'New Girl' Season 3, Episode 5: 'The Box' Recap

Schmidt is not doing well. He's not sleeping, riddled with guilt about the situation with CeCe and Elizabeth. He wonders if he's a good person, and his friends explain to him that he is not.

A creepy man knocks on the door with a package for Nick. He's with Nick's father's estate. The man throws the bag at Jess and runs... it's full of money. $8,000, to be exact.

Nick goes to the mall to blow through that. Jess wonders if she should step in and stop him from spending so much, but Winston tells her not to talk to Nick about money. Besides, Nick owes Winston money, and Winston has a plan to get that back that does not involve simply asking for it.

Back at the loft Jess suggests that Nick start a bank account. He shows her his box where he throws things, and it's mostly full of unpaid bills.

Schmidt goes to his Rabbi to ask how to be a better person. He tells Schmidt that he seems pretty self-involved, maybe he should start putting someone else' needs ahead of his own.

Walking home, Schmidt witnesses a bike accident and steps in, as the man was chewing gum while biking and is now choking. Schmidt saves him, realizing what a wonderful feeling it is.

Jess sneakily calls some of the companies that sent the bills and pays them.

Winston makes Nick sliders, and gently asks for the money Nick owes him. Nick gets angry. Jess comes out to find Nick yelling at Winston. He tells her she's the only one he trusts, and goes to the bar. Jess tries to hide what she's been doing, but Winston catches her.

She thinks she needs to get the money back, panicking. Winston tells her that he won't tell on her if she gives him the money Nick owes him. She agrees to pay.

Schmidt finds Nick drunk at the bar, torn about by his money situation. Schmidt suggest Nick give the money to charity. Schmidt tells Nick about the bike messenger and desperately wants to hear Nick say he is a good man, but Nick won't say it.

Jess goes to "unpay" parking tickets. Strangely that doesn't go well.

Nick tells WInston he is in luck... he's had a talk with Schmidt and has decided to give away his money, and he will pay Winston what he owes him. Jess hears and panics, running in to try to hide the box but Nick catches her. She admits to paying some of his bills and apologizes.

Schmidt goes to see the biker at the hospital to ask him if he thinks he's a good person. In the next bed is a poor man who was hit by a bus while having a bake sale for kids with cancer. Schmidt realizes bad things happen to good people and runs off, confused.

Nick yells at Jess for trying to fix him. She tells him he has to deal with all this stuff, but he says it's in his private box so he doesn't have to deal with it. Nick decides if she's going to change him he's going to change her. He goes through her stuff yelling at everything. He begins chucking her vintage purses out the window.

Jess tells him she likes him how he is, but she wants him to grow up a little bit. Nick wants her to see it his way (the crazy, illegal way) and not expect him to change because he won't. Jess writes him a check for the money she spent and to do whatever he wants with it.

Schmidt bursts into a class his Rabbi is holding and yells that it all makes no sense. There's no good guys or bad guys, there's winners and losers. Nothing matters. They can do whatever they want.

He is escorted from the class.

Jess sits with the homeless man who now has all of her purses. She gets a call and goes to the bank - Nick has tried to open a bank account with a check in her name and a paper bag full of money. He tells Jess he would do anything for her. As they open a bank account, Jess begins to loudly argue the processing fee in Nick style, and gets it waived.

Schmidt goes home, depressed. Winston tells him to stop - he's a good man, he just did a bad thing and he needs to try to be better. He gives him a candelabra that he bought with the money he got back from Nick, to illuminate his path.