off water from a garden hose. Jess loses it after feeling judged by Genzlinger for her messed up appearance and the shame that accompanies the walk of shame. Interestingly, Jess didn't sleep with Bearclaw as she confesses to Cece, she spent the entire night making up lyrics to a fake musical. Genzlinger also has his moment of clarity when he shows Jess that he isn't married with kids or that the house they're at isn't his. His girlfriend dumped him and he was performing as a musical clown at kids' birthday parties. Jess convinces Genzlinger that he is better than a clown and the three head back to the loft, shouting that they don't care about their walk of shame.
At the same time, May invites Coach to her performance of classical music at an art venue and works with Schmidt to make sure Nick and Winston won't tag along because they don't think they can handle the environment. At the venue, all of the guys show up and Coach is left stabbed with a wooden food stake in his thigh. This scenario leads to a wild bro-talk in the bathroom with the guys convincing Coach to talk to May about his feelings. In a sudden outburst and May's exclamation of Coach's real name, the two talk it out. It was a sweet and sincere scene with Coach explaining why he thinks it won't work out and May showing Coach that she likes what makes them different, playing the Monday Night Football theme on her cello. Their kiss at the end sealed the scene for me and if this is how Coach goes out at the end of the season, I will be extremely pleased, especially since he got May in the end.
The guys run into Jess, Cece, and Schmidt walking home and offer the a lift, but they decline stating that they've made it so far, it would be a "shame" to give up for the ride. Schmidt's dig at Cece for "The Man-The Legend" t-shirt featured a nice comeback from Cece with, "you know The Legend." I know these two are going to end up by the season's end and it will be nice to see them work out if they continue with this type of playful banter. The episode ended with one of the most bizarre musical numbers with Bearclaw showing up at Jess's loft (somehow before them?) with her purse and both of them, Genzlinger in his clown outfit, and May on cello performing their musical number for the loft. Overall, a fun episode of New Girl that moved things forward just a bit as we head into the endgame for the season. Comment below with your thoughts on last night's episode.
