New Girl 5x7 'Wig': The Loft must Be Held

New Girl 5x7 holds the fort with a safe but only moderately compelling episode, a reminder that Jess is not yet back.

Reviewed while listening to more Om Unit, and catching reruns of Veep in the background.

A bald head is bare, exposed. A wig conceals this from the world. It protects the wearer's baldness who so chooses not to be exposed. It's the wig's sole reason for bring. Despite Nick's sound logic that one could have a wig for undisclosed 'lady reasons,' Reagan's hair is in fact real. Thus, her wig is metaphorical. She doesn't let people in, afraid of being bare. Emotionally. New Girl, I see what you're doing.

Reagan is a character who judges people immediately and shallowly because she's afraid of getting close to anyone. She's what you would call 'closed off.' It's a relatively common character trope, and I can see why the show went this route with her. In an apartment of close friends and sometimes lovers, who know each other on strangely intimate levels after 4+ seasons, tossing someone who's closed off could provide good comedic effect. And it works to a point. But for the first time I actually felt the void left by Jess. Because it was all too easy. What really have we learned about Reagan in this episode? What is her quirk, her added spice to the loft? Eating a burrito like a rabid fox (get it?) isn't enough, though it was nice to juxtapose her sloppiness with Nick's. 'Wig' tries to play Megan Fox's story into a Nick/Schimdt plot, because the show knows that's its bread and butter when Jess isn't involved (Nick is the bread and Schmidt is the butter in this analogy), but some jokes fell flat in this endeavor and it all felt too contrived. Maybe it was CeCe's addition to the plot that made it one person too big. Or maybe the writers just weren't sure where to go. It's not in itself that bad, but New Girl has some lofty expectations (PUN!!). Making Nick think Reagan wears a wig so he won't be intimidated by her is a nice premise. It just didn't quite lift off for me. Too easy, too basic humor. As is Reagan's inability to deal with tough confrontations. Making Reagan unable to cope with emotion just isn't that compelling, and 'Wig' is weighed down by a weariness that the writers seems to have sans Jess.

Luckily, Lamorne Morris seems to have at least some chemistry with virtually any guest star. It could just be that he's perpetually quirky. His 'Oh my Gaaahhh, you're breakin' up with me' voice brought more life to Reagan's blandish predicament and gave Megan Fox something to more easily bounce off of (she was probably legitimately thrown off by it). And his attempts to help everyone else and be the friend who solves problems is always redeeming. This makes the Reagan plot of trying to break up with her girlfriend a bit more palpable, and Megan Fox sells us on Reagan genuinely not trying to hurt the girlfriend's feelings. For this reason, 'Wig' allows a small window for Reagan to fit into that loft openness and intimacy. When Winston brings the girlfriend, Camilla (Clea DuVall), to the loft (because he relates to everyone) and make Reagan face real human emotion, it finally gives the whole group something to do with the main guest star. I found another nice touch in the group pretending to be a Japanese crime ring, bringing Schimdt's obsession of Japanese culture full circle to remind us of how well these people know each other. And the writers add some of those trademark off-the-cuff gags to keep its distinct humor. Hint: treehouses can ruin friendships. So there's heart in 'Wig,' and hope that Megan Fox might be able to hold the fort just enough until Zooey Deschanel returns.

Still, though, the sooner the better. New Girl had done a solid job so far coping with her absence, and it's allowed one bland episode which isn't really that bad when it comes right down to it. It's just... meh. Reagan getting embraced and welcomed by her loftmates is still contrived. Or just too early. they're not there yet in the relationship. Remember, she's coming into a social circle that's seen just too many strange things for it to be easy. She won't have much time, but there is still potential there. Winston is just so strange he can make any friendship work it seems, and if the writers can find a way to make Nick's attraction to Reagan interesting and not just an awkward crush, then great. The fact is 'Wig' did no real harm to the show. It was just too safe. And New Girl is just too quirky a show to play it safe.

Grade: B-

When I got sidetracked

-'D'ante. D apostrophe LANTE.' Winston just gets way too invested into hypotehticals. And it's lovely. also, great comedy name.

-On the subject of Clea DuVall... remember The Faculty?! Ahh, the 90s.

-The treehouse bit was great. Especially when they started bidding for Reagan's treehouse building services. Another nod to that gag is in order.

-Schmidt's a Republican? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

#TV #review #NewGirl