FOX's New Girl - Episode 4.12 "Shark"
After Winston graduates from the Police Academy, Nick and Coach worry when they see his new training officer (Nasim Pedrad). Meanwhile, Jess uses Schmidt to try and influence a councilwoman (Zoe Lister-Jones) to stop the night construction taking place outside the loft.
This was just an odd episode of New Girl. It felt like the first or second draft of an episode. It hadn't been fleshed out to its best version yet. There's also some weird gender stuff going on. The only character who seems capable of smart thoughts in "Shark" is Jess. And even with her, she is not able to come out on top in her argument against Schmidt and the councilwoman through her own tactics. No, she wins because she accepts Schmidt's shark tactics and uses them against him. When she got Cece to throw Schmidt off his game by becoming convinced his jacket sleeves weren't the same length, she won but she was no longer the dolphin in her metaphor. I thought the purpose of this story was to show that smart and honest thinking can come out on top sometimes. Instead it was just the reinforcement that manipulation often leads to the best results.Schmidt basically spends the entire episode being manipulated too. He's the one who introduces the "shark" analogy. And then, he can't follow through on it because he falls head over heels with the power the councilwoman exudes. That just doesn't feel like consistent character writing. We know that this isn't what Schmidt wants. He doesn't just want to be a nice piece of arm candy. He sees himself as the Hilary to her Bill. And yet, you can guarantee that she doesn't see things the same way. She just wants him to stop talking in every interaction they have together. The best part of Schmidt this season has been the reintroduction of his goals. He wants to make something of himself and be a successful entrepreneur. That quality is largely absent in an episode where we should be reminded of it while he is faced with this distraction. Though it seems Zoe Lister-Jones may be appearing in more episodes so that quality could be coming in the future. It's just such a lackluster and off introduction.
And then, there is the subplot that features Winston graduating from the police academy and Nick and Coach worrying about him (and getting in the way) now that he is on the job. Nick and Coach's intentions were pure. They care for their friend. However, nearly everything about this plot was bad. So much of it was reduced down to a short female being unable to do the job and protect Winston at the same time. That never was dealt with in a way that felt purposeful. Nick and Coach made an assumption at first glance. They were in the wrong for it and I was glad when she forcefully dealt with them. And then, it was a nice gesture she made in the end - introducing them to support meetings for family members of people on the force. However, that only accentuates just how weird and different Nick and Coach are. They don't exactly belong in that place which ultimately just makes this entirely story weird and bad.
Some more thoughts:
- Cece doesn't have the best read on Ryan let. He was largely just someone standing behind Jess while she was trying to be an active person in the plot. Although it was funny when red wine made him horny.
- I was not expecting the air horn during Winston's graduation ceremony. Also, there's a couple people named Bishop in his class. I'm sure that won't get confusing.
- Winston freaks out when he gets a paper cut which only makes the fact that he's one of the best cadets in his police academy class more unlikely and hilarious.
- Jess: "Remember when Winston was evil for that week?" Nice nod to the show's past of Winston changing personalities every week.
