New Girl Season Six Finale, “Five Stars for Beezus” Plot Summary:
Jess (Zooey Deschanel) comes back from Portland to tell Nick (Jake Johnson) she loves him. Nick (Johnson) meets with a publisher about his book. Cece (Hannah Simone) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield) receive big news.
The season opener, “House Hunt,” received a timid thumbs up from me. I laughed a bunch (which is always important in a comedy) but I fretted throughout. Were the writers getting lazy? Were they going to drag out Jess (Deschanel) and Nick’s will they/won’t they until the audience didn’t care anymore?
New Girl has been lazy before. The back half of Season Three and all of Season Four were disappointing. Nick and Jess broke up for loosely strung together reasons quickly thought up by the writers. They seemed to have written themselves in a corner getting Jess and Nick together so soon. This is not necessarily in regards to the characters but for the benefit of the writers. They didn’t know how to keep a balance in the show with our main characters happy and in love. So Nick and Jess were broken up to create more storylines.
Season Four was boring and monotonous and at times over the top, sometimes wobbling on jetskis and nearing a shark. It never jumped completely but there were some small hops. Season five turned all that around for me. Maybe it was time and distance on my part, but I think the writers room straightened themselves out. They weren’t focused solely on the punchline but the through story and the continued and ever evolving development of their characters. When season six rolled around, “House Hunt” threatened a backslide and I was miffed to say the least.
I was proved wrong. Sort of. Jess and Nick had a lot of “why doesn’t he see her?” interactions and Jess was constantly speaking in squeaky whispers to Cece (Simone) or Schmidt (Greenfield) or Winston (Lamorne Morris) about how “She doesn’t love Nick, they’re just friends!!!” only to immediately come to the realization she does love Nick. How many times is this going to be a surprise to a person?
“Five Stars for Beezus” was an excellent season finale and a great bookend for “House Hunt.” The writers patiently waited all season to have a frantic, missed connections episode and it payed off. The episode was funny and satisfying and pulled on my heartstrings. I love romance and love and the couples that defy the odds and opposites attract. I think a story is wasted if there is no great love attached. I believe in true love and in soulmates. The New Girl finale checked every box on my list for which my TV screen received about ten thousand tears and a ton of uncontrollable belly laughs.
Though the point of the episode was Nick and Jess finally getting back together (Man do I wanna make out in an elevator, am I right?) my favorite part was the almost slapstick hilarity of Cece’s pregnancy announcement. Her doctor, Sadie (June Diane Raphael,) even points out the ridiculousness of the situation; “Why are you picking up someone else’s phone?”
I literally just rewatched the episode where Cece finds out her egg count and how hard it might be for her to get pregnant. Yes, I did ball my eyes, okay? But that is what sets off the chain of events with her and Schmidt. Three years later, things come together and Schmidt tells her she’s pregnant in the cutest way possible. I’m dead. I loved it so, so much.
A lot of things happened in this episode. There were a ton of obstacles and frantic movement. Creator, Elizabeth Meriwether made us wait till the very last moments to see these milestones achieved and a high anticipation, gasp worthy declaration of love.
I’ve enjoyed watching these characters for the last six years. The cast is pure dynamite and even in the worst ruts their chemistry with one another and their portrayal of these characters has kep the show afloat. While the writers give the characters three dimensional depth, the cast has breathed live into them.
“Five Stars for Beezus” encompassed all the best features of New Girl. Meriwether wrote an incredible episode packed with emotions and deep satisfaction for long time fans. Many things came full circle. Julius Pepperwood and Jessica Knight have finally gotten together. (Does anyone else super want to read that book?)
Rating: 9 out of 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNxQYos4vk8
