10 Most Rewatchable Episodes Of New Girl

"New Girl's" premise of a group of 30-something friends living together in a big city wasn't the most novel concept when it began airing in 2011. It made up for this aspect with impeccable writing and comedic performances, with the writers and cast working tirelessly from the start to develop funny, three-dimensional characters. Audiences responded by watching and loving every minute of "New Girl."

Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) is the titular character, a grade-school teacher with compassionate instincts and a tendency to break out into song at any given moment. When Jess's boyfriend cheats on her, she moves into a drafty, L.A. loft with three strange guys. Her new roommates include materialistic, style-conscious clean-freak Schmidt (Max Greenfield), borderline alcoholic bartender Nick (Jake Johnson), and  identity crisis-riddled former European pro-basketball player Winston (Lamorne Morris). Together with Jess's childhood best friend Cece (Hannah Simone) — a beautiful, self-possessed model who fits in just about anywhere — they make up the core cast of "New Girl." The show is a great watch the first time through, but it's the characters and jokes that make several episodes ideal for rewatching as well.

The most interesting Season 1 "New Girl" episode to rewatch is definitely "Injured." It offers some of the show's best laughs while laying the foundation for certain characters and relationships moving forward. It starts with Nick sustaining a painful back ache during a football game and, because Nick has no health insurance, Jess immediately takes him to her friend Sadie (June Diane Raphael), who is an OB-GYN, much to Nick's embarrassment. Sadie spots a concerning lump near Nick's throat, and refers him to get an ultrasound. The gang are faced with the possibility that Nick has a deadly illness.

The episode soon transitions into a "last night on Earth" sort of adventure, where everyone (including Cece) is alarmed by Nick's potential prognosis. At first they drunkenly eulogize him; Winston's Aaron Neville impression is gold, and Nick, Schmidt and Cece offer a few bars of rap to varying degrees of success. Jess pushes Nick to think about whether or not he's taken risks, and as a result, they end up at the beach, where he runs into the freezing-cold Pacific. The episode explores a turning point not just for Nick, but also for Winston, who must part with his old, beat-up SUV. The SUV was an illegal basketball recruitment gift, and parting with it means starting a new chapter of his life. "Injured" is the first episode where every main character is on the same wavelength both comedically and philosophically.

As human lifespans increase, so too does the period that many adults expect to be free from the burden of family. Others take their time in hopes that their patience will be rewarded with a love that feels healthy and fulfilling. "Eggs" sees Cece squarely in the former category and Jess in the latter. Cece doesn't want to think about marriage or children, whereas Jess is eager but holds back for lack of a worthy partner. When their OB-GYN friend Sadie comes to the loft and announces her pregnancy, she also cautions Jess and Cece that they may not have as many viable childbearing years as they think. "Eggs" explores its serious subject matter with plenty of humor, while leaving room for character development.

Jess spends most of "Eggs" panicking about her potentially dwindling fertility, at one point even attempting to throw out the microwave due to its radioactivity. Luckily for Jess, she's not the only loft inhabitant taking things too far. Nick, after visiting a fulfilled Winston at his radio job, laments that he has never finished his zombie novel, and vows that this time he'll sit down and complete it. Winston is skeptical but supportive, while Schmidt and Jess are unconvinced. In a cruel twist of fate, it turns out that Cece needs to be concerned about her eggs before she's ready to have a child, and the news turns her life upside down. 

"Cooler" is one of the most memorable "New Girl" episodes, serving as a crucial juncture for many characters and plotlines. Nick spends the whole episode wrapped in a woman's trench coat that "fits [him] like a damn glove," and it's a brilliant prop, making it nearly impossible to take him seriously the entire time. Nick, Schmidt, and Winston go out to meet women and leave Jess at home because she frequently acts as a 'cooler' for Nick, i.e. something that gets in the way of his sexual success. At the bar, they meet Daisy (Brenda Song) and Holly (Brooklyn Decker), who show interest in Nick. 

Later, all parties, including Cece, her date, and Jess's boyfriend, Sam (David Walton), converge on the loft, where a raucous game of True American is undertaken. True American is a cult-favorite piece of lore from "New Girl," and part of its comedy is that newbies are always too confused to understand the rules. Jess does her best to force Nick and Holly together, but ultimately she and Nick go to a separate room and kiss. 

Things escalate, and Nick climbs out of the window to avoid kissing Jess. At the end, the gang's neighbor comes by and discovers Nick wearing the coat she ordered. She takes it away as Jess apologizes, and a few seconds later, Nick surprises Jess with one of the most pause-worthy kisses in TV history.

Nick and Jess's relationship would have felt contrived had the series waited any longer than Season 3 to get them together, and that dynamic change made it drastically different from prior seasons. Adequately pacing a relationship between two characters with the kind of chemistry that Nick and Jess have was always going to be difficult. Luckily, Season 3 is somewhat buffeted by the reintroduction of Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) to the loft. Coach is often positioned as a catalyst for conflict between Jess and Nick; frequently questioning Nick's identity as a part of a couple with Jess and offering a more blunt perspective to each of them at different points in the season.

"Basketsball" finds Jess, desparate to befriend Coach, pretending to be a Detroit Pistons fan during basketball season. Nick, who is heartily devoted to the Chicago Bulls, finds this both offensive and unconscionable, and "turns off the sex tap" in their relationship. Until Jess renounces the Pistons and becomes a Bulls fan, he won't get intimate.Their back-and-forth gets pretty silly, but the episode isn't really about basketball; rather, it's about Jess and her willingness to be uncomfortable for the sake of friendship. "Basketsball" is one of Jess's best "New Girl" episodes because it reveals her most essential motivation in life: making meaningful connections.

"Background Check" is about Winston's progression at the police academy and how seriously (or not) his roommates are taking his new career path. Lamorne Morris given his thoughts on Winston's job in the past, but "Background Check" doesn't broach those topics. At the beginning, Winston announces to his roommates that police officer Sergeant Dorado (Cleo King) is coming over to inspect his home, as is standard procedure. The gang takes this in stride, but Jess is panicked, revealing to the others that she has a bag of meth in her closet that she apparently found in a piece of furniture purchased at a flea market.

Luckily, because this article is about rewatchability, it's not a spoiler to mention that what Jess believes to be meth is actually a bag of aquarium rocks. This hindsight is part of what makes the episode enjoyable on a second run-through. It's unlikely that anyone believed what Jess really had meth, but it's hilarious that no one in the show notices that it's a bag of decorative rocks. Zooey Deschanel is particularly funny in this one, showing off physical comedy that audiences don't always get to see from Jess. At one point, Jess hides the rocks in her bra, and later, she lays down face first on a rug, prepared to be taken away for drug possession. 

"Clean Break" is a crucial installment of "New Girl." It marks a transition where the series' main characters move into a more mature phase of life; it is also the last episode in which Coach appears as a main cast member. It was such a fun choice to bring Coach back in Season 3, and his connections with the rest of the main characters — especially Jess and Winston — provided lots of fulfilling moments and stellar comedy. While not Coach's best episode (that honor most likely belongs to Season 4, Episode 8, "Teachers"), it's an apt, bittersweet goodbye for the character, and definitely among the best episodes of "New Girl."

Cece's feelings for Schmidt returned in Season 4 and found her biting her tongue due to his glitzy relationship with Los Angeles councilwoman Fawn Moscato (Zoe Lister-Jones). It is too painful for Cece to watch, so she decides to go away and hike Mount Shasta, only after swearing Jess and Winston to secrecy. Thankfully, Jess is incapable of keeping a secret when love is on the line, and after Schmidt and Fawn break up, she reveals to Schmidt that Cece is in love with him. Cece shows up faster than any of them thought, having received voicemails about Schmidt's break-up, and Schmidt doesn't hesitate to propose. Cece says yes, and it's such a relief, even more so because Coach got to see it before leaving. 

Taran Killam is easily one of the best "New Girl" guest stars, but he isn't the only recognizable face to appear in "What About Fred?" Jess finds herself set up on a date with Sadie's friend Fred (Killam), but before getting to know him, she becomes enamored with his delightful parents, Flip and Nancy (played by the always-fantastic Henry Winkler and Julie Hagerty). They have a thriving marriage even after decades together, and Jess is quickly heartened by their lasting connection. But among spending time alone with Fred, Jess discovers that he is exceedingly dull. 

Despite their disappointment in Fred, Jess and Winston still want Flip and Nancy to be their friends. However, they beg Jess to marry their son, whom they also find boring and simple-minded. The whole episode is fun, but the best moment is where Winston's cop partner Aly (Nasim Pedrad) pulls him and Fred over to help stall for time; Winston is hoping to keep Fred occupied long enough for Jess to secure a friendship with Flip and Nancy. When Aly starts shouting outlandish orders, Fred takes it upon himself to accept, allowing for Taran Killam to show off his improv chops and briefly reunite with Pedrad, who co-starred with him on several seasons of "Saturday Night Live."

For a good chunk of Season 5, Jess is sequestered in a hotel as a jury member on a high-profile trial; In real life, Zooey Deschanel was on maternity leave. To make extra money, the loft mates (which now includes Cece following her and Schmidt's engagement) find a temporary roommate named Reagan (Megan Fox). Nick endears himself to her while she stays in the loft, culminating in the events of "Heat Wave," which is one of Nick's best "New Girl" episodes. Los Angeles is beset by record-high temperatures, and Reagan comes home with a much-coveted air conditioner. Nick, who has built a life around jerry-rigging contraptions rather than buying new things, is irritated that his self-designed "cool ranch" (a pile of fans and melting ice taped to a chair) pales in comparison. 

Reagan's initial "New Girl" arc is a great stretch of episodes, and while the show ultimately needs Jess for her loving, inclusive nature, Reagan's temporary stay is a fun way to make up for Deschanel's absence. Reagan is insistent that Nick sit in the air conditioning with the rest of the loft mates, but Nick remains stubborn. Still, Reagan fights with Nick, as she clearly cares for him much more than she's let on. They battle over hot and cold electronics, eventually causing the whole building to lose power. By the end, Reagan and Nick kiss, initiating Nick's penultimate romantic relationship.

Doctor Sam's first arc on "New Girl" ended in a contentious breakup with Jess and a swift punch to Nick's throat in Season 2. Sam was an unfortunate sacrifice to the development of Jess and Nick's romance, and left the show abruptly. Jess didn't spend much time mourning her relationship with Sam, but when she is reintroduced to him in "Sam, Again" as her potential employer Genevieve's (Lucy Punch) partner, she fixates on their long-lost romance. At first, it is because the relationship stands between Jess and her dream job as vice principal at a private school. Genevieve is weirded out when Jess arrives at Sam's house hoping to make amends, and Jess is only able to salvage the situation by requesting a session of radical honesty between the three of them and Nick.

Nick is sick during their session, blurting out feverish thoughts on what happened between him and Sam in Season 2. The sick Nick and Cece offer great comedy thanks to their sickness-induced obsession with a strange, children's puppet show. Nick carries that energy into his interactions with Sam, who punches Nick in the throat again after he refuses to apologize for kissing Jess back then. Both Sam and Nick ultimately confess about what happened, and Genevieve is so pleased that she offers Jess the vice principal position. Genevieve also breaks up with Sam, who blames Nick and Jess for ruining his life. 

At the end of Season 5, following Cece and Schmidt's loft wedding, Jess realizes that she is still in love with Nick. He agrees to live with Reagan for the summer in New Orleans and Jess spends that time trying to embrace the single life. In Season 6's "Single and Sufficient," Jess reveals to Schmidt and Cece that she is a member of a club for folks who are single by choice. The group is led by Cece's ex-boyfriend Robby (Nelson Franklin), who agrees to accompany Schmidt, Cece, and Jess on a camping getaway. Winston and Aly are there too, but they're more focused on catching up on the sex they've been missing since Aly left L.A. for temporary FBI training. 

The singles group is hilarious, often deriding Schmidt and Cece for "couple-splaining" and subscribing to a strangely formal set of conventions. Schmidt and Cece immediately clock chemistry between Jess and Robby, and try pushing the two together despite Jess's resistance. Perhaps they wouldn't have done so had they foreseen the "New Girl" episode that went too far, but they had no way of knowing about the shocking reveal at the time. Even though Jess shares a moment with Robby at the fire pit performing an acoustic rendition of Toto's "Africa" together, she is ultimately not over her feelings for Nick nor ready to date someone else.