New Girl Review: “Fluffer” (Season 2, Episode 3)

Winston, meanwhile, undergoes his own arc that is hilarious but undercooked. It turns out that he and Shelby – his girlfriend – have not had sex in three weeks, and his mind has begun to wander. Schmidt tells him that this mental infidelity is ok, and this results in some insane physical comedy with Lamorne Morris. Using nothing but his eyes and face, Morris is able to express words of gleeful depravity. However, when he breaks down and tells Shelby about his mental wandering, it results in a non-fight and a continuation of their platonic stasis. This doesn’t sit well with Winston, and it feels as though this was just a taste of things to come, but the lack of closure leaves me cold but for the memory of his insane grin while looking at Jess in the bathroom mirror. That was inspired.

That leaves us with Schmidt, who has a convoluted journey towards a final realization that will again, like Winston, lead to more down the line than we get here. Schmidt wears a weird whale belt in order to become friends with Kanye since Kanye wore a similar belt once. This outfit and the passing resemblance it affords him to the Romenys allows him to get into a nightclub. From there he meets a Romney supporter who he meets again the next night after preparing for all manner of Romney trivia. However, while spinning a yarn of spending time with his “dad” he trips up on some details and ends up being exposed.

The reason he messed up? Because he allowed himself to get caught up in the idea of spending time with his father, and that lead to his loss of control. He calls over Cici, who convinces him that this might be a sign that he needs to look for his father in order to plug the hole that is in his life.

All of these realizations and revelations set the stage for a number of arcs throughout the season, but the falseness and suddenness of their arrival feels a little too constructed. New Girl has a manic, uncontrollable energy to it, and it feels a little like a cheat to be able to see the hand behind the scenes setting the stage. Still, I’m excited to see what the weeks bring these guys, and I’ll take one less-than-perfect episode in service of that greater goal.