Episode: 7.05 "Godparents"
Directed by: Lamorne Morris
Written by: Lamar Woods
Air date: May 8, 2018
Aly and Winston summon all their friends to their bedroom to announce their choice for godparent of their child. They take the matter very seriously, so even though they decide to choose Jess, they promise to review her performance weekly and replace her if needed. This does not bring down Jess' enthusiasm as she start watching over them right away. As part of her new role, Jess agrees to cover for Aly during the childbirth classes which she attends with Winston, while Aly is on bed rest. They quickly manage to make an impression on the group when Jess accidentally causes Winston to freak out about his upcoming fatherhood. In a matter of minutes he breaks one of the baby dolls and runs out of the room screaming. It turns out that Bishop has been thinking about his own dad, who abandoned his family years ago. When he admits he wishes for his father to magically show up, without a risk of getting rejected, Jess decides to take matters into her own hands.
She acts quickly, finds Van Bishop via Google and brings Winston's dad to his house when he stuggles with building the cradle for the baby. Winston is not prepared for this sudden reunion but he decides to face this stranger if it means he will feel better about becoming a dad himself. His immediate reaction turns out to be a warm embrace and quick bonding as the two men find a lot of similarities in the way they dress and talk. All seems perfect until Aly makes Jess realize that the man she found is not actually Winston's dad. When Winston learns the truth, he doesn't take it very well but after a heartfelt apology and a lovely speech about him not being alone in all of this from Jess, he does finally feel better and still wants her to be a godmother of the baby.
Meanwhile, Schmidt gets ready to get back to work, so Cece decides to stay at home for a week to help with the transition. He's getting nervous after being out of the game for a while, so he focuses on preparing Cece for daily routine with Ruth, complete with the presentation and the Ruth-related binders (about her snack preferences, nap data, friends and enemies, reading/TV log and preferred clothing). We also get a quick glimpse into the life of Schmidt and Ruth at home and it's clear how close these two have grown together. Cece does not appear to be prepared for what's to come, as she just wants to enjoy her week off with her daughter.
Back at work, Schmidt meets back with Kim, who clearly states how much she despises him, while also informing him of how much things have changed at the office. More specifically, the company has been taken over by Tokyo-based conglomerate and the entire office was transformed to Japanese style. Schmidt loves the changes and is excited for his first presentation about salsa but is quickly distracted when Ruth calls him during the meeting and asks for him to pick her up from school. This does not make a good impression on his co-workers but he races to help his little girl. I do love the bond between these two, especially in a short moment when Schmidt has to tell her he needs to go back to work. When he returns to the meeting, he finds an inspiration in the fact he's missing Ruth and that's what helps him sell salsa to the Japanese investors.
After learning that Ruth doesn't like him, Nick sets out to bond with the little girl. He brings a giant (and found on the street) teddy while Cece is doing the laundry and enjoying the peace and quiet. His help is initially rejected but when Cece later finds herself in trouble when she forgets her phone and Ruth's lunch, Nick shows up to support her. His efforts to bond with kids are stopped by a security guard who misinterprets Nick's intentions. What's more, when Cece tries to intervene, it only gets worse for the both of them. Eventually, they get Ruth home (after she identifies Cece as her mom) and Nick distracts her from the fact her favorite snack is gone. Their interactions continue to be funny, like two kids who disagree on everything but still love one another. When the day ends, with Cece and Schmidt discussing how it went, Schmidt admits that even though he did well at his work, he spent the whole time wishing he was taking care of Ruth at home. "It's the best job I've ever had." And with that sentiment, he decides to quit and stay at home full time.
I really enjoyed the balance between all the storylines in this episode. Nick and Ruth are such a fun duo, so hopefully we'll get to see more of them. Also, the father-daughter relationship between Schmidt and his little girl is such an adorable view. I feel like I can completely understand his point of view and it makes perfect sense for this ambitious and previously very work-oriented man to find his place next to his daughter. It was also nice to get a glimpse of Cece with Ruth, as the two don't seem to spend too much time together. As for Winston, of course he would accept his dad right away. He's such a big-hearted guy he couldn't help but to bond with Van right away. If there was more time left in the series, it would be interesting to see the plot where Winston finds his real father and confronts him, but with the way things are, he seems at peace and happy without the painful memories resurfacing. Great work by Lamorne Morris (aka Winston Bishop) who also directed the episode. Very much enjoyed it as a whole.
Episode: 7.06 "Mario"
Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Written by: Joe Wengert
Air date: May 8, 2018
The second story of this week revolves around big plans each couple made for the evening. As a part of USC study, Winston is going to pick up special glasses that allow color blind people to see the colors for the first time and he wants to stay at the house in case everything overwhelms him. Schmidt and Cece plan a sexcapade away from their daughter and Nick finally wants to propose to Jess while she's planning to get a new dog after getting rejected from adopting one years ago. Starting from Winston, he learns that everything around him is in different colors and his initial reaction is something between screaming and crying. It's excitement mixed with shock and he quickly learns that the rainbow of colors he wanted to see might just be more than he expected. He also realizes that he doesn't have a good sense of fashion. The one thing he doesn't have a problem with is looking at Aly and the two share a sweet moment together.
Meanwhile, Schmidt and Cece hire a babysitter to enjoy their night away from home. Just as they get into the car, Cece tells Schmidt she's ready for another baby and they can start working on it right away. That causes Schmidt to panic and instead of going to the hotel, he goes to visit Winston and Aly at their house. It turns out, as much as Schmidt wants to have more children, he's not happy about the idea of another nine months with pregnant Cece. He reveals that she was incredibly mean to him during her pregnancy and he'd rather run and hide this time, while his friends take care of his family. After an advice from Winston, Schmidt shares his fears with Cece. Initially Cece doesn't believe her husband, but after Aly shares a recording of her behavior, as well as Schmidt's also unbearable blubbering, the two come to conclusion they both didn't handle the last pregnancy all that well. That news, however, does not stop them from wanting to extend their family. In order to be able to make it on time to relieve their babysitter, they decide to go to the loft and have sex there, instead of the hotel, expecting Nick and Jess to be long gone by then. They end up getting surprised by the dog, but their plans for the future have already started.
Jess is more than just excited about the new dog. As she herself admits, her enthusiasm can quickly turn into madness, so she does her best to contain her emotions. Her plan, however, causes a wrinkle in Nick's because he's forced to change the reservation for the restaurant where he plans to pop the question. Judith from the shelter shows up at the apartment with little Mario and Jess shows her the collection of toys she already bought for the dog while also fighting off her urge to cry over how cute Mario is. At the same time, Nick and Jess' dad, Bob, are doing their best to keep the proposal plan going. That is until a questionnaire from Judith leads Jess to believe that Nick is thinking about breaking up with her. After spending a few hours with them, Judith decides to take Mario back to the shelter. That's when the dog runs away and the couple chases after him. Nick catches the dog in the park, where he's quickly joined by the rest of the gang. That's also when Jess starts putting all the pieces together and realizes what Nick has been planning to do. Finally knowing that he doesn't need a perfect plan, because everything is as perfect as it can be when they're together, Nick asks Jess to marry him. And she says yes. In front of all their friends, these two finally get engaged and they also get the dog!
This was a lovely story, especially for Nick and Jess who spent so much of the show around each other but never quite ready to be together. It's good to see that they finally are. And I loved Bob's involvement in the story. His reaction was a fun way to finish the episode. Also, it's fitting that all their friends were there during the proposal. This group is so close together that I wouldn't imagine it going any other way. Perfectly imperfect, so just right for Nick and Jess. Only two more episodes left. Both excited to see them and sad to say goodbye.
What did you think about "Godparents" & "Mario"? Any favorite scenes, quotes or jokes? Feel free to let us know in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!
