Love Is As Real As Black Santa

New Girl, S02E11

Jess got the others to hang out with her at multiple parties, the last night they would be all together before the holidays started.  She unexpectedly ran into Sam at the first party and tried to avoid him while he tried to convince her to take him back.  Nick had a hard time adjusting to Angie's wild and fearless style.  Schmidt and Cece argued about how they had ended things after Schmidt had told her he loved her.  Winston had trouble hearing after he got a cranberry in his ear.

I was just as surprised as Jess to see Sam at the first party the group went to.  I just never thought we'd see him again.  I was a little hopeful for the two because while Sam isn't Nick, he and Jess did make a cute couple.  Also, I felt bad for Jess who put her heart out on the line and got shot down.  It was nice to see Sam pursuing her to the point it almost seemed like stalking her.

My favorite thing about the drama between Sam and Jess was when Jess pretended to be unavailable by using Winston as her new lover:

[Jess] I'm in love.  

[Sam] What?

[Jess] With Winston.

[Sam] What?

[Jess] We've lain together.

[Winston] No, yeah--I mean, I dunno how it happened.  It just got stuck up there so far so quickly.

[Jess] The relationship.

[Winston] You know, sometimes when we're hanging out it can get a little rough.

[Jess] Oh, boy does it.

[Winston] Yeah.

[Sam] Oh, well, I didn't know that, so...

[Winston] What's going on?  I feel like I'm missing something.

 I liked that Sam actually bought that story and confessed to Winston that he thought Winston was his biggest competition with Jess living with three guys.  Apparently "Metrosexual Jones" and "Sweatshirt Guy" didn't intimidate him in the least.  I love how he not only counted out Schmidt and Nick, but gave them those funny nicknames.  Jess might have gotten away with fooling Sam if Winston hadn't realized what was going and did the least convincing breakup speech ever.  He was way too dramatic, as if he was in some kind of ghetto soap opera, and even called her a honkey.  Really, Winston?  But I knew that if Sam had any kind of brains, Winston's little show would definitely tell him that he and Jess were only pretending.

I have no idea why, but when Jess almost got pulled over and was pouring her guts out to this kindly-looking, bearded old man, it was touching when he said that he believed her.  He just told her that sometimes people tell the truth and let her go off.  That guy wasn't Santa Claus, but he was super nice and made Jess believe again.  I think Jess needed some kindness to restore her faith.

The part when the whole gang went to the hospital was sort of dumb, even with them all singing badly so that they could pretend to be a choir.  However, I did like when Angie showed her boobs and Nick had to pull away Schmidt from looking.  Then Winston casually came back for a look and that really made it funny.

I don't know how much I love Nick and Angie together.  I do agree with Jess that she could be good for him, though, because he is a chicken and Angie's bravery might rub off on him.  I did like when he confessed a lot of his flaws to her like being poor, having written a terrible zombie novel, and being obsessed with karate.  His lap dance after that was just embarrassing!  It was like he was about to take a dump on her or something, the way he was pushing out his butt.  But that scene was made better when Schmidt came over to show Angie how it was done and Nick started slapping Schmidt's dumb ass.  I really think that Schmidt would be a dancer if he ever got fired from his job.

Also, when Nick and Angie got exposed making out in the sleigh, Nick shouted out, "This is my nightmare" for the second time.  The last time was when he was being attacked by all the monsters and ghouls in the haunted house.  He has a lot of holiday-related nightmares.

There was a really good line, too, from Nick in this episode after he had insulted Angie about being a stripper and she had stormed off:

Nick Miller, turning lemonade into lemons since 1981.

I am totally going to steal that phrase as my own.  I just have to change the year because I wasn't even born yet.  Haha.

For all the bickering and cold attitude between Cece and Schmidt, I think that they were a lot more civil than they could have been.  Schmidt was really grumpy and a big Scrooge (which that part probably had nothing to do with Cece, though), but Cece was trying her best to be friendly.  She could have been really angry that he seemed to be unreliable when it was most important for her to know that he was serious.  Still, with all of her good will attempts, I think it's weird she would give him a present to thank him for telling her he loved her.  I don't know.  I just don't think that a gift, no matter how thoughtful, will easily mend Schmidt's heart.  But he accepted it because obviously his love for her is true.  I mean, he wouldn't be so hurt about how things had turned out if he didn't.  I'm glad they ended up getting on friendlier terms again, but I'm dying to know what's going to happen with Cece and her arranged partner.  That hasn't been addressed yet, and I hope that it will when the show returns next month.

With all this other drama going on with the couples, it's interesting to me that Winston was the one who was the funniest to me.  As soon as he got that cranberry in his ear and kept talking so damn loud, he had me laughing every time he opened his mouth.  He really started to sound like some old man who had gone deaf in an ear, especially when he had rolled up a piece of paper or something and put it to his ear to hear better.  Winston is usually kind of quiet, so when he raises his voice, it's hilarious.  Also, he kept ruining things for Jess.  First, he basically screamed out her location when she was trying to hide behind Cece and Schmidt, and then he spoke so loud in the closet (or bathroom?) Jess and he were hiding in and revealed her location again.  I really loved that, especially when he was too deaf to realize that Jess was using him as a fake boyfriend.

This was a great episode, especially for a Christmas story.  They managed to fit in Santa without it being corny or unfunny.  It was really cute how they all believed in Santa at that moment and how it helped bring Jess to her senses about giving Sam another chance.  I think that Sam is a decent stand-in for Nick until Jess or Nick realize they're meant for each other.  I'm anxious to see who Cece is going to date (or marry, I guess) in place of accepting Schmidt's love.  I know it will be funny if Schmidt can come between that arrangement somehow.  Nick will probably become a little less chicken if Angie sticks around, but I'm still not over the moon about him being with her.  Winston, as usual, unexpectedly brought me the most laughs.  That cranberry in his ear is one of the best things that could have happened to him.