It’s no secret that the third season of New Girl was a bit of a bust in the plot department. Schmidt quickly turned into our least favorite character on the show; Winston still had no real storyline whatsoever; and Nick and Jess’ break-up cast such a dark and serious cloud over the rest of the season, it made this usually hilarious sitcom not very, well, sitcom-y. It was enough to make any fan wonder: Hey (New) Girl… whatcha doin? (Seriously though, what are you doing?!?!) I know they definitely aren't giving enough attention to the couple that most deserves it: Schmidt and Cece.
Luckily, the series has been renewed for a fourth season, which will give both the show and its characters a chance to rectify a few of those wrongs and get back to doing what they do best: being funny. But I’d also love to see things heat back up for Schmidt and Cece on a romantic level, if ya know what I mean. These two have been on-again, off-again ever since Season 1 and lord knows it’s been pretty much an uphill battle the entire time. Still, truth be told, I have always, always rooted for them the most out of any other couple on this show. Don’t get me wrong, Nick and Jess are great together too, but there’s just something about Schmece that keeps me coming back for more. No matter how the other relationships on the show pan out, I want these two to be endgame.
Let me explain…
Their Attraction Is Undeniable
Let’s face it — these are two very attractive people. So naturally they’re drawn to each other like moths to a flame. Cece may have tried to fight it back in Season 1, but their connection to each other is palpable, making both them (and us) want to come back for seconds, and thirds, and… uh, what was I saying?
Cece Makes Schmidt a Better Man
I’ll be the first to admit that Schmidt can be the absolute worst sometimes. He’s superficial, a known womanizer, and don’t even get me started on that whole Cece-Elizabeth cheating debacle from Season 3. I mean, we all know Schmidt can be a total douchebag at times (hence the entire existence of the douchebag jar), but this was a whole new level of douchebaggery we’d never seen or expected from him before. He even preceded to blame Jess and Nick (not himself) for what went down and vowed to break them up.
I can’t defend any of this. For a guy who is usually so charismatic no matter what he says or does…
… this was inexcusable. HOWEVER, I think all of this taught him a very important lesson and helped him to grow as a person. Yes, he made a huge error in judgment, but he is also human. We make mistakes. It’s what we learn from those mistakes that show the type of person we truly are, and Schmidt has (I believe) served his penance. After all, he’s not the first beloved TV character to completely screw up a relationship.
But that doesn’t mean we should stop rooting for them.
Their Love Is Real
If there’s one thing we’ve come to know about Schmidt throughout these past years, it’s that Schmidt likes to look out for Schmidt. And while he’s been prone to acts of jealousy and stupidity in the past, it’s mostly been driven by the fact that he cares about Cece so damn much. He just goes about expressing it in the worst way possible, though he’s had a few pretty great moments.
Lately, something’s different though. He’s actually started putting Cece’s desires ahead of his own. After seeing how much she’s trying to make things work with Buster, he forgoes his romantic plans to woo her on the cruise ship and opts to let her be happy… even if that means letting her go. He cares about her to the point of being selfless. That’s a big step for him and just shows how much he's matured. If that’s not a sign of a new and changed man, then I’ll put $50 in the douchebag jar.
But, like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so if you’re still questioning if these two crazy kids belong together, Cece's face in the Season 3 finale family portrait says it all:
#TeamSchmeceForever
Images: Ray Mickshaw/FOX; fanpop (2); uproxx; radionowindy; invisibleman11/Wordpress; nikkleszgifs/Tumblr; Wifflegif; Adam Taylor/FOX; fanforum
