New Girl: 10 Scenes That Live Rent Free In Fans’ Heads

Every New Girl fan has their favorite scenes in the series. The scenes might revolve around the friendships of the characters, the romantic pairings that pop up, or the completely ridiculous situations the inhabitants of apartment 4D find themselves in. Every fan is different. Their favorite scenes, however, aren’t necessarily the most memorable scenes in the show.

New Girl features so many scenes that stand out that it can be difficult to narrow it down to a top ten. With the grand gestures in relationships, surprising arguments between characters, and seemingly impossible situations, the show has its own unique brand of comedy that makes it especially memorable and quotable. These scenes, however, are definitely living rent-free in the minds of New Girl fans – and some of them might even be favorites.

10 The Saddest Song In The World

The first season doesn’t feature a lot of dramatic moments. “Injured,” however becomes one of the most emotional episodes when the group is worried Nick might be seriously sick. The darkness of the episode is offset by some great bonding moments between the group, including them singing the “saddest song in the world.”

At the bar, it’s Winston who decides to play the piano and start them off while Schmidt and Cece take turns rapping out some lyrics to commemorate Nick’s life. It’s one of the few musical moments in the show that Jess doesn’t contribute to, and despite the somber mood, it’s a fun snapshot of exactly who her roommates are.

9 Nick Gets Schmidt A Cookie

Nick and Schmidt meet in college, but they seem like they’ve known one another their entire lives. According to Nick, however, Schmidt might care about him just a little bit more than he deserves. Nick makes an effort to better focus on their friendship in this memorable scene.

After Schmidt brings Nick a cookie just because he’s thinking about him, it freaks Nick out a little bit. Nick isn’t sure how to take that information, and it drives a brief wedge between the two. Schmidt doesn’t see it as a big deal, but to Nick, it very much is. He tries to be the same kind of friend for Schmidt, which leads to the iconic, “gave me cookie, got you cookie,” speech by Nick.

8 Jess Is Elvis

When Nick takes his roommates with him to Chicago in the second season, it’s not for a fun vacation. They attend Nick’s father’s funeral. Since his father is such a big Elvis fan, Nick’s mother wants that reflected in the service.

When Nick starts to break under the pressure of planning, Jess tries to help by donning an Elvis costume and singing at the service herself. She clearly doesn’t know all the words to the song she chooses, but she does her best, even getting Nick’s family to sing along, and the bond between the two is pretty well cemented in the standout musical scene.

7 The End Of The Cruise

At the end of the third season, Nick and Jess can’t get a refund on a cruise they booked as a couple, so they take their friends with them. The episode is all about them trying to find a way to be friends again. Those scenes, however, aren’t the most memorable.

What is the most memorable is how the cruise ends. The group ends up locked in their cabin for a few days until a crew member discovers them. They have clearly exhausted the minibar supplies, Cece is in some sort of fort, Coach is still in a life jacket, Winston is hoarding the sugar packets, and it looks like no one has slept or showered in days. Just what happened in that room is a mystery, and one fans would really like solved.

6 Nick’s Haunted House Nightmare

Nick’s catchphrase might as well be, “this is my nightmare” as he finds himself in so many awkward situations he just wants out of. His trip through a haunted house in season two, however, is more actual nightmare than awkward.

Nick is terrified to walk through the haunted house that is one of Jess’ jobs after she’s let go from teaching. He braves it because he wants to warn her that Sam is seeing other people just as she’s ready to get serious. What happens is him being so scared by the workers in costume that he actually punches zombie-Jess in the face, and then gets attacked by everyone in the house for his actions. It’s one of the most ridiculous sequences the show has done.

5 Nick And Jess Refuse To Back Down

One of the hallmarks of the relationship between Nick and Jess from the beginning is that both refuse to back down when they have something to prove. Nick proves himself smarter than Jess might think when he has a better read on their landlord than she does.

When Jess tries to thank Remy for the repairs made to the loft with dinner, Nick stays with her, sure that Remy is into her. She doesn’t see it, which leads to them in a weird standoff when it turns out Remy is perfectly fine with spending the night with both of them.

4 Jess Tries To Get Rid Of ‘Meth’

The episode “Background Check” is, hands down, one of the funniest episodes of New Girl. Winston has to have a home visit before he can officially be approved to be a police officer, and Jess tries to get rid of what she thinks is meth from a footstool she bought at a yard sale. Those two things create a truly chaotic environment in the loft as everyone hides the “meth” from Winston and the sergeant interviewing them.

There are so many scenes in this episode that could make this list, but Nick spilling his secrets to the officer sent to investigate Winston while everyone else is trying to put “meth” down the drain has to be the best.

3 Winston Is Theodore K. Mullins

Winston gives himself a few fake identities over the course of the show. One is an undercover persona he uses as a police officer. Another is one he uses in the loft.

When Nick has difficulties juggling flings with multiple women at the same time, it happens just as Jess, Cece, and Schmidt come into conflict over the outing of Schmidt and Cece’s relationship. Winston, listening to all of the arguing, just wants to sleep. Winston emerges from his bedroom to give everyone a speech, including that he is, “Theodore K. Mullins.” His speech, which suggests he and Nick are lovers, gets Nick’s one-night-stands to leave the loft and puts the rest of the arguing on pause. The entire scene is Lamorne Morris doing some of his best work in a ridiculous situation for his character.

2 Schmidt’s Proposal

Cece and Schmidt have a rocky road to romance. By the end of the fourth season, they haven’t been dating (for the second time) in over a year, but the audience knows they both still have feelings for one another.

When Schmidt discovers that Cece is still in love with him, he drops everything with the intention of finding her on her mountain climbing trip. He doesn’t have to go far because she’s on her way back to see him. The two skip over all of the getting back together awkwardness that a lot of sitcoms might use and Schmidt proposes on the spot, reminding Cece that he told her he would marry her the first time they met. New Girl has a lot of great proposals, but Schmidt’s is the best.

1 The Kiss

If there is one scene that comes to mind for any fan when New Girl is mentioned, it has to be Nick kissing Jess for the first time. Neither of them are ready to admit their feelings when it happens in the middle of season two, but the scene is loaded with emotion and chemistry.

After a game of True American that Nick bails on because he’s afraid to kiss Jess, Jess ends her night with her boyfriend Sam. Nick can’t just walk away from her after the events of the game though, so he grabs her in the hall between their two rooms in a kiss that left fans with a major cliffhanger when it aired.

About The Author