New Girl 2x17 Recap | "Parking Spot"

We're finally back at Apartment 4D... just in time for the roommates to squabble over a parking spot. That's right: We're talking about the hilarious, aptly titled episode, "Parking Spot" today!

Jenn (@notajenny) and Jaime (@jaimepoland) discuss why this episode is funny, even 10+ years later. (They praise Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris, specifically, for some hilarious and memorable moments.)

The two then discuss how all the roommates are so in-character, Winston's B-story, why heightened shenanigans fit perfectly into the New Girl universe, the Cece/Shivrang scene they forgot about, and how "Parking Spot" advances the Nick/Jess storyline.

Enjoy, all!

Our recommended media:

• The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert
• Sinners (HBO Max)

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Transcript

Speaker 0:09

Hi, welcome to the New Girl Rewatch podcast, where we, of course, are talking about your favorite residents, apartment 4D, and ours as well. I'm your host Jen, along with my co-host Jamie. Hi, Jamie. Hello, my friend. Are we ready to talk about an episode that we have not hyped up as much as Cooler, but we have talked a lot about over the last couple of years.

Speaker 1 0:31

That's the problem. Everything posts Cooler. Like, as we will discuss, this is one of our favorite episodes. And we don't talk about it because we're too busy talking about Cooler.

Speaker 0:40

Too busy discussing Cooler, but don't worry, that's why we're still talking about the show. So we can talk about all the amazing things that happen after Cooler where they continue to reference Cooler. So here we are. It is perfect. It is perfect. We are talking today about Parking Spot, which was written by Rebecca Adelman and directed by Fred Goss. This is truly one of our favorite episodes. It's one of the funniest episodes of the show for me, and definitely for this season. I'm really excited to dive into everything and to basically recap word for word this episode. But before we do that, we're gonna do a plot recap, quotes of the episode, and then our random question of the day. Plot is really simple here. Schmidt unearths a parking spot for apartment 4D and the entire loft, Sans Winston, fights over who should get it. Obviously, we're still dealing with the Nick and Jess of it all from Cooler. Schmidt does not know up until this episode that Nick and Jess have kissed, so he finds that out. Chaos and antics ensue. Meanwhile, Winston removes himself from this debate pretty early on in the episode because he is going over to Daisy's, because she travels a lot and he works nights. Don't forget, Winston is still at the radio station because I forgot for a minute, until he said he worked nights, what he was doing in this season for a job. But because of that, their schedules do not overlap. And, you know, as Winston said, their sex window is very small. So Winston goes over, and unfortunately for Winston, he doesn't have a great day. He has a pretty bad day. And at the end of this episode, which I do not know if is ever brought up again, Winston is the one who gets the parking spot.

Speaker 1 2:24

So no, it definitely is.

Speaker 2:27

I don't think we ever see the inside of that garage that apparently they have ever again.

Speaker 1 2:32

The thing that I think is also really fun about Newgirl is like the way that most shows will bring in like the character's family members. Yeah. I mean, and obviously Newgirl does this like, oh, Jess has a sister now. They do this with their cars.

unknown 2:43

Yeah.

Speaker 1 2:43

That's true. Well, you know, Jess has a car.

Speaker 2:46

Yeah, they drive, they drive vehicles. Nick's is the only one that really we see a lot actually consistently. And I do think Schmidt's, it's funny, we'll talk about it next season, but they do make reference product placement for Schmidt's new car in the next season. Um, but yeah, it is really funny that I was like, we never have seen this parking garage before, and we never will see it again.

Speaker 1 3:07

Well, I have to assume Winston doesn't park there. I guess so. He parks once and then he doesn't do it.

Speaker 3:12

They just don't have a parking spot. Um, which is logistics I will talk about in a little bit at some point in this episode. Um, but the quotes of the episode, uh Jamie and I do a thing where I put quotes in the document. She usually doesn't look at them and then she picks hers and then compares and sees if we picked the same quotes. We did not. There are so many to choose from, though, in this episode. So there's just like a lot of great material. So I'm only gonna give you two. And then Jamie, I know you have some as well that are probably the ones that were buying.

Speaker 1 3:43

But I think you know exactly which ones I have.

Speaker 3:45

Probably certain that I know at least one of them, if not multiple of them. Um, but this is the exchange that I love so much when they're fighting over the spot, and Schmidt says, Don't play the lady card, and Jess says, I will play the lady card. And Winston says, race card, Nick, lazy drunk card, deserves the spot card, is Schmidt's final line there. And then this one, I'm gonna have to back a little bit away from this mic so I can give this delivery as close to proper justice as I can, because it is the one and only Nick Miller. All right, here we go. I am the decider of us three. I decide. Let the decider decide. I am not the suggester, I'm not having a good time with this game. And Jake Johnson should have gotten an Emmy just for that delivery alone, honestly. It was just so good. I could go on, but I will let Jamie go on now. So, what is your dramatic reading?

Speaker 1 4:40

Well, let me also say part of the reason that I was so shocked that you didn't have either of these quotes is because specifically you quote these I probably do multiple times a week for the last 13 years. All right, so first up today we've got I'm the dumbest boy in school. I literally sent a gif of that to group chat this week. Which is, which is, yeah, that's something you and I say to each other a lot. That's also something that like I think the the cadence of it has really worked its way into my life.

Speaker 5:10

Well, and he says it again at least once later on in the series. And so he just the delivery is the cadence of them the dumbest boy in school.

Speaker 1 5:19

But that like that is something I have called my husband. That's something I again where like it's not the exact wording of it, but the like structure of it. I've called teenagers at the library, like I've called myself multiple times in professional work meetings. And then obviously, you know, my second quote is I refuse to pay.

Speaker 5:38

I knew that that was gonna be one, so I didn't choose it because I knew that you were gonna choose it.

Speaker 1 5:43

I was so sure because usually what I'll do is don't want to steal your thunder, James. I don't want to steal your thunder. Like, especially with an episode like this, that is not only like has a lot of really great jokes, but also are things that you and I have been saying to each other for 13 years. So I'm like the Wiffy. Well, I you know, I know Jen's favorite parts of this episode. So I'll I'll write down a lot just to give myself options. So then if I look and it's like, okay, she is this one, so I'll take this out. I was like, I don't have to change either of them.

Speaker 6:11

No, I knew that that was gonna come up. I was like, that's gonna come up because it is truly an iconic Nick line to the point where I feel like under like YouTube comments, I've seen people be like, I don't pronounce it correctly because of Nick Miller now. I will only call it the Wiffy. And I was like, I hope that that just permeates and continues to permeate real life.

Speaker 1 6:30

And that is one that, yeah, like, you know, I I see the gif of that constantly. Like, that's one that I forget is from this episode because to me it's just eternal.

Speaker 6:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1 6:38

No, like that doesn't actually have a source.

Speaker 6:41

Well, and that's part of we're gonna talk about later, like some of the reason why this episode is so funny. And one of the things I will talk about a little bit more and preface this is like how evergreen so much of the like content is in this, in terms of like the jokes are pretty timeless, um, which I love. So before we dive into things and talk about this very funny episode, my random question at the top is Jamie, do you also think it's really difficult to find an apartment in a giant apartment complex? Because I feel that in my soul when Winston is struggling to remember where Daisy's apartment is.

Speaker 1 7:20

Very much so. So I for a second I was panicking because I was like, I don't think I have enough personal experience with this, but I do. So my friend Katie lives in a similar thing, apartment complex. All the buildings look the same. And she like, I've gone to visit her, and she has to like do a code so the garage door will open so I can get in and whatever. So she uh I would go to visit her and she would like come down and get in the car and we'd do everything. Uh and then the last time I went to visit her, like she stayed upstairs and she's like, Okay, so like you put in this code, that's the guest code, it should work. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure I remember the way to get in here. You did not though, did you? So I did with a lot of second guessing, but only because I remembered like the turn to the garage itself, not because of any of the buildings, because all the build it literally was like its own little city in there.

Speaker 8:15

Mm-hmm. That's what I don't love. And I love, I was thinking about this because it is just such a funny but accurate plot point for this episode. Because I'm very grateful now that most of my friends live in houses or standalone structures, but it because nothing stresses me out more than like having to go to someone's apartment complex and them having to give you elaborate instructions of how exactly to get to their apartment. I'm done.

Speaker 1 8:39

I can't do that.

Speaker 8:40

I did it for uh like for a friend's apartment a while back, a couple years ago. She gave me instructions. It was like, yes, you go through this gate and then you turn this way and then like this is the building, but it was dark out, and that stressed me out because the way that apartment complexes often are is that like one, the the building numbers are kind of weird sometimes, and then it's like because they're kind of a secret, yes, and then it's like the stairwell. There's usually two different stairwells and different sides, and it's like okay, the even number apartments are on this side, and it's just like it's so convoluted. So I get what you're doing.

Speaker 1 9:14

Or sometimes it's like a whole block of even is here, and the odds are here, like they're not even across the street from each other, and you have to like then go wander on foot to try and figure out which building you're at.

Speaker 9:26

And so, anyway, I related to that because I was like, I get stressed out when I don't know where I'm going, and apartment complexes stressed me out so much when like in college I would visit friends and be like, I'm standing outside this building. Can can you come down and I'll see if I'm in the right spot? Because it looks like this is the right building, but I know it's not.

Speaker 1 9:45

Right, can you just wave or something? Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 9:47

Like, can you can you do that and meet me on the sidewalk and then walk me to where I'm supposed to go?

Speaker 1 9:52

I, you know, luckily have not lived in in complexes like that. Like all the apartments I've had are like standalone apartment building, not part of a complex. Like it's easy. I feel like there's probably some part of the apartment experience I'm missing out with that, but honestly, I don't think you are though. Fine, good.

Speaker 10:08

I think you're good. I mean, like again.

Speaker 1 10:10

I mean, because also as it was, my old apartment, for some reason, sometimes like when we would door dash, it would like move it to the place across the street, which was not like not a not an apartment complex. It's not like it's another building in our complex, like it was just a random building. And I'm like, that happens. And then, like, my you know, in New York, for some specifically when I'd order Mo's from their app, it would change my street number to be like a hotel down the street. And I'm like, things like that are doing these things all the time. I don't need that on top of like, yeah, here's a literal treasure map. Yes, to find my building, let alone how to get inside that building.

Speaker 10:50

Yes, exactly. I agree wholeheartedly. So, Winston, I get you. I also would be frustrated with I know, and it was dark when by the time you got back. I would so dark and scary. I would 100% have just like, you know, done what Winston eventually does and just leave, but I would have been gone a lot sooner than Winston was. So we're gonna talk about this episode. Uh, I'm excited because there's so much good comedy in this, and there is some plot, but it's not as like plot heavy as the next couple episodes we're gonna have where there's a lot of emotional development and character stuff. This one is a lot of silliness, but in a way that I truly think more shows should be. Uh, so let's talk about it. Parking spot remains one of our favorite episodes of the show. What about it to you makes it so funny and makes it so like in character or timeless? What are your thoughts on why it stands as like our one of our favorites?

Speaker 1 11:46

I mean, I think this episode does a really great job of being like a very ensemble episode. One of the quotes you referenced, the you know, race card deserve a spot card. Like it a lot of the episode is kind of like that where it's a lot of back and forth between multiple of them. Um, and then you know, the A plot is Schmidt, Jess, and Nick, like all three of them. It's not just two of them, and sometimes the third one kind of comes back in. But yeah, and the whole thing is like the three of them all talking at the same time. So it's a lot of back and forth. But I think also um something I was thinking about when I was looking at my my notes of my quotes, because a third one that I wrote down but didn't say, partially because I thought of this point and I was like, I'll get to say it later. When Nick is like, How do you two care about stuff so much? Which is like a very Nick line. Yes, it is. But I I think like Nick kind of has that voice in so much of the episode. It's kind of that like dopey, like I'm I'm confused by what's going on, so I'm kind of just taking a step back and I'm like entertained by it. Like that voice is really consistent throughout the episode for him. So I think it's like all of the one, I mean, all of the comedy is coming from the characters. Yeah, there is heightened stuff, which I'll talk about in a second, but like um all the comedy is coming from the characters, not you know, the other way around. And like they're just so consistent throughout it, and you don't really have a moment where like not even that like you know, oh Jess is out of character in this moment or anything, but it's just like this sounds like the same person dealing with this situation for three hours, you know. Yeah, it just this feels like we're stuck in this loft and then in this apartment, this parking spot with them.

Speaker 13:23

This is exactly how every single one of them would enter, like, you know, would engage in this scenario. Like, this is exactly what they would do in this situation. And that's also why, to your point, like the reason I love this episode so much is because every single character we lean super hard into what makes them so funny, and it works because this is one, uh, a slightly it's not even a slightly absurd scenario because like finding a parking spot, this is also what I need to to tell television at large, is like you don't have to have an incredibly convoluted plot to make a comedy. Community had an episode where it was the bottle episode, a pen goes missing. That's the whole plot of the episode. Everything else that unravels from there is all character-based comedy of how they would respond to all of these scenarios. Parking spot is the same way. Parking spot is Schmidt discovers a parking spot. That's the entire plot of this episode. But everything that happens after that is a hundred percent in line with what they would do, turning a low-stakes situation into a high-stakes situation. And one quote I had to mention, because I knew if I didn't write it down, I'd forget it, is when Winston leaves, Schmidt says, as if there's anything more important than this, and he like takes himself out of the running. And that in a nutshell, that's it.

Speaker 1 14:47

That's them.

Speaker 14:48

That's this is the loft.

Speaker 1 14:49

Well, because right, I love that because it's not only right. Do we immediately understand because we've been watching this show for a year and a half, and you know, so we get why this is so important to these people, but also like, you know, that's a very real thing. Like, you're living in a big city that's very expensive, you don't have a ton of money, you have a crappy car, you're parking. Nick parks at the LA River, apparently. Like apparently, you're parking a mile away because that's all that you can find, especially if you want free parking. Like, so like that is also just such uh like that's such a good plot for a show about people who, you know, at this point around.

Speaker 15:27

Who are in their 30s and are like, I I want a good parking spot. I want a good parking spot. Or, you know, unlike Schmidt, who apparently does pay for park, like premium parking, which again with a contract. Yes, with a contract, he's not to be middled. Not to be middled. It's in his contract. And like, so yes, everything about one, everyone's cars, everyone's parking situations, everyone's struggles in this episode. The one thing I wanted to mention that I do find hilarious is I'm only suspending disbelief because there's no way they wouldn't have disclosed in a rental agreement that they had a parking spot.

Speaker 1 16:04

So, yes, but consider who their super is.

Speaker 16:08

True. Okay, that is fair. And I guess a dumpster was right by or on top of it. I don't know, it's unclear.

Speaker 1 16:14

It was rinsing out the dumpsters.

Speaker 16:15

Yeah, and he discovered the parking spot.

Speaker 1 16:17

That's also that's a very like I mean, that's the thing. I believe it for like a crappy apartment in a big city. Yeah. I don't know LA. I don't know if your apartment is supposed to be a bad apartment. It's clear very clearly not. Right. Like I could I could absolutely see that in like, you know, LA apartment. I mean, I I guess the opposite is probably more common because they're like, oh no, no, no, you get free parking. Okay, where's the spot?

Speaker 16:42

Yeah.

Speaker 1 16:43

What?

Speaker 16:43

Yeah. Well, I do understand, like, it is very in line with like there would only be one spot no matter how many people lived there. Yeah, because an apartment complex would not be.

Speaker 1 16:52

And they're more people than they're supposed to, also.

Speaker 16:54

Exactly. So they were like, it doesn't matter, they're not getting two parking spots. They get one for the entire apartment, and you get the one assigned spot, and the rest of you need to find like guest parking or somewhere else, because apparently the rest of that garage is filled with other people in the apartment complex that park there. But it's just so funny because like the whole premise of this episode is truly centered around how each of these individuals respond to a scenario like this, and then collectively how they would try and determine who gets the parking spot because Jess tries to present at the very beginning a very practical, if not insane, solution of like they split it between all of them.

Speaker 1 17:38

And that's never no, that's not for these people.

Speaker 17:41

No, it's it is the winner takes all. I do love Schmidt. The whole point of him saying I am the dumbest boy in school is why did he tell them that there was a spot? He shouldn't have told them, he should have just taken it, and then they would have never known because apparently they didn't know. But it's just like all and you know, apart from Winston having his own kind of story, which we'll talk about in a little bit because Lamorne is so funny in this episode, too. I think that, well, one, I think those two storylines pair super well together in this episode because it is just truly hijinks. Like that's that's the whole point of this episode, and we're not trying to like shoehorn in like a really emotional, like plot-heavy kind of thing.

Speaker 1 18:19

It's just this is what we're all up to today.

Speaker 18:21

This is what we're doing this week. This is the thing that's happening this week in this loft, is we're dealing with this parking situation. Why would you do this week? Again, uh, you're adults in your 30s, of course, you would have much else going on. Of course, the loft would end up doing this. But I think it's just so funny because every person is exactly how they would respond and how we've already seen them respond in kind of like absurd scenarios that become more and more absurd as the episode progresses, to the point where we have at the very end Schmidt sitting in his own pee because he refused to leave the spot. I just think that it's so funny too, because to my earlier point, like so many of the jokes that we also the jokes that we said, it's not, they're not time-bound, they're very evergreen, they're also very in character. All of what they're saying makes it so relatable and funny because to the point of like they're all very different characters with different comedy and they serve different purposes this episode. I think you can pinpoint little bits of like, oh, I know someone who would respond like Nick does, where it was like he cares about it for about five seconds, and then as soon as conflict happens, there's too much pressure. Nope, there's too much pressure, I'm I'm out. Like he folds so easily, and you're like, that's exactly what would happen. And that's so and we see him fold easily plenty of times. It's so Nick. And Winston being like, No, I'm not gonna engage in this, is very Winston of being like, I have other priorities, thank you very much. You guys can figure this out yourselves. I don't actually care that much. And so, like, that's very in line. And then Schmidt and Jess going as far as they do is also very in line for Schmidt and Jess. It's just such like a good episode all around in terms of like physical comedy and like line delivery and like all the different types of comedy really hit well.

Speaker 1 20:09

So yeah, and I think this, you know, this has some like really big heightened moments that we don't see very like they had stunt drivers. We don't see that often on New Great. Um, but like I I think it's it's at such a good point in the show because we know these people so well, and again, because all of the comedy is from these characters, and like there's a spot. How is Jess gonna fight Schmidt for it? That so you know, Schmidt hitting Nick with his car. Jess feels and if this was season one, it would have felt like too much, right? But just slowly hitting Schmidt's car, not only to get him out of the way, but to use Schmidt's car to push Nick out of the spot again, and then yeah, like Schmidt peeing himself and like all of these. Nick eating garbage that had chocolate on it, like like a you know, a year ago, all of any of those things might have felt like too much.

Speaker 21:03

But we've played we've played two rounds of true American already. We've seen exactly what happens, and it's right.

Speaker 1 21:09

Like, I think you know, we know these people now, and so when there are these big moments like that, it's coming from people we know and love. And also, yeah, I think they figured out the balance of who are these people, how big can we go, you know, where is the audience still with us on and being ridiculous.

Speaker 21:25

To be fair, we were with them the entire episode on how ridiculous everyone behaves. I'm like, this is this, I can see them doing this, but we're gonna circle back to the A story in a little bit. We have a uh B story here that's happening, and it is involving Lamorne, who is very funny in this episode. And I do think that, like, again, to the point of they really leaned into and utilized everyone's comedic strengths. Lamorne, his back and forth with Brenda song when she's like, you didn't bring. The one thing we need to have sex. The delivery, the bounce back and forth between them is so funny. So let's talk about Lamorne because we don't often get a chance to see, like, we lament this a lot about how Winston is usually relegated to like a smaller storyline. He doesn't really get that much character growth and development. This one is pure comedy. Um, and I want us to talk about how delightful that is.

Speaker 1 22:23

Yeah, I mean, this is my favorite Winston plot of all the Winston plots, easily. Um, I think part of it is, you know, again, like there's not a ton of plot. Like he is a really brief scene with Daisy, and the rest of it is just Lamorin just yelling things and running around the city. And I think, especially compared to the previous episode where the Winston plot was like a random character being the comedy and doing whatever she was doing. Like, so I I think you know, this is where Winston plots work. When it's Winston being Winston, he's overwhelmed. He's just trying to make something go right.

Speaker 23:02

And you're right, he's the one who's driving the comedy in every scene. Like, he is not the one who the comedy is supposed to be happening to, like it, you know, in some of these other storylines, or they're trying to, it's it's not like they, again, were trying to shoehorn some emotional story for Winston into a B story, because that would have felt off. But he is a hundred percent the one who is driving every comedic scene that he has partners with, whether he is by himself at the loft, like raiding Jess's drawers, whether he's screaming in a-finds that box of a thousand condoms. I love, and again, he's so funny. Like, he he can sell comedy in a scene by himself while he's spinning around at an apartment complex at dark, not sure where Daisy's apartment is, just yelling. Like, he is so funny in this episode, and I think that that's what they really leaned into is like, okay, Winston. Yeah, you're doing this. Yeah, you're doing this. He's really funny in the group, but I do think like I don't know. I think it would have still definitely been funny, but I don't know what Winston would have added if he had stayed. He would have probably done the same thing as Nick. Like, he probably would have dropped out pretty early because he didn't care enough about the spot. I don't see Winston being the one who's going up against Jess and uh Schmidt for the the spot. He doesn't he doesn't feel like he would care that that much. So it is kind of satisfying that he gets the reward at the very end of the episode than the reward is and that feels very Winston.

Speaker 1 24:36

Like I didn't I wasn't fighting you guys for this the whole time. I swooped in at the end and I got it. Yes.

Speaker 24:42

But I deserve it, and you all will like have gone on your journeys to the point where you won't care at the end of the episode.

Speaker 1 24:48

Yeah, and I mean there there is something so funny about you know, because they don't know what happens. Like Winston just comes home and's like, I had a bad day, and they're like, we had a day full of nonsense. Winston's really going through it. You should give him the spot and then you see what he went through that day.

Speaker 25:06

He has yum on his sweatpants. He left his wallet and his phone at Daisy's, which I would be very upset about, like leaving my phone.

Speaker 1 25:16

This is one of this is one of those sitcom things where I start overthinking it, like and I'm like, how are you getting in touch with her? How are you getting your stuff back? Well, she knows where the loft is, so I guess she's gonna have to come here in the morning. Right. Does she know that his stuff is? And I stress myself out so bad, and then I was like, I have to like actively tell myself it's a TV show TV show, it'll be fine.

Speaker 25:37

And also to piggyback on the idea of Winston being so funny with his scene partners, I literally forgot until I rewatched this episode that Cece and Chevrane are in this episode in a very brief moment.

Speaker 1 25:49

But I love like his interaction with Cece, feels like such a like early version of Winston.

Speaker 25:57

We are not close enough for this.

Speaker 1 25:59

That that thing, and that's my favorite like brand of Cece humor. The like, I don't actually know you guys all that well. You're my friends, roommates.

Speaker 26:10

Um we have interacted very little over the last year and a half.

Speaker 1 26:14

I love that. I love when he's yelling and she's like, oh, he's saying rhubarb. He's just saying words. No, I'm not the word that he can hear what she's saying.

Speaker 26:24

It's just like all kinds of comedy are being used in this episode. You hear him and you don't see him on camera, but you hear his yelling. And you just like then you see him interact with Shavrang. Again, this poor Shavrang who is like being reassured by Cece, my friends are really normal. Like, you're gonna love them when you meet them. I don't know this random guy who's yelling at my door. Um, and I just like I love that interaction too. And I love that Cece continues to just be the person who's like, no, get out of here. You're not allowed in my apartment anymore. Um, and also I love the callback to later when Cece ends up moving from her apartment and the guys help and they make the comment of, like, have you ever been here before? And they're like, Oh, like very few times. This is only one of the time. Winston comes back one other time at the end of the season at to Cece's place. Yeah. That's pretty much it. Like, yeah, we really are not that close for this. Well, I I think also, yeah. So, how does he know where she lives? She lives in the same complex, allegedly, apparently. I think that the same neighborhood. The same neighborhood. But like, yeah, how in the world does he know where Cece is? Listen, he doesn't have his phone. I'm gonna leave that actually. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna touch that because that I'm just gonna suspend it.

Speaker 1 27:39

Okay, we know Jess's car breaks down a lot. Maybe he drove her once. I'm gonna go with he just he knows. But yeah, and I think especially because this is you know, they're starting to figure out what to do with Winston. They haven't figured out what to do with Cece yet. And eventually when they do, it's just getting her in the loft more often. It's like this apartment is not long for this.

Speaker 27:59

No, it's not. And also, like, there is so much fun in seeing them play off of each other this early and then knowing how close they actually become later on. And also that like Cece really does, and you know, we've talked about this with the other characters. You know, at any given point in most sitcoms, there is a straight man character. And for a lot of these episodes, Cece is the straight man because she's kind of the outsider. She's the one observing all the stuff that's happening. She's the one who wanted to be involved in the pogos because she felt left out, but like we start to see her slightly loosen up and get a little bit more absurd with certain characters like Winston. Like, we get a chance to really see them develop a rapport and a friendship. And I just think it's so funny that Cece gets to be the straight man character in this episode. He like, we we are not friends, and this is incredibly awkward right now.

Speaker 1 28:56

Well, and especially because it because of that, it does a really good job of that thing where like, because you know, usually Winston is the straight man like within the loft. So it I love that, you know, he gets to go out and find Cece and then he's then he's the Schmidt.

Speaker 29:11

Then he in that situation. Yes, he is. Oh, it's so great. He's so like Lamorne is so great in this episode. I do feel like we get a lot and we'll talk a lot about as the show goes on. Like we've already said and have alluded to, like, the show doesn't always know exactly what to do with Winston, where to put Winston in stories. I think they do slightly a better job once we add coach back in. Like we start to have a little bit more of like we have one more person to play around with pairing-wise. But it's like his stories are usually like okay, if he's not part of the A story, he's usually relegated to like a B or C story. And they're usually the less interesting or fun ones, which is unfortunate, or ones that are kind of just forgettable, where sometimes we'll be recapping things and like, oh right, we forgot that this was the B story. Like Winston has a girls' night with like his girlfriend's friends. Like, we forgot that that was a story that existed. But this is one of those great instances in which it's like, look, we didn't need to have them have a fully fleshed out B story. We had a story that complemented the A story in a way that played to everyone's strengths. Yeah. It's still moving the plot forward, it's still moving us like toward Daisy and Winston's for once found a good balance of it.

Speaker 1 30:29

Right.

Speaker 30:29

Because also I think it's important to see to see Winston and Daisy's relationship and like their dynamics to understand again, like later on what their dynamics are in the season. And then, of course, when Daisy ends up coming back briefly in season three and like cheating on Winston, I think it's nice to be able to like see physically, like Winston has a girlfriend and he is spending time with her rather than Winston just saying, I have a girlfriend and I'm gonna go over to her apartment, kind of thing.

Speaker 1 30:57

Well, and and I think like seeing because this I think is the not like the earliest stages of it, but still kind of the early stages of who Winston ends up being. Yeah. And I mean, like he's always kind of been like it's not needy, I guess, but like, you know, a little, oh, th this carrot is dangling in front of me. I need it, I need it, I need it. Yeah. Um, which like we kind of saw a little bit differently with Shelby. Like with Shelby, it was like, oh, I, you know, I have to present myself as being cool um and above this, but actually the way to show her that I'm serious is by not doing that. Like, you know, I think this is kind of the opposite where he's just like, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex. Huh? Huh? Like, I gotta, you know.

Speaker 31:40

It's yeah, it's fun to see him like lean it, because we will see later on. I mean, at the very towards the end of the show, I mean, obviously Winston and Allie end up together. And so it's nice to see Allie in a lot of ways does play a straight man for some of the interactions, but she is also just as absurd as Winston is sometimes, and like that is fun because we don't often get Winston with pairings that feel like he gets to be silly as well, and there's someone else who's leaning into that because even in this episode, it's like, you know, Daisy is not playing around. Daisy has no time for nonsense. Daisy's got a schedule to stick to, so she is not having fun with this little game in the way that Winston is when he's trying to brainstorm solutions to their problem, and she is having none of that, which again, Lamore Morris's rapid fire delay. Oh, mini beat of those. All of those so, so funny. And it's nice. It's nice to see Winston get a chance to play around, be silly, and then still come out sort of a winner. I mean, he gets the spot until people realize, oh, wait, this actually isn't a good thing. We don't really want to have the parking spot anyway. We didn't realize that it was that tiny. But yeah, I I just love watching Winston run around. That's what I've got.

Speaker 1 32:57

Yeah. This is but yeah, and it it does, you know, it is continuing the storyline from Cooler and like where it's going. I mean, same thing with Cece. Like it's it's you know, because you know, we get 10 seconds of him with Daisy, but like, and same with Cece, like that scene is so quick before Winston is banging on her door. Yeah, but like it does a really good job of hey, like this is where we are. You know, I think they're and even for like Jess and Nick, obviously, like Schmidt finding out is like a very important step. So like they're all important steps for all of these storylines, but there's not that much plot, and it is mostly jokes. Yeah, you know, but it's able to do that exactly.

Speaker 33:34

I think that you, yeah, and again, this is a 20-minute sitcom, so I think it's like it's proof that you can do both. You don't have to have something especially, you know, in this placement in the season. You don't have to go super hard into like plot heavy things, and we need to explain what's happening in every different scenario and what this person is up to and how they're feeling. Like, we get all of the different continuations of what's been happening over the last like couple of episodes, and it's fun to see it because, like again, you said with the Cece and Chevrang, even though it's quick, it's nice to see Shivrang and Cece and their relationship rather than again just hearing off screen, maybe in the next episode, like, oh yeah, Cece is you know going to hang out with Chevrang, you know, the classic show don't tell. And you don't have to make it a big thing, but the but the plot was funny in that scene. It also drove a larger overarching narrative. So we're like following it into to infinity next time. So uh yeah, so I I liked this again. It's just like this is just a really fun episode, and we're gonna talk more about fun stuff. We're gonna go back to our A story because I wanna talk a little bit about the fun, not for Nick, of Schmidt and Jess manipulating Nick. What did you think about the fact that they spend the entire episode both trying to manipulate Nick? Because the whole thing, of course, if you forgot the plot, is that they're both gonna vote for themselves. So Nick is the tiebreaker in who of the two of them gets the spot? So I want to hear your thoughts.

Speaker 1 35:09

I mean, I love, like again, right? Like it's just the perfect, like it's exactly what you want to happen with this premise. You know Nick is gonna fold, you know Jess is gonna go for it, Schmidt's gonna go for it. But also it's it's such a smart way to mirror like the tension about like them kissing and like you know, people finding out about it because it's such a you know, for Schmidt, a lot of the issue with finding out that they kissed is like, oh, uh the dynamics in the loft and the power dynamics, part of that is because to Schmidt he's at the top.

Speaker 35:39

Yeah, he considers himself the alpha of the loft.

Speaker 1 35:42

He considers himself the alpha. And I think for Schmidt, you know, the concept ever of not being the most important person in Nick's life, it does not whether or not that is how Nick would classify it.

Speaker 35:55

Um kissed him, he would tell him.

Speaker 1 36:00

When Nick is just so somber, I know you would tell me if Winston. I know you would tell me.

Speaker 36:05

I know you would. I know that's how you feel.

Speaker 1 36:07

But like, yeah, I so yeah, it's just such a good way to mirror that tension and and especially like the specific tension of Schmidt finding out. Like, you know, not you're not really worried previously about how Winston's gonna find out or how Cece's gonna react. Like Schmidt is the problem.

Speaker 36:24

And clearly clearly, if this episode um is any proof.

Speaker 1 36:28

But I love it also because you know, it's and I think it's also that thing that we've talked about a lot. Like, you know, the way that like the show will, you know, have these random moments where Nick and Jess are like going to each other and like checking in with each other. I think this it it's kind of like referencing that implicitly of like, well, of course Schmidt knows Nick and is a super important in his person in his life. Jess would kind of be in this position whether or not they had kissed. Like the the guilt of it for Nick is coming from the fact that they just kissed, so he's like, I owe her something, right? Yeah. But I think it is that thing of like, but I you know, she also knows Nick this well at this point, and she knows exactly what buttons to press.

Speaker 37:08

Because he's a gentleman, he's gonna give her the spot.

Speaker 1 37:10

Gentleman.

Speaker 37:11

But here's the thing that I love so much is that both of them know, both of them do something that they are like implicitly like, no, we're trying to be nice to you, but we're definitely trying to manipulate you. Oh, hi, I'm gonna wear your hoodie. I love that whole scene. Like, his concern over her chewing the real. I wouldn't put that. Um, and like he gives her the spot, obviously, and then there's the we'll talk about it a little bit, their awkwardness between the two of them. And then, you know, Schmidt comes in with a cold beer for Nick, and Nick is like, oh, this is just you being nice. And then of course Schmidt's like, well, obviously I have this on lock because, like, yes, you and Jess are friends, and of course, again, to this point, he does not know that they've kissed yet, but I've been your best friend slash roommate for like 10 plus years. So obviously, I'm the most important person. I think it's so funny too that this does continue the trend of Schmidt does not want Nick to be closer to anyone than he is to him.

Speaker 1 38:19

Like, which is one of my favorite characters.

Speaker 38:22

I love it. I love that Schmidt Schmidt is just like, you do not have any other friends. You do not have any friends. I'm your best friend, I'm the one who is able. But it's so funny because they both, Schmidt is a hundred percent obviously, and this is what happens right before the I am the decider of us three quote, is Schmidt is overtly trying to manipulate Nick, possibly without a lot of Nick's knowledge, until Jess is like, he's manipulating you, he's acting sincere and smiling like a joker. And Jess obviously was actively manipulating him, and he was aware that that was what was happening because he's like at first confused, like, did you hit your head? What is happening? Oh, you're trying to flirt with me to get the spot. He picks up on that, but it's just so funny to me that like Jess is the one who has to be like, no, Schmidt is actively also manipulating you to try and get you to get it.

Speaker 1 39:20

Schmidt is manipulating him with he's guilting him with a thing that is what Schmidt believes, not what Nick believes. Yeah, that's right. I think it's also speaking to their dynamic of like, I mean, yes, Nick, you know, he's he's in some ways trying to be more emotionally open with his friend Schmidt, as we've seen. But I think also it's just this thing of like, I don't really know what's going on. He's getting upset about this.

Speaker 39:44

So So all the pieces well, and that's also like you said earlier, this whole episode is such a good example of like all the different character traits. Nick is going to back down and panic moonwalk away. He's going to tell one person one thing and then take it back and then tell the other person the other thing and take it back and then not know what to do because he can't make a decision. And I was like, this isn't lying, but he's bad at like I said this and uh he's just really bad at being able to commit to something that makes one person happy and one person unhappy. Like Nick has this thing that happens in season three where there's fighting and he starts dancing to try and make everyone happy. This is Nick not knowing how to handle conflict, which I think is hilarious. Because then what does Nick do when he can't figure out how to handle conflict? Does he react appropriately and then say, hey, Jess, I think Schmidt should have the spot, or vice versa? No, he says, I'm gonna take the spot. If you guys won't stop bothering me, then I will just take the spot and then then that's my problem solved. Then they'll both be mad at me, and it's fine. Just like I love.

Speaker 1 41:02

They can both be mad at me, but I can't have one of them mad.

Speaker 41:06

Yeah, no, I can't have one happy and one mad. And I just think it's so funny that both of them try. Schmidt and Jess are so good. Because also the other thing is like, I kind of love when we get a chance to see Jess not taking moral high ground. Like, she's definitely not in this episode. She runs back and says, he's trying to decide. You said you'd kill him, kill him.

Speaker 1 41:29

Um, because this is also like if this happens with you and your best friends, you are not sitting down and handling it like civilized people. I'm pushing you to the ground. You're my best friend.

Speaker 41:43

You're like, I love you forever, but also you cannot win. Yeah, this you can't win. I can't let you win. Again, we've talked about this a lot. I love that these characters can also be incredibly selfish and egotistical. I think it's funny. I think it's really funny when Jess is like, I want to win, and I love when she kind of acts that way. And in this, it's really funny because she's like, ooh, I can manipulate Nick because we just kissed.

Speaker 1 42:11

And it's so funny too, because five minutes before that, he's being weird and he's like, We should have sex. And she's like, uh, what? Five minutes later.

Speaker 42:20

She's like, wait, I've discovered. I've discovered what I can do because he's clearly thinking about it. He's clearly thinking about our kiss, even though he says we're all fine. Like, actually. Yeah. And I love, I love the whole dynamic because it's it's also like really fun, and we're gonna talk in a second about Max Greenfield. It's just really fun to see Schmidt and Jess stories like this because we don't often get stories where they're on opposing sides of things and opposing sides of a silly thing that they both want to accomplish and win. We see this happen a couple other times in the show, but a lot of times it's like they're on the same team or like they're both experiencing some weirdness happening around them, like thinking about like Valentine's Day stuff. Like they're having a storyline, but they're not really competing or doing anything like that. So it's so fun to see them clash because I just enjoy it so much. And in case I forget to say it later, I think it's really funny that Schmidt and Jess end up kissing at the end of this episode. And the reaction from Nick is maybe one of my favorite Nick reactions to things. It's just so great. I love, I love how they're like they remain so close throughout the entire show, and both of them are inherently like, oh no, oh no, this is a bad idea. This made it worse.

Speaker 1 43:45

And that's like what I love that in very specific ways that are not super numerous, Schmidt and Jess are so similar.

Speaker 2 43:53

Yes.

Speaker 1 43:53

And I think sometimes I I mean, and it one of those things I think is the way that, like, to both of them, Nick is their person. But for very different reasons and very different ways. Um, like he kind of hones something in them. Um I, of course, you know, uh would be remiss if I didn't rewrite a a very uh exciting topic for me, which is Valentine's Day season one, Schmidt and Jess. But I think this episode very much confirms the thing of like it's not that there's something that is there often. Like it's not like this is like a like a chemistry thing that just like shows up sometimes. It's such a specific, like this one day, this one time the stars would have aligned and like something could have happened, and like this episode I think proves that. Yeah, like this is not the matter, a matter of like somebody open, you know, Nick and Jess, somebody opened a door at the right time. This is there was one time. There was one moment, one specific day where it could have happened and it didn't. Is that for the best? Yes, yes, probably.

Speaker 44:57

It's just so funny. It's so funny to me that it was like, yep, that one specific time it could have altered what had happened, but also this episode is entirely proof that like Jess in her conscious mind knows that that would not have been a good idea. Right long term, she just like in the moment was like, no, in the moment this is a good idea. And again, in the moment, they think, like, well, what I guess kissing couldn't make it worse, and they're all like, oh no, we made it much worse now. It made it made it so much worse somehow. So I love that. I want us before we move to kind of more of the Nick and Jess stuff of the story, because there is stuff to talk about with how their plot moves forward. We talk so much about Jake Johnson and how Nick Miller is hot, but I want us to talk about how funny Max Greenfield is in this episode. Also, Max Greenfield is hot. I would be remiss if I didn't say that too. Um, he's just, to me, it's really hard to pick a comedic MVP in an episode where all of them are giving their A game. For me, the scene that solidifies the MVP is when Jess slowly crashes into the car and his face. He goes, I can't believe this is happening. I didn't think I'd go down like this. Like I every single time laugh.

Speaker 1 46:19

And at first, like, you're not gonna do this about Jess hitting his car that he is about hitting Nick with his own car.

Speaker 46:27

And the face of him after he hits Nick with the car. It's just so funny. I'm sorry, it's just so funny. And I love Max because he does so much good like line delivery, too, in this. Like, we talked about all of his line, like the the line delivery of I'm the dumbest boy in school, the delivery we didn't talk about of everyone overlapping, talking before, like in the cold open, and then like him even before this, the first thing we see of Schmidt in this episode is him knocking the towel rack off the wall.

Speaker 1 47:01

Yeah, and it's so funny. Right, like because things like this that specifically make Schmidt go crazy are always very funny. Also, a very specific mannerism I want to point out. I can't remember what the line he's saying the word room, but he said he says it like rum, which is a very Schmidt thing, and he does it throughout the show.

Speaker 47:23

The smallest room or whatever that he Yeah, oh that's it, right.

Speaker 1 47:27

I I have the smallest room in the loft. That is a New York accent thing. I'm not sure specifically which part of New York, and I think this actually might be something that like other regional accents do. Um, but my grandfather, who was born in Brooklyn, did the same thing. So like roof was rough and like a root of a tree was rut. And it always makes me laugh because it's so specific and it's so I mean, like, I don't know if it's I don't know if it's specifically Long Island, but like the Long Island moments obviously are very funny to me. Yes. But it's it's also such just such a good way of like, you know, Schmidt and his pronouncing of things.

Speaker 48:05

Yes, it's just like a it's a holdover from that. It is funny because sometimes he does, especially like with the emphasis that he places on things, like lines that wouldn't normally be funny end up being incredibly funny.

Speaker 1 48:17

Yeah, I think that's why it's funny to me because it seems like like it seems like Chutany.

Speaker 48:22

Yes.

Speaker 1 48:22

But I'm like, I know what this is.

Speaker 48:24

Yeah, doing something. It's just something that like comes out.

Speaker 1 48:27

He's from Long Island. Uh and I would love to know which part do we know, we don't know what part of Long Island.

Speaker 48:33

He doesn't specifically well, unless he says, I'd have to remember. I mean, I it's probably a fictional school or town that he says when they go to New York in whatever season that is, but I would have to re-watch and be like, oh, do they does he specifically say what high school slash?

Speaker 1 48:49

I have to research it because I have I have like theories in my head. Schmidt is from Psycet, Manhasset, none of this means anything to me. I know, but somebody listening would be like, he's so from Psyaucet.

Speaker 49:02

And I love that for the person who's listening and is saying that right now to themselves.

Speaker 1 49:06

Um a lot of Broadway actors from Pioset. Oh, okay.

Speaker 49:09

Yeah, I mean, just like Max truly shines in this episode to the point where, like, literally we were talking before we started recording, and you know, after we had rewatched Table 34, I was like, ooh, I do not like this as much as I remembered having liked this. And, you know, we try, or both of us try and not watch beyond what we're actually gonna talk about so that we have everything kind of fresh. And I can tell you without a doubt that I was still laughing at scenes. Obviously, I'm laughing as I'm saying the lines because they are that funny because Max is so good at this type of comedy. I mean, he has all the opportunities to shine. He gets to do so much silly stuff, but also I really love that he gets to do a little bit of uh some more serious stuff. Uh, in this, like when he's talking to Nick and Jess about like, why are you expecting him to side with you? Because you guys kissed and now he owes you something. Is that what you think? And then of course Schmidt giving the classic rom-com line of you realize that every second that you don't go after her, you're basically more of an idiot. And that's coming from the guy who's sitting in his own pee.

Speaker 1 50:22

So here we are. Well, when you put it like that.

Speaker 50:26

But yeah, so I do love that we get all different kinds of comedy for the different actors in this. But I just think like Max is just so funny in the show, and this specific episode, he's just at the top of his game to me, comedically.

Speaker 1 50:43

Yeah, it the balance of the more serious things, and also like I mean, I I have a lot that I want to say about this when we get to it, but like the what we get about like Nick and Jess and kind of what they're feeling at this point is really interesting to me because I I think they're in a state right now, like they're not really thinking about like having feelings for each other or even like sex. Like they're just like, we kiss each other, what do we do with that? And like Schmidt is the one who's kind of like they know that it's bigger than just like we kiss, we can't, you know, we can't just be like decide to put it behind us. Like Schmidt is kind of the one who's like, no, this is gonna be complicated. And now perhaps some of that reason is because of Schmidt himself, sure, making things complicated, but like he's kind of the only one to call out at this point, like, no, no, no, no, this is not you're not thinking about the full picture here. Right. I know something you don't know.

Speaker 51:38

Yeah, he's kind of the ironically, for the person who ends the episode by peeing himself because he doesn't want to leave it. He he is the one who's like, hey, you guys need to talk about this. You keep basically saying it's not a big deal. Um, you keep trying to play it off as not a big deal. I do love the scene where he asks what happened. Nothing, hardly anything, hardly anything. Um, again, Max Greenfield's delivery of Mazel tov and walking right out of the room. So good. And so, like, yeah, he is the one who's actually thinking about it because he's the one who brings up the no-nail oath. And he's the only one who's thinking through, like, hey, you guys haven't thought through how it affects all of you.

Speaker 1 52:29

Me personally.

Speaker 52:30

Me personally. But I mean, Winston started to lay the groundwork a little bit in being like, hey, so I don't want to have to have another roommate. You need to make things right. That was more or less like a an immediate aftermath of, like, hey, fix this and do something so that it doesn't get worse. And Schmidt is like, hey, did you guys have a basically, did you guys have a conversation about this? Clearly you didn't. You're both answering very different responses to this. So I think you're gonna have to realize this is gonna become a problem. And because we're already headed right there, let's talk about that because Nick and Jess begin the episode by congratulating themselves on how well they're handling not dealing with what just happened.

Speaker 1 53:13

While, may I just say, calling back to CC crashes, each other, which we all know from bring it on, is a very emotionally fraught thing to do with a person.

Speaker 53:27

Yes. Um, so they have that little awkwardness, and then they kind of put stuff aside until it gets big enough within their competition of parking spot for Jess to be like, what's going on? Like, we are acting weird around each other. Jess earlier, when she flirts with Nick, gets really scared and doesn't give him a hug and reacts poorly in the moment. So neither of them are actually dealing with this because spoiler alert, they're not actually dealing with it. They haven't talked about it. So let's talk about the awkwardness, the tension that because we get both. We get awkwardness, we get tension towards the end of the episode. What do you think about the way that this episode kind of provides to me and probably to you at least, a better bridge than table 34 did?

Speaker 1 54:18

Yeah. What's really interesting about this point in time is, like I said, right? Like they're not really on the page of like, do I have feelings for them? Like, do I want this to go somewhere? Like, or even, you know, this isn't a quick hardening caulk situation where they're like, I am so horny, looking at you, I'm filled with lust. They're literally just, you know, stuck on the kiss. And and the fact that it happened and not, they're not at the point of like, do I want it to happen again? Which I love because I think it kind of retroactively strengthens that moment of like this was a huge surprise, right? Like she wasn't expecting it, he wasn't planning on doing it, and neither of them were like planning that moment to be when they did something about these things that sometimes pop up for them. And so I think it just reinforces this thing, the this idea that like they genuinely don't know how they feel each about each other. I mean, they have and they haven't been like it's not like they're pining from afar, you know. Uh, you know, we will later be told this is not true. This is a big part of why I don't agree with that. You know, this isn't like a oh, like the door is open, I can go after this. Does he want it? Does she want it? They're just on like, oh, you changed everything. How do I be around you at this point? Right. Um, which I think is like really interesting and really smart. And I think especially watching it now, because you know, at the time, I cannot tell you how hyped up on adrenaline I was for the months between cooler and airing through the finale. This was getting me through my life. But it's really interesting watching it now, not only knowing what happens, but just like being older of like the way that this is propelled is a lot different than how I thought it was back then. Because back then I was like, you know, they're so lustful. Like, sure, but it's it's so based on and and right, and again, I I think it that's what makes this whole thing work because it's coming out of well, this affects not only our friendship, but literally every other person in this law. So, like, they they have to go so slowly because it's it's not coming from a place of like I just want this really badly and I'm not thinking about the consequences, which was the kiss itself. Yes, but that's not now. Like now it's just what is this?

Speaker 56:29

Well, and it's like what fundamentally will change or might change that we haven't even really thought about. Because I think that your point of the kiss was a surprise to both of them is definitely like true, and as a result of that, it wasn't like a planned lead up to this, like they didn't plan for all of this to happen. Last episode, they just had to deal with the fallout of the consequences of their kiss, which is like, hey, our kiss impacted Sam and it impacts me and how I navigate this relationship. And oh, we have a little bit of like a competition here, but it's more or less like we have to prove that it meant something to each of us. Okay, we got to the place where it was like Nick apologizes, I'm so sorry, kissing you made you clearly sad, so I'm not gonna do it again. We can just move forward from here. But the problem is they didn't talk about what that actually means? Like, what do we do? Is every interaction we have gonna be weird or tinged with some sort of tension now? Because we haven't discussed how this impacts, like you said, not only our dynamic, but the whole dynamic of the loft. And one of the things that I really love about the idea of this like conflict between Nick and Jess is that it starts off being like, hey, we're awkward and uncomfortable, but Schmidt pinpoints something that we'll talk about. I'll just merge these two bullet points together because I'm already here, is like, hey, so just because Nick kissed Jess, that doesn't mean Jess automatically gets someone who's gonna be on her side all the time in the loft when they have disagreements. And to her, she's like unintentionally, maybe subconsciously or unconsciously, thinking that, like, well, now because Nick and I kissed, uh, he's gonna be on my team. Like, he's gonna be the one who helps me out. And Schmidt is the one who's like, does he owe you loyalty? Does he owe you a vote in this parking spot debacle because you guys kiss? You're assuming that that's the case, and Jess kind of you see that she comes to the realization of like, we didn't talk about what this actually means. Like, how do we navigate conflict when it impacts other people in the loft? Or are we a united front now because we kissed? Probably not, but like that started to be where Jess was going. And then, of course, Nick has his big this was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life kind of thing. So I think you're right. It's like it's interesting because the kiss is so isolated, and for us it's such like a grand romantic gesture. But they are right, it affects the whole rest of the loft. This isn't just about them. So bringing it up and being like, hey guys, you should figure out how this affects the dynamic of all of us moving forward. So if you guys are on the same page, then we can all be on the same page. I think that that was a good choice for the show to make because it gives another layer to right, like you're saying, it's not just about like, ooh, they're tension moving forward. It's the logistics and complications you would have to actually navigate. If you lived with a person you just kissed and then didn't talk about what just happened, you can't just not talk about it and assume things are gonna be fine moving forward.

Speaker 1 59:50

Well, because I think also like I I think sometimes like shows and movies will have like a big romantic kiss that, like, in the world is not necessarily supposed to be this big sweeping thing, but it's it's a movie, so it looks this way, or like you know, it's it's to have an effect on the audience. Like, I love that on the show it's like, no, everything you felt watching this is exactly like it was a big kiss, right? Because I think you know, different people, different circumstances you can kiss, and it's not this incredible moment and it's fine, and you move on, but like this was genuinely earth-shattering for them because he kisses like a coal minor who's just come home. I think the right, like, does he owe you loyalty? Like, are are you, you know, in some way then are you expecting him to be more aware of your feelings on things and like your needs? Like, I think a big part of that is, you know, because they haven't talked about it, so she's not thinking about, well, why did he kiss me? What was he feeling? What was I feeling? What am I feeling now? I think the emotion part of it and all that, you know, the sometimes we're friends who are sometimes attracted to each other. Like, I kind of don't feel like that kind of factored in until now. Because I I think part of her reaction is her thinking about it for the first time and oh, the reason I'm thinking this way, and assuming he might give me the spot over Schmidt, and assuming he might be on my side, is because of course I assume there's emotions involved on some level, and I just didn't know that until now. And you know, then obviously right, because again, I I think that's the interesting thing. Like, them kissing opens the door for some other things to happen that lead to them getting together. Yeah. The kiss itself is not what gets them together, right? You know, because they need this inciting incident to not change how they look at each other, but just be like, oh, maybe this thought that's been in the back of my head. Let's think about that some more. Because I do think on that.

Speaker 1:01:53

I do think that the idea of them being so close in season one and season two up until the point where they kiss, and then where we land on them being a couple, and then after that, and then eventually them getting back together again, is contingent upon like Nick and Jess's relationship is about more than them just being attracted to each other. Because we get we see we see that throughout the show. They are still attracted to each other even when they're not together, because they're like, yes, we find each other attractive, yes, we want to kiss each other because I find you attractive and there's feelings there and chemistry there. But the place that we have to get to to get to the end of the season starts here, where they're like, we have to confront the mess. We have to address the fact that this could get messy and this could get weird, and we're both a little weird when it comes to stuff like this. And if we're allowing ourselves to move forward and like going through the mess together, if we're willing to both say, you know, I want whatever this is, no matter how weird or complicated it might get, then we can do it, which is how we get to the end of the season, where they call it off and then uncall it. Because it's like, you know, Jess wants to be brave and say, there's something between us. And yes, this is gonna be strange for both of us, but it's worth it. It's about more than just us being attracted to each other. But the whole point of logistics has to come into it early on here is like, hey, if we're gonna be able to be around each other and around our roommates, stuff like this is gonna come up where it's gonna, we're gonna all gonna have like debates about something. And we need to kind of know where we stand with each other. How what are your thoughts and feelings? Like, can we at least just say, yes, this happened, and we can move forward from here? Because again, we continue to see them be awkward around each other throughout the rest of the season where they're figuring out their feelings. But I like this because it gives them some sort of motivation to actually like address the elephant in the room. We gotta figure out logistically how we act around each other.

Speaker 1 1:03:58

Well, and because that you know, Jess hasn't heard what Nick actually thinks. She's only heard him saying in response to feeling like she regrets it or this made something difficult for her. I'm sorry because it made your life difficult in some way. Yes. Which is not how I feel.

Speaker 1:04:15

It's not true, but he's like, okay, this is what I can deduce. Cause again, Jess didn't say I enjoyed this kiss to Nick, if we will recall. She only said that to Cece. And Nick just assumes, okay, well, she must not have wanted me to do that. Uh so we'll just move forward from here. But in this episode, yeah, you have to get to the point where Nick says something that Jess is hearing for the first time, which is, I regret that kiss. It was the dumbest mistake I've ever made. And that's the first thing she's really hearing from Nick about how he feels, where she's like, she right before this says, You nailed my mouth.

Speaker 1 1:04:57

You nailed it good and hard and strong strong.

Speaker 1:05:01

And so she's being vulnerable and saying, like, I really enjoyed this. You really, you kissed me. And then Nick's response is something that does hurt her feelings because she's like, Okay, so that's clearly where he stands. So now we have to figure out how to move forward with Nick regrets this and thinks it's the worst thing that's ever happened to him, and I think it's the best thing, and I saw through space and time. So now we have to figure out how to be roommates when one of us is admitting, like, oh, I really liked this, and the other is like this was terrible, until, of course, at the very end, which we'll talk about in a second. But yeah, none of this happens without Schmidt being like, hey, you guys need to have this conversation. You're just assuming, you're making assumptions about how the other person is feeling. And because Jess is by nature a non confrontational person, it always tickles me that they begin the episode being like, We're doing so great, we're amazing. Look at us. If people came into this bathroom, they'd never think those two roommates just made out. But you did, we just made out. And I'm like, you guys aren't actually doing anything. You're just both avoiding talking about it. You're like, oh yeah, we're great. And then, oh, here Schmidt with a distraction. Thank God. Right. Exactly. Perfect timing to get distracted. And I love what I also really love about this episode is that it is another example of how Jess and Nick are perfect for each other and how weird they are, where they have their little weird off and they're both like, what are we doing? Why are we doing this? And so then Nick stepping forward and being like, I'm gonna take the spot. I love that they have this like undercurrent of competition between them still, uh, because I think that's always a favorite part of my dynamic for dynamic.

Speaker 1 1:06:41

We've talked about this before. Uh, and I think in in the way that like something the show does kind of as it moves past season one is like, you know, it lets other characters be weird in a way that season one, it was jet or early season one at least, like it was Jess. And I think something that that's really fun watching the show, the more it goes, is like any character that can have a line that feels like season one Jess, but it works and it like it truly can be any of them. But like I specifically love the way that Nick starts to get weird by virtue of knowing Jess. It's you know, one of those like weird little ways that like they're very much in sync, and something something I was thinking about when you mentioned it earlier, like Nick dancing in season three when people are arguing, which is a mirror to Jess dancing and singing to distract her divorced parents from fighting, like you know, the these tiny ways that it's like, oh, they're very similar, and and these are like kind of the real things that bring them together and that they have in common.

Speaker 1:07:34

It's so great. They're both such little weirdos, and I love them. They're so strange. But I do think that it's it's nice and important that the show gives us this little bridge of like, hey, we need to talk about something. Now we're gonna talk about the reason why they're discussing kissing each other, and that is because Schmidt brings up something that Jess had no knowledge of, that apparently Nick didn't read or didn't read the fine print of, which is a no-nail oath that happened when Jess moved in between Schmidt and Coach and Nick. And not Winston. And not Winston, because Winston was not, yeah, I was like, there's there's a loophole in case Winston and Jess ever wanted to happen. Right, there you go. There it was. Um, but yeah, she is obviously rightfully horrified by what this is, which is, you know, they all agreed not to sleep with Jess, their new female roommate. So they have this conversation, and Jess realizes that there was something she was unaware of. And again, we go back to Schmidt bringing up, do you think Nick owes you loyalty? And Nick avoiding having a conversation. Nick then saying it was the dumbest mistake he's ever made, and Jess, just like a good rom-com does, walking away in saying you're the proud new owner of a parking spot, which I don't know how it works for you. I do feel that Schmidt's still there. I was like, Schmidt is still there, like I guess she's voting his own P at that point.

Speaker 1 1:09:08

Like, they've written him off.

Speaker 1:09:10

I guess she's voting for Nick, and presumably she thinks Nick will vote for himself to have the spot. I don't know what she was thinking. She just wanted to make a dramatic exit, as we often turn. Yeah, I would want to make a dramatic exit too. Yeah. So anyway, Nick then confronts Jess in what is one of my again, we we have a lot of great Nick and Jess postcooler scenes. This one is one of my favorites. But also we have to talk about the logistics that we feel in in this in this.

Speaker 1 1:09:41

Now, what do you mean?

Speaker 1:09:43

So reveal that the no-nail oath, it was because of Nick. Nick just couldn't help himself. Which I mean I disagree. Do you? Because we've talked about the I fell in love with you the moment you walk through the door, and I'm trying to think of pilot Nick being if we put that logic into that.

Speaker 1 1:10:02

Yeah, I listen.

Speaker 1:10:04

Are you willing to overlook it?

Speaker 1 1:10:06

Yes.

Speaker 1:10:07

Okay, same. I'm willing to overlook it. It just doesn't make sense with what we have decided.

Speaker 1 1:10:11

But what makes sense to me is this being Schmidt, because Schmidt in the pilot said multiple times he would very happily sleep with Jess. That's so I can see it happening in like uh they're like, hey, you cannot sleep with our new roommate. That'll make things complicated. And he's like, well, if I can't, you guys can't either. Sure. Let's sign an oath. Okay. Like that makes sense. That to me is like something that makes sense. I think no.

Speaker 1:10:41

Because again, again It's a great romantic delivery, but I'm also like, look, so was the I fell in love with you the moment you walked through the door.

Speaker 1 1:10:48

I love it. I love the moment questions that I just yeah, because for me it was like way later. I because again, I think that I could buy, and I think something that makes sense because again, I I think a big part of their thing is like they kind of go through being attracted to each other and not. And I think a lot of it is I'm you know, putting this in a box, I'm just not spending too much time thinking about this. I just don't feel like I would buy it more if they had one, like Nick had one explicit moment early on.

Speaker 2 1:11:21

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:11:21

Where he, you know, where he's very explicitly feeling something. Right. Because I think moments that we get, like like wedding, for example, there's definitely moments where he's looking at her and like, you know, but I think I read so much of that as almost like a oh, what's this? And not a a fully realized thought of I'm interested in her, that's dangerous, I'm gonna stay away. Right. Uh that part I don't think I don't know when it happened. And if then it happened in a way that we're not really aware of, like we didn't really see that moment on screen. I don't then buy that it's significant enough that it would have been. This has essentially been an undercurrent of the show.

Speaker 1:12:06

Yeah, yeah. I I agree that like when it comes to the pilot and like earlier episodes, you definitely like from the first, but this is also like watching TV, right? Like for the first episode, I've talked about this from the very first episode. I had a feeling they were gonna make Nick and Jess the thing. There was too much chemistry between them and scenes. There's like there was great chemistry between these two leads that I was like, okay, they're probably gonna do something with it. Did I think from the pilot that he's like immediately fell in love with her? No. Do I think he was intrigued by her and really cared about her immediately? Absolutely. He's the one who ditches Caroline and runs to the restaurant, and because he doesn't want this new roommate of his that he cares about or is gonna start to care about to be sad, and he wants to cheer her up. Same reason why Coach runs as well. Like, I think that there's the same thing of like we need to protect her and we don't want her to get taken advantage of because again, don't forget, early on Jess is kind of skews a little manic pixie dream girl-esque outside by herself. Yeah, so I think that that's a lot of it. I think it's just funny to me because like there's you know, we both are Nick Jess shippers to the extreme. We spent three episodes on cooler. I am not one here to be like, and I will tell you, this scene, this end scene of parking spot, I think about it a lot. I still think it's very romantic. I just don't necessarily buy the idea that Nick needed to confront his roommates and say, we need to have a no-nail oath because I want to sleep with our new roommate.

Speaker 1 1:13:38

Right. And I know that it would be a bad idea.

Speaker 1:13:41

Right. That I don't necessarily buy, even if Nick tells me I don't buy that. I think it's a great line.

Speaker 1 1:13:48

I'm here for the moment, I'm here for the moment.

Speaker 1:13:49

I'm like swinging here for the lean-in, the almost kiss, the drops or fish stickers.

Speaker 1 1:13:54

Did it ever happen? No.

Speaker 1:13:57

No, not on the show I watched, not on the show that we're watching, maybe on the one that they're living. I don't know who's to say. But I do love this moment so much because one, he comes in ready to talk to her and she's grabbing fish sticks because cats live on her car. And she's gonna sing memory at that.

Speaker 1 1:14:19

But like, I you know, I think that moment number one, I I think it's a big part of the like Nick Miller as romance heroes moment that's going on because you know, a proper romance hero never disliked you. A proper romance hero actually the whole time was in love with you.

Speaker 1:14:38

Even when he acted like he hated you, he loved you.

Speaker 1 1:14:41

And he had a reason for treating you like that that actually was benefiting you and you just didn't know because he kept it from you so you wouldn't be like aware of the problem. So, like, listen, I'm gonna eat that up with a spoon. I'm I'm so here for that. I'm so here for that.

Speaker 1:14:58

In terms of logic and show, I'm willing to overlook it apart from the 10 to 15 minutes we just spent talking about it. I every time I rewatch it.

Speaker 1 1:15:07

And when we talk about it when the I the bigger one, yeah.

Speaker 1:15:10

I'll just overlook it for the sake of you dropped your fish sticks and shut up, Nick, and then leaning in because I'm like, I want to see you kiss again.

Speaker 1 1:15:20

And what I love about this moment, and and like we've talked about this before, and I I think this is very Nick and Jess for this moment, like right place, right time to quote the show, anything can happen. Like, oh, look at that. Look at that. Like, I I think, and that's what's so fun about this run of episodes, too, because you know, watching it, it's like, okay, obviously this is leading up to something. Any episode now, you know, something there's gonna be a movement, there's gonna be a moment, there's gonna be something. And so, you know, a moment like this is so powerful because it's, you know, okay, we're really awkward since we kissed. We didn't talk about, we don't know what this means. I'm really stressed about this. Like, it has all of these like external issues going on, but like, right place, right time. I'm kissing you again without a second thought.

Speaker 1:16:06

Yeah, you say the right thing to me. That's exactly what's gonna happen. Well, and I think that this is a nice bridge again into what we're gonna talk about when it comes to Tinfinity, because Tinfinity's whole plot is Jess is trying to get with someone who has more emotional maturity than she sees from Nick. Because let's not forget, Nick made some strides. He said a stupid thing that he didn't mean, which is that he regretted the kiss. He then comes back and says, I don't regret kissing you. I regret what it did. It made things weird. We have to figure this out. And Jess is like, I'm still hung up on the idea of the no-nail oath. And then Nick delivers a swoon-worthy line of like, it was me, Jess, I just couldn't help it. So she he's not explicitly admitting that currently he has currently he has emotional feelings. He's basically just saying, I I do not regret kissing you. I did in the past, like I was the reason because I just couldn't help myself.

Speaker 1 1:17:13

Right because I couldn't help it.

Speaker 1:17:15

Right. And so Jess is like, oh, like all of us would be, says swoon, like kiss me again.

Speaker 1 1:17:23

Everything that's happened.

Speaker 1:17:24

Yeah, kiss me again, but let's not forget.

Speaker 1 1:17:26

I feel like that sounded sarcastic. No, I know. No, hug me.

Speaker 1:17:30

No, no, no.

Speaker 1 1:17:31

On board.

Speaker 1:17:32

Yeah, throw everything out the window. Everything that happened kiss and kiss again, which is basically what she does. She's like, um, shut up, and like the implicit ending to that was, and kiss me again. And so I think that that's it's good because we're gonna get a little bit more of like discussion of emotions and feelings as we evolve this story arc, but I think right now it's a nice place to have, okay, there's awkwardness, and now there's ooh, now there's an undercurrent of tension with almost things happening. Jess needs what any good person in a romance novel or TV show or movie needs, which is for the other romantic lead to just confess their feelings and all of their thoughts and desires and say, I want you, I need you, like you are the person that I want to be with. And he's not able to do that yet, and so that's why we get what we get into Infinity. But this is a step in that direction at the very least, which I think is smart for the show to do. Like, Nick is still Nick, he's not gonna like be the person right now who says all of these vulnerable things, and nor is Jess, really, because Jess said a little bit of vulnerability and she's still kind of figuring out what their dynamic is. But I love that there's an almost kiss, but they deny that they were almost gonna kiss until Schmidt walks through the door and he knows what was about to happen. Blah, blah, blah. Again, Max Greenfield.

Speaker 1 1:19:07

And I also love that at this point, like, you know, any of the uncertainty about what's happening or what's going to happen. Like, because like I said, right? Like, they're they're very much not like, are we gonna date? Do we want to date? Like, that's not true. We're not even talking about that. But I also really like that, you know, because like later we get to like the, you know, Nick can't take care of himself and Nick is incompetent, and like, you know, these are the ways that we're mismatched, you know, and like, you know, that's kind of the whole thing of quick, hardening caulk, and like, you know, obviously later is like pretty much the reason that they break up. But I like I really like even it even Schmidt in this episode, like, isn't being like the two of you together is a terrible idea. Right. I love how it's not based on yeah, like how good would you be together? That comes later. You know, this is which to me then on some levels kind of like everybody's like, no, I see it. I get it, that's the problem now.

Speaker 1:20:04

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:20:05

Like, and you know, Schmidt's thing, like I was saying before, like, you know, Schmidt is basically like, you think it's just a kiss, this is much bigger than this because I think he's basically saying, I see how you look at each other, right? Like that kind of thing. And so it's, you know, I get why this is happening. That doesn't mean I like it.

Speaker 1:20:20

Well, and that's what he comes in and says when he interrupts their kiss, is like, well, that's the problem, isn't it? Like when you guys have your thoughts, you know, this is it affects all of us, basically. Like, you guys can try and deny that this is anything important, but like it's not just about you, it's about how your dynamic then affects all the rest of us. And that's why we had a loft agreement because people moving in and having another person in our dynamic changes things. And so, even though, yeah, he's he's just peed himself, he's the one who's so generous to how Schmidt says it. I know, I know, but it's basically like it's basically yeah, the idea that you guys haven't thought this through, and so we need to change the dynamic to even things out, and then it just makes things worse. Like, oh wait, okay, but if I also also love Zoe's comedic horror at realizing what was in that contract.

Speaker 1 1:21:21

That's one of my favorite guess moments.

Speaker 1:21:27

I do love, and I love that I just there's so much good comedic stuff and the subtlety, and I don't know why I can't explain it, but Jake Johnson's delivery of I don't know.

Speaker 1 1:21:39

I know it might help so funny. That is that's one of my favorite parts. It's so funny because he's so defeated, he's so he's so confused by the whole thing. He's so confused, he doesn't know what's right. So I don't know, maybe Schmidt has the answer. I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 1:21:56

He's like so wounded and dresses like, no, absolutely not. And it's like, oh, Schmidt going, I'll be a hero. And then it's like, oh no, but I love, I will never not love Nick closing his ears and like turning away.

Speaker 1 1:22:12

Also, what I think is really funny, like I'm pretty sure that's a stage kiss. Like, I don't think they're actually kissing, which is extra funny to me. They're like, we don't need to do this.

Speaker 1:22:23

We don't need, we don't need to do this. Um, it is just so it's so funny because yeah, no, Nick didn't read the fine print, and uh Jess is upset about that too. She's like, what? He's like, I didn't read, I didn't know, I didn't read it. And so I love that that's how that's how we end things. Well, we also end things by Winston coming in apparently being like, and Schmidt and Jess, and they're like, no, absolutely not. Like, that's not what's happening here. But yeah, I think that, you know, as comedic and as silly as this episode is, it does serve a function, and it's a really important function to start establishing. Like, what are the realities of what's going to happen? And again, next next episode, we bring up the kiss again. And I love that Jess has to clarify that actually Schmidt was the last person I kissed. What? Like, so I, you know, I think that like again, the important thing for the rest of the season is that their feelings and the reality and the aftermath of this kiss don't go away. Like, they're both still thinking about it after the fact. And every episode is just a little bit more of a what sort of thing do we have to unearth this week and work through that the kiss brought up in our relationship and our individual uh personality, that kind of thing. So I love parking spots like that. If you couldn't tell, like I'm just we're just quoting it consistently. Uh, I also love that in true roommate fashion, everyone abandons Winston at the end of the episode once they realize that his car is too tight of a fit and he starts to set off all the car alarms, and they all are like this is a whole situation now. We're gonna be going, we're leaving now. Goodbye. Well, we are gonna start to wrap things up, but before we do, our favorite segment things. Nick Miller did that one.

Speaker 1 1:24:18

Yes. So while watching the episode, I wrote down one note. You have a note? I have a note, which was two words bathroom door. There was a bathroom door sighting early. Wow, yeah, like the first scene. He throws it open. He's right there as he's knocking the rack off the wall.

Speaker 1:24:37

Confirmation.

Speaker 1 1:24:38

Confirmation there is a bathroom door. Um now I'm just on bathroom door watch.

Speaker 1:24:43

We're gonna actually weirdly get a lot more of it throughout the rest of this season.

Speaker 1 1:24:48

They like they kept you guessing the first season and then confirmation there is a door.

Speaker 1:24:53

First date, virgins, like we're gonna see it a lot more. So there we go. All right, so things Nick Miller did that were hot. Um, I mean, just the look I we talked about it, the swoon-worthy line delivery. So there's that.

Speaker 1 1:25:09

There's that. It it also This episode has a lot of the specific thing that I'm very into about Nick Miller, which is like the dopiness. Yeah. I don't know why. I find it very endearing. He's a little This is one of like not it it's not any like specific thing in this episode, but just the way he says things and goes about things that I'm like, you're like this is not dissimilar to the person I married for a reason.

Speaker 1:25:37

And I love that. Um, I wanted to bring this up because I would like to give the wardrobe department a shout out because everyone looked super good in a very similar color palette this week. I really especially loved Nick's flannel. Like it did tie everything because Jess is wearing purple. Winston has like this teal, Schmidt's in like this blue color. So all like the they all matched, like not match, but like they all looked super good, and you're seeing them all stand together and you're like, oh, look at them. They all kind of didn't quite color coordinate, but they all look like they complement each other in their the outfits that they're wearing. So I thought about that when I saw, you know, Nick's flannel is it's really nice.

Speaker 1 1:26:21

Jess had like different bangs going on. Yeah.

Speaker 1:26:24

You know? Everyone looks super good, and everyone is super hilarious. And I mean, I could talk more about every scene because there's something to enjoy at every scene in this episode. Uh, one thing I we brought up is the race to the parking spot is such a good scene where everyone goes to find their cars, and uh Jess is obviously has cats and she stops to take a picture because that is very Jess, and Nick pays kids and throws money at them and pushes cardboard.

Speaker 1 1:27:01

Because again, cannot stress enough, Nick parks at the LA River.

Speaker 1:27:04

We already talked about Schmidt, uh, his car being trapped in the middle of a sea of cars, and just like the the fact that Nick abandons even trying to push his car and just winds up grabbing a chair to put into the spot. Everything about that whole sequence is just so funny. And yeah. Do you have anything else?

Speaker 1 1:27:26

I just I think again with this Nick and Jess journey that I don't know if you guys know that we're on. I think what's really fun is like how there are specific episodes that just like have a different focus that are all just very important in building. It's like this one, I think, is like a yeah, like those weird moments, right? Like the connection between them, the ways that they're similar and and whatnot. And then, you know, we get something like quick hardening caulk, which is like, okay, this is you know more physical, and like then like first date is like, okay, what do we actually want? So, like the way that they um like found a Way to stretch it out by like building the steps for it, but like each step is like a its own kind of discrete focus. I think is like a really interesting way to do it that worked really well, obviously. And it's just like, yeah, I I feel like it's not the usual approach for especially like okay, this like long-awaited moment, you know, the way that they manage to get it going, and then like I wouldn't say we're on pause exactly, but you know, wait until they're ready to because they're not they're not actually ready yet, you know. No.

Speaker 1:28:33

Well, and I think that that you're right. The thing that I love so much about this is like you said, every episode gets to be a different focus. And a couple of the ones that you didn't mention that are gonna come up are Tinfinity, is is there's still a Nick and Jess sort of focus, but they shift and we focus a lot more on Nick and Schmidt that then kind of bleeds into like, okay, how Nick processes feelings and emotions, and how Jess wants someone who's emotional. And then we've got Chicago, which is very Nick-centric and how Nick interacts with people. And we do get Nick and Jess, but it's a very different kind of dynamic of like, okay, we're seeing how this relationship is going to evolve. And then, yeah, we have like tension and we have all these other things. So they do a good job of, like you said, kind of shifting what is what are we focusing on now that it doesn't feel like it's getting stale, but it also doesn't feel like they're dragging it out too long because they really don't drag it out too long. Like, I think I would have felt that if they didn't do anything by the end of the season, but like we said, they need to kind of push a little stop and start on things. Like, obviously, they're super attracted to each other, and sometimes that comes into play, and sometimes they realize, well, this is like a bad idea because also remember that other part of sometimes we hate each other. Well, that also comes into play. So, like, we two things can be true at the same time. We can be really into each other and also think that every like they're both absurd, like each of us is absurd, and um, we can fight in the same scene that we're also making out. So, like, this is their dynamic, and I like that we see that dynamic and we get to see all these different facets of their journey because it is such like a big and important part of the show, and it's important that they do what they do now to lay the groundwork for what's gonna come later. This one was a pretty easy Community connection because we meet, I think, Dave, for the first time in this. I think so, yeah. I was gonna say, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think we've we've met him before. We will see him again quite frequently throughout the show. Played by Steve A gee, who, by the way, was in Community. That was so easy. He is in the Meow Meow Beenz episode in season five, and I sometimes remember that because season five is real hit or miss for me. Uh, but this was one of the good episodes of season five for me, and he was in that one. So there we go. Jamie, this is we're I'm ready to continue to talk about this show because the rest of the season is so good, and this episode was so good. So I'm very excited for us to discuss how much we love Nick, Jess, and all these other dumb dumbs.

Speaker 1 1:31:10

They're so dumb, but cannot overstate how dumb they are.

Speaker 1:31:13

Cannot stress how dumb they are, but before we wrap things up with our fun last question, which is gonna be a toss-up this week. Um, what is one piece of media, either a book or a TV show, a film, a podcast, etc., from either a black or indigenous or person of color creator, and or featuring either black or indigenous or person of color folks that you'd like to encourage our listeners to consume this week.

Speaker 1 1:31:41

So I feel like I'm cheating a little bit because I did some rereads lately. Um, and I'm pretty sure back in the day talking about community, I talked about these. But one, they're just so good, but two, just like revisiting them. I had such a nice time and they're just so good and comforting. But I I reread The Brown Sister series by Talia Hibbert.

Speaker 1:32:01

Aw, I do love that series.

Speaker 1 1:32:04

Which I read like five years ago and haven't read since. And they were like some of the first books that I read when I was like really getting into romance. Um, and now since that time, I have read literally hundreds of romances. But you know, I'm this year as I read all of my romances, I'm I'm like purposely rereading books that I love on audio. Oh nice. And so I started the year with these. Like I did one a month, and they're just like a warm hug. They're so good. It's just they're so good. It's just so wonderful. I think, and it's like such a good balance of flawed, realistic characters who like you love so much, and like you love, you know, the the moments you see of all the sisters together, you know, the heroes in all of these talk about romance heroes. It was just such a lovely time. The audiobooks are really great. Randomly, the first one is narrated by the actress who plays Lady Danbury on Bridgerton. Oh fun. Which was so fun because she's got a wonderful voice and accent, so like just so enjoyable. But yeah, like and and I I had read the I read them physically the first time around. This is my first time doing the audiobooks, and it was like just as wonderful. So yeah.

Speaker 1:33:25

I might have to do that then because I was like, I read I read all of them and loved all of them and loved all the sisters, and like you said, they are so like comforting, and there's like such good depictions of things like mental health and like struggles and things like that, and this realism, but this and this these characters that you just root for and you want to succeed and happy. And do you have a favorite or one book that stands out out of three? Because there's three, and I'll link to all three of them so you can read them.

Speaker 1 1:33:57

I think Dani and Zaf from the second book are my favorite characters, but I think the first book, Chloe's book, is my favorite book.

Speaker 1:34:05

Okay, yeah.

Speaker 1 1:34:06

Which I and my memory of it was that it was the second one, and then rereading them and like redoing Chloe's. It's like, oh no, this is the one. This is it.

Speaker 1:34:17

I do love all of them. I I remember loving all of them too for like different reasons and different aspects of every like plot and story and characters, but I think from what I remember, and that's a good idea. I might end up doing that and doing audiobooks for a reread because I read the physical copies of them the first time.

Speaker 1 1:34:35

Now, like it's been so long at this point.

Speaker 1:34:39

Yeah, I always have the thing where when people ask me, like, what's your favorite book? And then I'm like, Oh, I really like this one. And it's like, what's it about? I'm like, I couldn't can't even remember the people's names in them. Um couldn't tell you the plot, but I loved it. It's so great. You should definitely read it.

Speaker 1 1:34:54

What I do now, um, because I have like a reading tracker spreadsheet that I set up for myself. Because like I tried some different things, and a lot of them are just like tracking things I don't really care about. Like it's a lot of like stats and stuff that I don't super like I don't care about that. For me, I want the books to be like findable and be like, oh, you know, books that I've read with this thing, like I can I can find those really easily. Um, but so I put so I started doing this last year, and I think I did it like halfway through the year. I added uh two columns. One is to put their names and one is to put a synopsis.

Speaker 1:35:27

Nice.

Speaker 1 1:35:27

And because at that point, like you know, it's like halfway through the year, and I had already read a bunch of books, so even just like going back and putting their names in, I was like, oh wait, now I remember this book. Like, what happened here? Yeah. So that's my tip to anybody who can't remember things. That is a pro tip. I still can't remember things, but yeah, so I do I do those, and then I also have a section to put my favorite part. And then usually between the three of those, it helps me. And don't get me wrong, there's still absolutely books I don't remember a lot of, just yeah, because I'm reading so many and so fast, but like that has helped me remember more than I think I would have ordinarily.

Speaker 1:36:04

That's a great idea.

Speaker 1 1:36:06

I will happily share my tracker with anybody who wants to see it and get ideas. I love that.

Speaker 1:36:11

Well, um, much like every year before the Oscars, I watch a bunch of movies that are nominated for Oscars right before the Oscars. And I know I was incredibly late to the party, which in my defense is how I arrive at every party, and I watched Sinners finally before the Oscars, and everyone was correct. It was so incredible. And I will tell you, uh, if you're listening to this and are like, I'm a scaredy cat who doesn't like horror, I will tell you, I am a scaredy cat who doesn't like horror. I watched it in the afternoon, and honestly, I was like, it's a little gory, but definitely not apart from like maybe one or two instances in which I was like, oh, there's like a little bit of a jump scare, not a movie I would consider unattainable for me to watch, so I can safely tell you.

Speaker 1 1:37:04

There's one kind of jump scare in the first scene that like got me in theaters. But but otherwise it's not really jump scare, it's just like a sudden flash of light.

Speaker 1:37:13

I think that just like a sudden movement or noise can usually startle me as someone who likes to know what's happening. But if you are someone who's like, uh, I don't like to watch scary things at night, 100% just like watch it in the afternoon like I did. And I loved it. I am so, so glad that Ryan Coogler won Original Screenplay. I hope that that means he gets to make so many more original things uh because Sinners was incredible, just every aspect of it was so good, and I am so, so happy Michael B. Jordan won because he was incredible. It's just like if you've been hearing people say it's an amazing movie and you're like, I haven't had the time to watch it, sit down for a couple of hours and watch it because I promise you it is incredible. And again, this is coming from a scaredy cat. If I can watch it in the daytime, there's no reason any of you cannot watch it in the daytime. I am the lowest bar for scary stuff. I think I'll smidge up.

Speaker 1 1:38:14

I'm very much a scaredy cat, and yeah, I was very fine watching it. So please, please watch it.

Speaker 1:38:19

It is is truly incredible. I loved it. So there's that. Um, well, Jamie, if people are interested in finding more of your romance takes, if they want to see pictures of your cats, if they want to know what's happening in the realm that you work, where can people find and follow you these days?

Speaker 1 1:38:39

I am on Instagram at Bilbo Almighty. I'm on Blue Sky at I think it's just JamiePoland. You're correct. Thanks. I I kind of forget Blue Sky is a thing. I gotta be honest.

Speaker 1:38:53

It's it's been a lot, so apologies for us not being super active. We are technically on Blue Sky over there at And a Rewatch and then on Instagram at And a Rewatch Pod. So we'll be posting some more stuff as we're recording episodes. Uh, we've got some Selfie that's coming up, and obviously more New Girl, so excited about that. Just stay tuned. We'll have hopefully some more episodes coming in the next couple of months. And there's that. Well, this one's gonna be a hard question to answer, which is based solely on how they acted this week. Who, if any of the new girl characters, would you be fine living with?

Speaker 1 1:39:38

Here's the problem. I think I am very similar to Schmidt and Jess in this episode, yeah. Where I am gonna care too much and get too excited and uh think that it's very silly to get this into a stupid thing. So the problem is when I'm like that, I want people to match my energy. Like there's nothing worse than when you're kind of like being this is my life at work. I'm feeling silly, and the people around me are not feeling silly, and I'm like, guys, what are we doing? So on the one hand, I think that aspect of it would go over well with Schmidt and Jess, but on the other hand, I also get very competitive about the few things that I actually have a chance of achieving.

Speaker 2 1:40:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:40:28

So like if I go play basketball, I'm not gonna be competitive. If I'm playing a board game and the first two turns go well for me, I'm gonna call you so many names by the end. I'm gonna be such a sore winner the entire time, even before I've won. So ultimately, Schmidt and Jess might not be the best for me.

Speaker 2 1:40:48

No.

Speaker 1 1:40:48

Um, like Nick kind of feels like a cop-out answer, but I think it's Nick because I think also there is also a version of me where I'm like, they're going through a lot of conflict, it's stressing me out. I don't want anything to do with it, you know. I also would I also would like to be deciding. I would actually like that quite a bit.

Speaker 1:41:09

Yeah. Um, I'm gonna go with Daisy this week because I don't want to live with any of the people in the case. She is efficient, she apparently travels a lot, so I'd basically be living by myself. Um and she seems like she knows she keeps a nice tidy apartment, and I might get lost in my own apartment complex, but at least I'm not going to get hit by a car in my own parking garage. This is true. Over a parking spot.

Speaker 1 1:41:39

So her boyfriend might accidentally take your clothes.

Speaker 1:41:44

And you know what? That might be fine. If they were if they were in the living room, which is where they were, that's that's fine. If I leave it out there, that's on me. And anything that's not in my room is is my my responsibility. So I can't I can't deal with any of the there's too much that's happening with all of the people in this week's episode. So I gotta go with the choice.

Speaker 1 1:42:12

That's a really good one. So there's that.

Speaker 1:42:14

Well, Jamie, this has been a blast as usual, and I am so glad that we're rewatching the show.

Speaker 1 1:42:21

Ugh, my favorite thing to do.

Speaker 1:42:23

Yay. Well, thank you so much, everyone, for listening, and we will see you next time.