(Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
Now that Jess is finally prepared to be principal, she’s going to try harder than she needs to in order to connect with her students in the new episode of New Girl. For some inexplicable reason, she thinks Nick and his book The Pepperwood Chronicles will do the trick.
Schmidt also has a problem in his new upper-management position – his new assistant is a little too eager. Also, Winston thinks Furguson is two-timing him with a neighbor.
Here’s a look at all the action in “Young Adult.”
SPOILERS FOLLOW
One More Cup of Coffee For The Road
(Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
The day starts off with Jess and Schmidt lunging for the last bit of coffee. Jess explains she needs it because she needs to bake muffins for her “Lunch With Your Principal” campaign. She’s concerned that kids can just “smell the man all over me” and has no relationship with the kids. She needs the muffins to humanize her. Schmidt has a tense day as well. As the new head of marketing at Associated Strategies, he has to hire an assistant.
Nick shows up and he’s about to take the coffee. Schmidt threatens to pour Nick’s blood on the ground if he takes it. He has a full day of writing ahead of him and needs something else for his whiskey to swim in.
And then Cece shows up to make her case for the last cup of coffee. She’s packing for the move to her and Schmidt’s house.
Then Winston shows up to tell them all that they have the energy they need inside themselves. He then takes the coffee for himself.
One Last Mess-Around
(Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
After she’s done baking the muffins, Nick is tossing magnetic words at her to break his writer’s block. Nick feels the pressure to follow-up Pepperwood with something just as good. In the middle of her motivational speech to Nick, Jess’ phone goes off and she leaves him hanging. He grabs a handful of magnetic words and throws them at the refrigerator. Despite the words not making any sense, he uses the arrangement to kick-start his writing.
In the hall, Cece thanks Winston for his help. They get a little emotional over the possibility that this could be their last chance to “mess around.” Their moment is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Winston’s cat Furguson. As the cat runs up to Winston, neighbor Gil (guest star Mary Holland) shows up and assumes the cat is hers. She calls Furguson “Sweatshirt” and has a year-long relationship with the cat.
Cece and Winston are confused. Winston shows Gil the picture of Furguson on his phone. But Gil has a photo of Sweatshirt on her Sweatshirt. Winston realizes that Furguson has had two families! Winston and Cece introduce themselves to Gil. “Name’s Gil, like the man’s name, but for me.”
Meanwhile, Schmidt is interviewing potential assistants. He dismisses the first candidate because he wears a clip-on tie. The next one is Jeremy (Asif Ali) and Schmidt presents him with an elaborate scenario. They get a jeans account and hire Brett Favre as its face. A nosy maitre d calls Jeremy to tell him about paparazzi snapping pictures of the former quarterback wearing a tuxedo. But when he rushes in to tell Schmidt, he finds Schmidt dead. What do you do?
Schmidt is instantly impressed with Jeremy’s elaborate response (let’s just say it involves driving a tractor into the hotel swimming pool and making sure Favre is only ever seen wearing a pair of jeans for the rest of his life) and hires him on the spot.
Outside the school, Jess has trouble getting kids to take her muffins. When she overhears one of the students talking about how they are obsessed with Nick’s book, she suddenly has an idea. She later begs Nick to go to school to talk to her students. Nick doesn’t think the children will even understand. But after pulling her leg just for fun, he agrees to do it.
I Just Want to Be Your Principal
(Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
To prove to Gil that he really does own Furguson, Winston gives Gil a tour of his room and all the stuff he has for his cat (including a tiny piano and tiny treadmill). Gil isn’t impressed, especially when she learns that Winston doesn’t keep track of Ferguson’s bathroom habits. Cece stands up for Winston though. Gil and Winston decide to let Ferguson/Sweatshirt pick who he wants to live with through a “Cat Call.”
At the school, Jess introduces the three students to Nick, who tries to play the “serious artiste” role. The girls only want to talk about the romance in the book, but he insists that it’s about much more than that. It’s about life, race and the sexualization of the American handgun. But one student, Gertie (Makayla Lysiak) said that the romance made her realize that it didn’t matter if she is straight or gay, it’s OK to just be herself. Nick is impressed that Gertie picked up that a dog character was gay, even though he never explicitly wrote that.
Another student, Ramona (Saylor Bell) was impressed by how Nick wrote about female desire. Ramona then asks Jess if that was OK to say. In her effort to be a principal, Jess says it’s OK. The scene ends with Nick wondering why Jess would whisper “thank you.”
Back at Schmidt’s office, Jeremy’s over-eagerness shocks Schmirt. He seems to have everything all done before Schmidt even says it. Jeremy even gives up his own lunch and does Schmidt’s work for him.
Now, we’re back at the school and Nick is having a ball talking with the girls. He suddenly has the idea to make The Pepperwood Chronicles a series. (Although, as Jess points out, she thought the title made that clear.) Nick then lets it slip that he lives with Jess and they even used to date! Jess is clearly not happy about that, but it gets her what she wanted – the three students like her. But they think they can take advantage of her by skipping class. She tells them to do a book report as they walk away, laughing. She realizes that she’s now lost control.
‘They Started It!’
Saylor Curda, Olivia Rodrigo and Makayla Lysiak guest star in “Young Adult.” (Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
The next day, Jess is angry that there’s no coffee left for her. Then Nick shows up, and tells her that he wants to go back to school to pitch his Pepperwood prequel. (It’s like a dark Look Who’s Talking.) Jess doesn’t want him visiting ever again because it made her “too cool.” She’s lost all authority. (Flash to a quick scene of kids partying in their office.) Nick is confused because he thought that was what she wanted. Jess explains that she needs to strike a balance – “I don’t want to be the heavy, but I want them to listen.” They even added her to a text chain about who has the cutest butt in the school!
Schmidt storms in and notices that there’s no coffee. Thankfully, Jeremy somehow snuck into the loft to drop off an ice coffee in the fridge. At the office, Schmidt is bored because Jeremy has done all the work. He calls Cece to ask if he can help with the move, but Cece isn’t doing that. Jeremy pops in and it’s really grinding Schmidt’s gears that Jeremy is around all the time. Schmidt tells Jeremy to go get a girlfriend and that life’s not all about work.
In the hallway, Winston and Gil are trying to convince Furguson/Sweatshirt to make a decision. Cece had a piece of crab in her pocket and Gil calls them out for cheating. It turns out that Cece doesn’t want to see Furguson leave Winston. “Just because you stop living together, doesn’t mean you stop caring about somebody. Because caring – that is the real mess-around,” a tearful Wisnton tells Cece.
The two share a hug and see that Ferguson chose Winston. The piece of crab didn’t matter. Gil says goodbye, and walks away. As she leaves, Cece and Winston notice that Gil wears a cat tail.
At school, Nick holds a pitch meeting, where the group of students grows. Jess interrupts because there’s supposed to be an assembly and requests Nick to see her in her office. “But they started it!” Nick yells back. “I didn’t do any… God!”
‘We Have the Upmost Respect’
(Ray Mickshaw/FOX)
Jess reprimands Nick in her office, alongside the original trio of girls that started this whole mess. One of them tells her that she’s “kind of being a bitch.”
“This is unacceptable. I don’t want to be your enemy, but also don’t need to be your friend. So you guys don’t get to write to your international pen pals for a month,” she tells the girls. She also takes away their community gardens and freestyle poetry slam privileges. “Spread the word! Principal Day is done messing around!”
As they leave, the girls send out a picture of Jess with devil horns.
At Schmidt’s office, he apologizes for yelling at Jeremy and tells him that he’s just like younger Schmidt. He tells Jeremy that he wished he had someone to tell him that he didn’t have to work 22 hours a day to find success. “Would you have listened?” Jeremy asks. “Probably not,” Schmidt admits.
Then Jeremy tells Schmidt that he’s not even talking to “Jeremy,” but the younger Schmidt. He’ll push Schmidt so he can reach the next level. Schmidt then realizes that they’re on the same page, so they agree to “stay hungry” just before a big meeting.
Back at the school, the girls come to apologize to Principal Day. She appreciates the apology and hopes they take one of the muffins. Gertie gives Jess a gift card to a coffee shop. Ramona notes that her roommates can afford to make their own coffee. Terrinea (Olivia Rodrigo) adds that they have the “upmost respect” for Jess. This is a sign that Nick put the girls up to this. After all, only Nick would say “upmost” instead of “utmost.”
Jess finds Nick at the school, typing away. Jess says she can’t condone this, but thanks him anyway. Nick pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He then thanks for ending his writer’s block. “You always come through for me Jess, to the upmost.”
At the loft, Winston tells everyone that Ferguson is clearly unhappy. He misses Gil. “It would be wrong for me to take away a piece of his heart. I mean, I already took away his testicles.” Winston realize that it’s for the best to share Furguson with Gil. He lets Furguson out into the hall with a note in his collar.
Jeremy busts into the loft, carrying Ferguson. He then introduces himself to everyone. He delivers coffee cups with their faces drawn on them, even though he’s never met them before!
The next episode of New Girl, “Socalyalcon IV,” doesn’t air until March 14. Here’s the episode description: “Jess worries that Reagan, who’s just returned from a business trip, is spending too much time as Nick’s ‘girlfriend.’ Meanwhile, Schmidt and Cece worry about security in their new home; and Aly tells Winston an embarrassing secret.”
