‘New Girl’ Season 6 Premiere Recap ‘House Hunt’

New Girl’s season 5 finale back in May was probably the first time the quirky show really started to make moves to push the gang into the next phase of their lives outside of the loft. With Schmidt and CeCe finally married moving into season 6 there really is no choice but for the couple to start moving on (hopefully creating a domino effect) and that is what the foundation of the premiere episode, “House Hunt” is.

So, let’s dig in! What’s our lofty gang been up to all summer, you ask?

After realizing that she still has feelings for Nick, Jess began diving into activities and hobbies such as table making and protein based exercise regimens in order to distract herself. Winston and Aly are still strong and in love, but currently doing long distance as she is away for FBI training. Nick is still spending the summer with Reagan (Megan Fox) in Louisiana, and Schmidt and CeCe are spending their first few months of newlywed bliss being constantly interrupted by their roommates and Winston’s cat.

Having decided that it was finally time to get a place of their own (you think?), CeCe and Schmidt hire Allie’s clueless sister Leslie to be their realtor. Turns out the house they toured twice and placed an offer on was never actually for sale. This forces them to fire Leslie and unwillingly allow Jess to take over as she looks for another distracting outlet. While Schmidt wants him and CeCe to do this alone, CeCe is the only one who knows about Jess’ Nick issue and is having trouble telling her no.

So, after showing the pair a beaten up house that was once a crime scene and a house literally covered in carpet, the trio find themselves at CeCe and Schmidt’s dream home (that is also way too far outside of their budget.) It’s here where Jess sticks her nose in a little too far by telling them all of the things that are wrong and why the house isn’t a good fit. It’s the final straw for Schmidt who convinces CeCe to finally tell Jess to let them handle this themselves, which Jess glumly agrees to.

 Side Notes: We also learn that Schmidt pronounces coupons “cup-pons” and brings 2 eggs and a tiny frying pan to each house to test out the stove-top.

“You think I’m going to buy a house and not make an egg first?”

Meanwhile, Winston is off having a completely unrelated story line to the rest of the gang as usual. While trying to tell Leslie that she had been fired by Schmidt he actually ends up telling her that he is buying a house instead. Safe to say he panicked a little bit when she threatened to call Aly and tell her. This eventually leads to him buying a boat and after coming clean to Allie about horrible her sister is at being a realtor, later returning said boat.

Back at the loft, Nick comes home almost a month early from his trip with Reagan. When Jess gets home she is clearly surprised and unprepared to see him so soon and listens as he fills her in on his early arrival. Turns out that Reagan was relocated to Seattle and the two are going to try the long distance thing, which I think we can all assume will NOT work out.

Jess handles the whole situation decently well until he says that he has something to tell her. Then it clicks that she has no idea how to be normal around him and have a decent conversation. She makes up some story about how she has plans to go to the zoo with her friend DeDe. And knowing that she only has a friend named CeCe, Nick finds it fishy, but the kind soul that he is believes her.

I was a huge shipper of Jess and Nick: The Early Flirty Years, but once they started actually dating the first time I just never felt that they were a good match for each other. I’m hoping that the second time around the writer’s learned a bit about what didn’t work the first time and can bring me back to those days of wanting them to get together. It seems that they are going to use Nick’s trip to Louisiana as another way to show that he is growing up in addition to purchasing the bar last season. And it’s true that Nick’s trip clearly was good for him as he’s looking trimmer and more confident then ever.

So, Jess finds herself at the bank where Schmidt and CeCe are trying to get a larger loan, further infuriating Schmidt. She finally decides to tell him about her feelings for Nick and why she’s been more neurotic then usual lately. After a very long pause he simply and seriously says “we all need to meet new people,” which is actually kind of true. He also tells Jess that Nick is on his way to the bank to co-sign their loan, offering the bar up as collateral, so she’s got to skedaddle if she’s trying to avoid him.

However, she doesn’t make it out in time and has to hide from him, where she is briefly mistaken for a bank robber, while Nick signs a document that he clearly has no idea the purpose of. I hope that it doesn’t come back around negatively, but the thing about Nick is that he will blindly do anything for his friends if they ask and that allegiance is what makes him such a great character.

The ridiculousness of the situation has Jess realizing that she needs to take control of her own life like Schmidt and CeCe. She goes home and tells Winston that she feels like everyone else is moving forward and she is still in the same place she was years ago: outside of Nick’s door figuring out how she feels and figuring out how to be friends with him again. Winston is really sweet about the whole thing and helps her out by going into Nick’s room with her, but promptly leaving with a new “authentic” Louisiana gator tooth.

Once they’re alone Nick is able to tell Jess what he wanted to earlier. While he was in New Orleans he finally wrote his book! He was so inspired and felt so alive that he was writing 2,000 pages a day by hand until one day they all blew into the Mississippi River. He specifically shows her the dedication page where he thanks Jess for encouraging him to go to Louisiana and write. It’s a sweet moment between the two and one that shows us that this relationship is going to be one of this season’s bigger story lines, except this time Jess knows exactly what she wants and with all of the friends in on the secret, it can’t be long until Nick catches wind. Right?

The episode concludes with the gang gathering in Schmidt and CeCe’s new house…the dingy fixer upper that Jess had showed them in the beginning. It’s truly a dump and actually a great framework for the rest of the season.

The fixer upper gives the gang:

• a project to work on throughout the season
• a multitude of ridiculous story lines
• a new hangout spot
• a legitimate reason to keep Schmidt and CeCe in the loft a little bit longer.

CeCe says as they start to further destroy the house by kicking in walls and tearing down lamps, “we are going to tear this house down to the studs.”  And that’s exactly what I think the creators are going to do. Start fresh and move forward, and truthfully 6 seasons in, it’s a good move.

What made New Girl great wasn’t that they all lived in a loft together. It was their relationships and the shenanigans along the way. Actually, the fact that at their ages these characters all still live in a loft together made the show a little unbelievable. So, I am glad to see the show moving forward while still keeping its roots.

Well that about wraps it up! I think that it’s going to be another great season and I am looking forward to writing about it for you guys.

What did you think of tonight’s episode?  Leave a comment below!