New Girl - Episode 5.15 - Review: "Jeff Day"
Winston wants to bring a new girl, Rhonda, to take part in Schmidt and Cece's wedding photos while Jess is dealing with buying a car. The introduction of Rhonda was perfect and immediately the gang looked like they were in for a wild time. I can at least relate to Winston who is so tired with jumping from woman to woman that he can't see how terrible Rhonda is for him. Ally is constantly on his mind, but there is nothing he can do about it because it'll compromise their current relationship. First world problems, indeed. Meanwhile, Nick works with Jess to help her seal the deal on a car, as "Jeff Day". Just the slow-fade turn around of Nick in a mustache was fantastic. It's the small moments in this show that make it amazing, I'm looking at you, "youths!"
"She may not be the one, but at least we're having fun." Poor Winston. He is just trying to enjoy himself, but can't see how crazy the wedding would be if Rhonda would be there to prank the guests. At the same time, Jeff Day works his magic at the car dealership to Jess's dismay. I understand being the damsel in distress is a stereotype, but this scenario was extremely sexist with demeaning women for being incompetent around cars. It was great to see Jess turn on Jeff Day to shut him down. "The authenticity of the wedding is the prank." This storyline is just ridiculous and I don't know how anyone can handle it. If you just accepted it as a one-off for the characters to just riff off of each other than mission accomplished, but it did not work for me.
"No one helps me better than I help myself." Now that scene was awesome. The car ride with Jess claiming her independence set to "You're Better than All the Rest" was great a shining moment for Jess to take charge. Sam and Nick verbally addressing their problems was the type of character development I've been looking for even though I imagine they will never truly reconcile. There will always be animosity between the current boyfriend and ex of someone you're dating. Winston getting "Rhondaded" in the end was the only way the episode could end. "You're simply the best." Overall, a good return to form with New Girl , I only hope this momentum keeps up now that the episodes are backing up with the road to the end of the season in sight.
