New Girl "Jess" Keeps Getting Better and Better!

~~~~ Spoilers for New Girl "Chicago" below!! ~~~~

After the painful handling of Marshall's father's death on HIMYM last season (a countdown!? Those are supposed to be fun and a neat Easter egg! It was neither fun nor Easter!), I was a little worried about handling Nick's dad's death. I shouldn't have been.

From the cold open with the helium to the closing Jess in Elvis drag, the episode was funny, smart, and emotionally satisfying in a way you don't often see on a super-funny sitcom! It was a surprisingly effective way to solidify Nick and Jess' bond and delve deeper into their relationship. It allowed Winston some seriously hilarious screen time in his epic eulogy fail, and Schmidt grew even nuttier than before and had (as usual) some of the best lines of the night - especially in regards to his button-festooned suit jacket.

Excellent work, New Girl! I don't want you to get all serious on me all the time (you hear that, HIMYM?) but Nick's honest reaction to his father's death was incredibly important to his character arc and all of the characters' actions and reactions combined painted an eccentric, but emotionally true, picture of what a funeral is like and how it affects us all.

I hope I can write an episode as good as this one someday!