A reoccurring theme of New Girl’s fourth season has been the ease of having multiple characters weave in and out of each others’ stories. This has been discussed in reviews previously but the show demonstrates on a weekly basis that it understands its characters well enough that it can mix and match the situations and deliver an above average episode. Not only does this make for a solid single episode, it also allows for the plot lines to feel fresh and new, something that New Girl had a small problem with last season with the Nick and Jess relationship.

This week we see Jess and Cece in their worst fight of all time, started of course by Schmidt, even though to some it may seem like nothing more than a disagreement over who should buy a purse. Since both of the friends are passive-aggressive people they tend to get over their fights by not talking for a few days, buying each other a coffee and moving on. This fight would have gone the same way if it weren’t for the meddling of Schmidt. He continues to rock the boat by trying to prove to Coach that he knows women better because of his 19 years of being exclusively in the “Friend-Zone”. Deciding it would be best for everyone to come clean, he tells Cece that Jess in fact did buy the purse. This proves to be the push the fight needed to take a turn for the worse, turning an awkward baby shower into an awkwarder baby shower. Jess and Cece finally have had enough of the passive aggressive tip toeing and burst open into a screaming match. When you have two screaming women venting decades worth of anger at each other there is only one way of settling it, and Coach knows how because he has sisters (the best running gag of the show), and that is by having a throw down fist fight. The resulting scene of the friends making up is proof that sometimes you just need to punch something to feel better.

Taking the bulk of the roommates away from the apartment allows for Nick to have some alone time with Tran’s granddaughter Kai. Winston, while attempting to avoid studying for his police exam, is still in the apartment and writes up a profile on Kai. In true Winston fashion he decides that she is unequivocally homeless. Nick, being Nick, lets this wild idea get the best of him and forces himself into her home only to realize that she is loaded and gets to work whenever she wants to. Let us not forget that she is also now Nick’s sugar-mama. While there aren’t a great number of laughs in this plot line there is a lot to like about this development. The main takeaway that stands above the rest is the spotlight that is back on Nick. This season has seen Nick take a back seat to the developments in the lives of the other roommates and while it has been solid, Jake Johnson deserves more dedicated screen time. His ability to make an situation even worse when he is attempting to make it better is what makes him one of the more endearing characters on the show instead of just the affable drunk.

“Girl Fight” isn’t the best episode of the season but it is one where we once again see the strength’s of New Girl shine. The cast of character’s that has been introduced, thinned, reintroduced and pushed together have against all odds created one of the best ensembles on television. I once thought the reintroduction of Coach would stifle the development of the other characters, leading the show down the primrose path. I am happy to say that it has done the complete opposite and has opened up the show to new opportunities and has made it all the better for it.

Grade: B+