Review: New Girl Gobbles Up Thanksgiving

By Nicole Bozzani

Thanksgiving time is here and for the gang on New Girl that means only one thing: disaster.

Over the past two seasons we’ve seen them attempt to cook a turkey in a dryer and Jess attempting to reunite her parents in what felt like the most awkward holiday event in history. That can only leave one thing for this year: camping?

Nick and Jess send out an e-vite for Thanksgiving. Coach razzes Nick about losing his manliness which inspires Nick to get everyone to go camping. His grand plan is not well received, but they go along with it anyway. Nick decides they must hunt and gather for their dinner rather than have a pre-made feast. Meanwhile, Coach and Schmidt are testing the competitive waters, and Cece and Winston bond over their hatred of camping. Hilarity is bound to ensue, right? Wrong.

There are two saviors in Thanksgiving III: the Thanksgiving event itself and, once again, Schmidt. Let’s start with Schmidt. He and Coach have hit an awkward place in their friendship which makes them oddly competitive. Schmidt is dressed like an out of place Indiana Jones, is very concerned with being better than Coach, and even eats some animal poo. Gross? Yes? Unnecessary? Maybe. Hilarious. Definitely. However, it’s becoming harder and harder for Schmidt to save recent episodes with these rare touches of comedy gold. Or in this case, brown.

Thanksgiving itself is a wondrous day spent bonding (or falling into a bear trap) with family. Everyone is reluctant to agree to go camping, as they should be, and there is a flashback to previous Thanksgiving episodes of New Girl. Flashbacks are typically annoying, but in this case, welcomed. There’s nothing like seeing previous disasters foreshadowing an entirely new historical disaster. Honoring the pilgrims and Native Americans with the ultimate test of manhood and survival skills couldn’t possibly go wrong, right? Despite having about 60 warm beers, enough for any traditional holiday feast, Jess, Winston and Cece find a local market to gather food from much to Nick’s dismay. At this point, they should have just eaten the fruit and vegetables and had a merry time, but this is New Girl and something must go awry.

Nick tries to make this Thanksgiving manly because he feels like he’s losing himself in his relationship with Jess. It’s honest and entirely believable. The one standout thing New Girl constantly drives home is how much of a family these 6 really are. They are always there for each other even if that means eating a feast from a hospital vending machine.

There aren’t very many questions that arise with Thanksgiving III, expect to cast our minds ahead to what can we expect from the crew this Christmas. In the meantime, Thanksgiving is here and New Girl has given viewers plenty to share this week.

Remember, you can’t forage for beer –  and that’s a necessity.

Oh, and George Washington milked his cat.