Meanwhile, Jess and Nick are having their own problems. Nick manages to steal Jess a wristband – hilariously threatening to strangle a child to death in the process – and ends up being dragged off to prison. Jess panics and rushes back to the loft to get more money and Nick’s passport, appearing right in the middle of Winston and Schmidt’s passive-agressive (and dizzy) stand off. They grab their things and drive to Mexico, speculating all the way on what problems Nick could be having in prison.
After a very funny sequence poking fun at Schmidt’s latent racism – bribing every menial worker in the entire hotel – they eventually find out where Nick is being kept. It turns out that “resort prison” is very different to “prison prison,” even in Mexico – he’s having a nice time, no real problems. After a violent confrontation about whether to stay or leave, and deciding (after an inspirational speech from Jess that lasted a touch too long) between the four of them that they are a family now, and that they should be together back in the loft, his passport ends up in the shredder. Cue Winston, with his puzzling skills (see? What a payoff), who endeavours to puzzle the passport back together, like a big papery jigsaw. Of course he makes a mess of it, and there’s a minor will he/won’t he moment concerning Nick’s re-entry into the United States, but he gets back safe and sound in the end.
It might have been nice for the show to follow Paradise Jess and Paradise Nick’s life in Mexico, completely disregarding the entire history of the show up to that point, but that probably would have been sitcom suicide. As it stands, “All In” is a great start for season three of New Girl and a fantastic re-entry point into the world of Jess and the gang. Here’s hoping that season three manages to match the success of the previous two.
