'New Girl' Season 2, Episode 5: 'Models' Recap

It is CeCe’s birthday. Jess brings her cake, expecting to stay in and watch “Clueless” and make towel dresses like they do every birthday except the one year CeCe accidentally hit Jess in the boob and made her mad, but CeCe says she can’t eat the cake, she has a car show the next day. She wants Jess to come out with her model friends—including scary, Schmidt-loving Nadia.

Watching “National Geographic” has inspired Nick to buy a turtle. Schmidt comes home and presents Nick with a gift---a cookie, because he was thinking about him. Nick is surprised and weirded out.

Jess comes in dressed up to go out, but she’s not excited about it.

"I should be able to deal with the fact that they think I look like a monkey from a Russian cracker ad.”

She goes to the club, and Nadia asks her where the crackers are.

Schmidt is just concerned that Nick doesn’t seem to think about him. They argue, and Nick says he’d puke back up the cookie if he could.

"You want to mama bird me the cookie?"

At the club, Jess is entertaining the models by singing a song about monkeys. CeCe has gone off to flirt, and Jess gets annoyed. She says that the years of modeling have made CeCe dumber, and CeCe overhears her.

Nick tries to talk to Winston about his plan to get a turtle, but Winston is on Schmidt’s side. Flashback to young Winston’s pet running away, and Nick completely lacking sympathy. Winston says he says good night to Nick every evening but he never says it back. Schmidt, apparently, cleans Nick’s room every week. Winston says it wasn’t just a cookie he was giving Nick—it was a piece of Schmidt’s heart.

At the party, CeCe and Jess argue. Jess says she feels sorry for CeCe sometimes, and CeCe hits her in the boob. Jess returns the boob slap, and after some weird boob fighting, CeCe tells Jess to leave, and begins drinking copiously.

The trouble at home has only gotten worse. Schmidt is now crying. Jess comes home and asks of the tension, "Did you guys watch porn together again? Why do you keep doing that? It's always awkward.”

Winston and Schmidt storm out. Nick talks to Jess, telling her that he and Schmidt will have lived together 10 years in March. He knows this because Schmidt asked him how he wanted to celebrate the anniversary.

Flashback to Nick and Schmidt in the dorms. Schmidt is in Nick’s room, eating uncooked ramen.

Nick says Schmidt loves him and all Nick does is make fun of him. Jess says she’s a bad friend. Nick is more interested in hearing about the boob fight.

Nick and Jess wonder if they’d be friends with Schmidt and CeCe if they met them both now, rather than when they were younger. Schmidt comes to tell him he’s out of tears to cry, and all that’s left is yellowish goo. Nick says he's had 10 years of yellowish goo!

Jess goes to see CeCe, who is horribly sick from drinking too much. They go to the car show. CeCe insists she’ll be fine, but when she realizes she’d have to model on a spinning car platform, it’s too much. Jess volunteers. They do her up and put her in big heels. Jess tries to get onto the platform, uncomfortable in the shoes. One gets stuck, but she rallies. She gets into the car, but gets stuck inside.

Home, Nick brings Schmidt a cookie. Schmidt thinks it’s terrible. Nick is hurt—he tried to get him something thoughtful but was rejected. "You love me too much, Schmidt. And you picked the wrong guy. When are you going to get that through the giant head of yours? I'm just going to let you down!”

Nick begins to cry.

"Just let it rain, man."

What about the turtle? Schmidt asks. “You're the only turtle I want.”

They group hug and Nick tells them he loves them. Then it gets awkward.

At the car show, Jess and Cece make up. Jess admits modeling is hard. They go back to the loft, and Jess and CeCe watch “Clueless” and eat cake. Jess asks CeCe if they’d be friends if they met today.

"I don't know, but we're friends now.”