TV REVIEW: Breaking Up is Hard to Do in New Girl’s “Big News”

By Nicole Bozzani

Breakups are hard. Breakups are even harder when the couple lives together. In the same room. Will Nick and Jess be able to keep it from their roommates by putting on a charade? New Girl’s “Big News” attempted to answer that very question last night.

Less than twenty four hours after their breakup, Nick and Jess wake up in the same room and must decide how to navigate the new waters of their relationship. After deciding it would be best to tell the rest of the roommates, they are met with even bigger news: Winston has been accepted into the police academy! Rather than ruin his day and his big news, the duo decide to pretend they are still together. Meanwhile, Cece is studying to take her GED, and Schmidt offers to tutor her. Eventually, Coach and Cece find out about the breakup and reveal it to Schmidt before Winston’s ‘honey roast.’ The three must stay mum in order to act surprised when Nick and Jess decide to be honest and come clean. But where will they go from here?

Since the pilot, viewers have wanted nothing more than for Nick and Jess to get together. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as expected. It, like some real relationships, felt rushed. Jess was almost determined week after week to change Nick which was often rather annoying. Now in the beginning stages of their breakup, it’s almost sad to see how far they have come. This certainly won’t be the end for Nick and Jess. Not only do they live together, and while they may not have anything in common, there is still some kind of unexplained spark between them. It feels so right it just doesn’t make sense in this moment. There’s no doubt viewers will still continue to rally behind them and root for Jess to become Mrs. Miller.

One minor spectacular detail was the throwback to both Jess’s breakup with Spencer (which began the entire series) and Nick’s breakup with Caroline which they both dealt with in special ways. Jess cried to Dirty Dancing and Nick, well he just cried into a bottle of whiskey on the floor. It was great New Girl decided to bring back these previous elements with a bit of a new twist: Nick calling Jess on the phone and throwing her some tissues. It will take some time for the two to get over each other, if they ever will. It was a minute detail which felt refreshing. Almost like the old New Girl had some to visit, and hopefully stay for a while.

What exactly is a Honey Roast? Well, according to Winston Bishop, it is a roast but where they only say nice things about the person being honored. In reality, it’s the most awkward celebration of a friend involving white tuxedos and a throne that not even Game of Thrones could make look cool. It’s nice to see Winston finally getting some recognition and, for once, something weird isn’t happening to him. Not only is Winston not being a creep, but Ferguson finally made his big return in a 2 second cameo!!

Ferguson wasn’t the only cameo of the episode though. Tran took a second out of performing in his dance recital to guide Nick about his feelings for Jess. Tran lights up the screen every time he is on. Jamie Lee Curtis also returned as Jess’ mother and, in true mom fashion, was more concerned about having grandchildren than how hurt her daughter was over her own breakup. Both guest stars, while mostly unnecessary, were worth every second. Max Greenfield (Schmidt), is however pretty much still the entire show. He’s rarely disappoints and consistently provides a laugh.

This week, Nick and Jess had to reveal their breakup to the rest of the loft. But no matter what happens between them, there’s still love in apartment 4D. They are a little family that really does care about its members.

There’s no certainty in the world and the world of New Girl is no exception. Maybe Nick and Jess will reconcile and maybe they won’t. Maybe Winston will be great at the police academy and maybe he will just creep people out. Hopefully Cece can pass her GED, and Coach can decide to buy something other than sweatpants. Only time will tell, but with only a few episodes left until the season finale, it will be interesting to see where life takes these merry misfits. If all else fails, they can celebrate by dancing to the COPS theme song because there’s really no better way to celebrate your roommate getting into the police academy.