New Girl just jumped the shark
SPOILER ALERT: If you still intend to watch this week’s episode of New Girl, you might not want to read this.
When it was announced ahead of Season 5 that Zooey Deschanel, the star of FOX sitcom New Girl, was going on mat leave — and would be replaced by Megan Fox for five episodes — it seemed like a fatal blow for the show. But only after Deschanel’s return did they put the final nail in the coffin this week with a shockingly awful episode that was really quite upsetting.
I have seen every episode of every season of New Girl up until now. But whether or not this proves to be the final season, I think it’s time for me to stop watching. Before I explain why, let me get you up to speed.
All About That Jess
Deschanel’s character, a 30-something teacher named Jess, is the New Girl in the show’s name. If you’ve never seen it, New Girl’s basic premise is that, after a bad breakup, Jess moves into an L.A. loft with three guys…and hilarity ensues. So it’s kind of like a modern-day Friends, only these flatmates can actually afford to live in their apartment.
And while Deschanel is the star of the show, it’s very much an ensemble cast, with roommates Winston, Schmidt and Nick, along with CeCe, Jess’ best friend (the Ginger to her Mary Ann), also getting ample airtime. So, if you took the main character away for a month, you could still have a show — in theory, anyways.
Fox on the Run
With Jess sequestered away on jury duty, in walks Reagan, a cold-hearted pharma sales rep played by Megan Fox. Surprisingly, this wasn’t a complete disaster. Despite being the polar opposite of Deschanel, Fox’s character adds a new dynamic to the loft, and develops a “He Loves Me, She Loves Me Not” storyline with Nick, a goofy, unambitious bartender played by Jake Johnson.
“it was nice to see a bisexual character on a major network sitcom, albeit temporarily.”
Turns out Reagan had more depth than the roles Fox played in several blockbusters, and it was nice to see a bisexual character on a major network sitcom, albeit temporarily. But then Jess’ trial ends, and Reagan’s leaving on a jetplane, off to another town before Fox takes some mat leave of her own.
Last week’s episode wasn’t all that bad…
Last week, Jess was offered her dream job at an alternative school, but in a not-so-surprising sitcom twist, her principal is dating her ex-boyfriend. Sam, a boy-next-door doctor played by David Walton, hasn’t seen Jess since they broke up, and is clearly uncomfortable upon their first encounter. But even though her friends tell her to leave him alone, Jess shows up at Sam’s doorstep, only to interrupt a close encounter between him and her new employer.
“Suffice to say, things get out of hand, Nick gets throat-punched again, and Sam gets dumped by Jess’ boss…”
Sam and the principal end up back at the loft because Sam has unresolved issues with Nick, who he was last seen punching in the throat after finding out Nick stole Jess away from him. Suffice to say, things get out of hand, Nick gets throat-punched again, and Sam gets dumped by Jess’ boss…but no worries, our heroine still got the job.
And even though her friends tell her, once again, to leave Sam alone, Jess shows up at his house a second time, with a tray of home-baked brownies. In a pretty powerful scene, the episode ends with Sam squishing the brownies in his hands before sternly telling Jess to “Get out of my life!”
And that’s where it should have ended. But it didn’t.
Fast-forward to this Tuesday, where the latest episode opens with Jess complaining that Sam hasn’t returned her three texts — or the long, rambling voicemail she left him. Moments later, Jess is served with a restraining order, which she is determined to fight by proving to Sam that she’s “not dangerous” and “not a restraining order person.”
“she’s not crazy…a position I would hate to be in, if I was Sam.”
This is where the show starts crossing the line. Despite New Girl’s portrayal of Jess as a warm, friendly person who marches to the beat of her own drum, she clearly has found herself in a situation that she’s not meant to charm her way out of; one where she’s not allowed to be within 300 feet of Sam. So of course, she spends the rest of the episode determined to convince Sam she’s not crazy…a position I would hate to be in, if I was Sam.
Now I’m getting Fonzie flashbacks…
What happens next has visions of Henry Winkler on water-skis leaping through my head. Jess decides to leave a note on Sam’s car, parked outside of the hospital, but when she sees him coming, she hides in the back of a pickup truck…that happens to belong to Sam. And in a complete sitcom coincidence, Sam decides to get a car wash that day on the way home!
You can probably imagine what comes next — Jess gets out of the truck bed and gets pummelled by car-wash brushes in a bad bit of slapstick that was pretty painful to watch. Soaking wet and confused, she ends up on the hood of the truck of the man who filed a restraining order against her earlier that day. Suffice to say, Sam isn’t pleased to see her.
But wait, it gets worse!
“What is this, Days of Our Lives!?”
Can you guess where this is going? Sam takes pity on his ex-girlfriend, and offers her a ride home one last time. But before you know it, they’re back at the loft, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Winston, Jess’ LAPD roommate, tries to enforce the restraining order, and actually convinces Sam to leave, but not before he tells Jess that he filed it in the first place “because I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and I needed to restrain myself.” What is this, Days of Our Lives!?
Stalking is not a joke, it’s a serious issue
As you might imagine, the episode ends with Jess and Sam making out in his truck. All that’s missing from this picture is Kip Moore. But in reality, stalking is no laughing matter, and a restraining order is not something to be taken lightly.
These past few years have seen some really nasty cases of cyberstalking, from the GamerGate goons ganging up on Anita Sarkeesian to the ugly case of Canadian teacher Lee David Clayworth, the victim of a vengeful ex-girlfriend. Something tells me he wouldn’t find this week’s episode of New Girl funny.
“As someone who’s been bullied myself, this week’s episode really rubbed me the wrong way.”
And what about all the people who have filed a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend in real life, and it wasn’t because they couldn’t stop thinking about the person in question? By putting such an irreverent spin on a serious issue, New Girl seems to be suggesting that “even if he’s filed a restraining order, you can still win him back,” which is a very dangerous thing to do when you don’t live in an loft with three roommates in TV Land.
As someone who’s been bullied myself, this week’s episode really rubbed me the wrong way. That’s why I won’t be tuning in to a new episode of New Girl for the first time in five seasons, starting next Tuesday.
You don’t have to click on the heart icon below, but it would be awesome if you did.
