I'm hesitant for New Girl Season 5 to begin because I know that while it's great that the show is returning, it also means that Jess Day will be taking a leave of absence for a bit. While I am sure the writers won't steer the loft friends in the wrong direction, it's going to be tough to top the past season. Season 4 of New Girl was the season of love. There were triangles, new interests, new friends, and somewhere in the middle, a missing cat. If you don't remember everything, don't worry, because I've got the Season 4 New Girl recap you need to refresh.
The finale of Season 4 left many fans satisfied with a long-awaited proposal, but it also said goodbye to a favorite of the loft. There were moments throughout the season where relationships looked bleak, and then other moments where old flames re-ignited. Basically, Season 4 had a lot of ups and downs and at the end of it, I felt just as satisfied as Ferguson does after eating some pasta with Winston. Don't remember everything that went on? No problem. Here are the most important things to remember about New Girl Season 4 before diving into the new season.
Jess Dates A Coworker
Even though it was against the rules, Jess made an exception. His name was Ryan, and he was charming, British, and a little too unavailable. The two had an undeniable chemistry right off the bat, but Jess worried about the professionalism of the Vice Principal dating a teacher. Despite the worries, she and Ryan eventually outed their relationship to the school and had to clean up a bit when people started accusing Jess of playing favorites.
Unfortunately, their relationship became victim to long-distance, eventually leading them to break-up. Overall, they were a promising relationship that didn't really get the chance it deserved, so I don't think we'll hear from Jess and Ryan again.
Winston Graduates From The Police Academy
It's been a long road for Winston to discover his true passion in life, but Season 4 was his time to shine. Halfway through the season, Winston graduated from the police academy and was assigned a partner. His partner Aly (Nasim Pedrad) and he had a bit of a rocky start. Aly didn't want to be friends with Winston, even though Winston wanted them to be a buddy-cop movie so badly.
One case that Winston had to basically investigate? The disappearance of Ferguson, Winston's cat. The kitten was noticeably absent for the majority of the season, setting off the mental alarms for many New Girl fans who believe a TV show's OTP can be between a man and his cat. But fear not, because after many months of wondering #WheresWinston, we learned in the finale episode that he is fine and well, and just busy posing for selfies with his human.
Coach Met Someone
Finally, some good news for Coach. After striking out many times, the gym teacher/sometimes roommate at the loft finally found someone that understood him and his strange yelling tendencies. Her name is May, and while the relationship wasn't particularly smooth in the beginning — Coach sent a rather alarming email asking her out — the two worked out their issues and fell in love.
Unfortunately, a curveball was lobbed at Coach and May when she was offered a job in New York, prompting the couple to break-up. After realizing that May was too important to him, Coach made the decision to leave Los Angeles and move to New York with May, once again abandoning the loft and all of his friends inside. Because it was done for love, I guess it's fine, but I'll wait forever for Coach to return to his home with his friends.
Jess & Nick Re-Evaluate Their Relationship
Personally, I like the Nick-and-Jess-don't-know-what-they-are relationship way more than Jess-and-Nick-are-dating or Jess-and-Nick-aren't-dating. The majority of Season 4 was the Nick-and-Jess-aren't-dating show, but the final episode of the season suggested that we could be flirting with the two not knowing where they stand at the beginning of Season 5.
It can all be explained with a Sex Mug, the symbol that one party in the relationship was looking for a little private time. Even though the two weren't dating this season, Jess took the Sex Mug out, which caught Nick's attention and caused the two to address their relationship, finally. The conversation ended on the same note that the season began — Nick-and-Jess-aren't-dating — and the two agreed to throw the Sex Mug out for good. But, the mug was taken out of the trash by Winston, so maybe now that it's back in play there will be a Nick and Jess reunion in the future?
Cece & Schmidt Get Engaged
Unlike Jess and Nick, I love Cece and Schmidt together. This season was not unlike past seasons, though, in that they just couldn't find their footing as a couple. Schmidt began dating Councilwoman Fawn Moscato, a cold character and not a good match for Schmidt to end up with. Meanwhile, Cece longed for Schmidt from afar, only letting Winston in on her secret. Eventually, Fawn and Schmidt ended things, opening the window of opportunity for the best New Girl proposal, ever.
Keeping good on his promise from the pilot episode, Schmidt proposed to Cece upon her arrival back from a self-exploration trip in the mountains. Cece said "yes" and the entire gang celebrated this wonderful forthcoming union.
So, there you have it. The not-so-official refresher on everything that happened on New Girl Season 4 to prepare yourself for Season 5's premiere.
Images: Nicole Wilder-Shattuck/FOX; Ray Mickshaw/FOX (5); Giphy (5)
