Tuesday night's New Girl is set to deliver a big dollop of nostalgia in addition to the usual doses of slapstick comedy, Schmidt-isms, and nearly unbearable cuteness: Freaks and Geeks alum Linda Cardellini is making her debut as Jess' (Zooey Deschanel) trouble-maker sister. Lindsay Weir is entering twee, cupcake-loving, ukulele territory.
Of course, this isn't the first time Cardellini has gone where we least expected. Her most memorable role after Freaks and Geeks' demise was the regrettable Scooby Doo live-action movie franchise. She played Velma and fans everywhere scratched their heads. What had become of our army surplus coat-wearing freak?
Since that surprising turn of events, Cardellini has enjoyed a comeback of sorts, starting with a sexy stint on Mad Men and followed up with her New Girl appearance and a new Netflix show. Everything's coming up Cardellini, but that got us to wondering (since we've never quite gotten over the loss of our dear Freaks and Geeks): What would Lindsay Weir think of all these big breaks?
Thanks to the power of the internet, our undying memories, and — of course — the magic of GIFs, we think we might be able to approximate the former geek's reaction to Cardellini's success.
The control: Lindsay Weir in her natural state
Now that that's settled, let's check out Cardellini's latest roles.
MAD MEN SEXYTIMES
We were all a little shocked when Cardellini hopped out of our Freaks and Geeks memories and into Don Draper's bed. She was older, wiser, and far more inclined to go all the way than she was we knew her as Lindsay.
Lindsay's reaction:
Lindsay would have a hard time accepting her future self as a womanizing ad man's sexy pet — a sentiment we echoed upon first meeting her Mad Men character as well.
NEW GIRL GONE BAD
On Tuesday's New Girl, Cardellini is the sister in trouble once more. And like Lindsay's brother Sam on Freaks and Geeks, Jess is the well-behaved nerdy sibling to Cardellini's rebel.
Lindsay's reaction:
Cardellini repeating her old high school ways? No way. This is the girl who went on tour with the Grateful Dead instead of returning to her old "geek" path. Naturally, she became a magnificent free soul, and not some adult trouble-maker like Jess' sister. Geeze, guys.
FAMILY TIME ON NETFLIX
Cardellini joins another beloved TV alum Kyle Chandler in Netflix's upcoming family drama. It's a thriller, centered on a group of adult siblings who react to the return of their black sheep brother (Chandler).
Lindsay's reaction:
More family drama? Seriously? She thought she'd gotten out of that when she ran away with the Grateful Dead.
As for the rest of us? We're dancing like Millie, stoned on the happy thought of more Cardinelli on our TVs and our Netflix machines.
Images: Getty Images; HuffPo; Tumblr/bewitchedportraits; Tumblr/nofearweir; WiffleGif
