When Cece finally admits to Jess that yes, she really likes Schmidt again, there’s an emotion to it. “How could I not like him, he’s perfect” she explains as the man she’s fallen in love with again tries to perfect his burn fighting the spider.
The dichotomy between silliness and sincerity is what underlies success New Girl. While on one hand the show could be far from infatuated with “The Sauce,” Nick’s secret A family sauce recipe that includes items from mayonnaise to mustard to bologna, also has the ability to overcome emotional beats. “Spiderhunt” is an episode that uses these aspects together with the close confines of an apartment shot only episode to craft the bridge episode that will lead us to the end of this season. This season was consistently strong from episode to episode but never decided to discuss anything apart from the daily activities of the roommates. With the reveal that Cece liked Schmidt for so long as he was really pleased with his political partner, Moscato, we have something to push into the final.
That’s not to say that this episode did not take time to create another half hour of stellar comedy. Framing the episode in the apartment allows the cast’s chemistry to shine through. One of the best parts of this really revolves around “The Sauce” because Nick’s cocky nature with it serves as a standout moment of the season for him to show how he can walk that fine line between crazy and in control. Nick also has another winning conversation with Jess as he believes that Cece likes him and is trying to understand. What he does not realize is that Nick is talking about Cece wanting to set up a popcorn machine in the bar. When she starts complaining about the smell and grooming (who honestly does not like the smell of popcorn?) it does nothing more than confuse Jess, creating one of the hilarious back-and-forth bits that are exchanged throughout all episodes.
New Girl may not have had one of their strongest storytelling seasons overall, but “Spiderhunt” did a lot to improve towards the season’s final chapter. Still, as a sitcom, the show has proven episode after episode that it knows how to create laugh-inducing environments in a way few shows this season have. And damn if “The Sauce” does not taste the bear’s insides… that’s not a bad thing.
Point a
“Spider Hunt”
New Girl
Season 4, Episode 17
