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Synopsis: Nervous about Ruth’s interview at a prestigious pre-school, Schmidt recruits Jess to help her prepare. Meanwhile, Nick procrastinates writing, and Winston prepares to confront his fear of testifying in court. (TVGuide)
Writer: J.J. Philbin
Director: Trent O’Donnell
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 22mins
Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30 pm on Citytv (Canada)/FOX (United States)
“Lillypads”starts off with Schmidt jumping through the door to tell Cece and Jess that he got their daughter Ruth an interview at the prestigious school Lillypads. While Jess and Cece are skeptical about private school, Schmidt is adamant she’s smart enough to go to a school like that as Ruth continues to bump into walls. They come home from the interview asking Jess for help to tutor their child because Schmidt’s arch-rival Benjamin and his child are vying for the same spot. Jess agrees to help so long as it is on her terms.
Meanwhile, Nick sits down at the bar trying to come up with his next best idea when Winston comes to him with a problem. As detective, Winston has to go on the stand, but he is nervous to. Nick uses his law school knowledge to dig into Winston’s psyche by bringing up a time Nick walked in on Winston in a compromising situation. At the loft, Schmidt is freaking out watching Jess’ attempts at tutoring and decides to take matters into his own hands. As the two of them bicker, Cece comes home and decides to deal with them. Nick continues to pry, but Winston turns it around on Nick and finds the root of his problem: he is a master procrastinator.
Cece, Schmidt and Jess bring Ruth to her interview when Benjamin and his son arrive to belittle them. Ruth is sent off by herself while the parents are allowed to watch from another room. “Ruth’s gonna do what Ruth’s gonna do.”When it looks like Ruth is going to fail the interview, she cuts a perfect circle and shows her imagination to please the teacher. However, when Benjamin’s son cuts an oval instead he marches in and berates his son causing Ruth to lead a child revolution in the room ending in Benjamin finding scissors lodged in his cheek. Meanwhile, Winston is at court and breaking down on the stand, but after Nick gets punched for procrastinating he goes to the courtroom to verbally punch his friend to help him out.
The episode ends with Ruth sitting on the floor cutting a mountain of circles while Jess, Cece and Schmidt discuss the aftermath of the interview. They decide what is best for Ruth is for her to choose what she wants and she decides on the other school. The gang comes to the school to see Ruth off for her first day.
Overall, this was an alright episode. As the show continues to move forward, it feels as if the story is both trying to stay in place and redefine itself in its final season. The addition of Ruth and the limited appearances of Ali have caused a dynamic shift in the cast as the characters focus on more kid-centric storylines surrounding the original group. Obviously Cece and Schmidt’s lives now revolve around their daughter’s so much that their individuality from previous seasons is virtually nonexistent, but that doesn’t mean the show detracts from the other relationships. As long as the stories continue to revolve around these characters and their cooky friendships while dealing with more mature situations and themes then this season will be a great end to this successful series.
Score: 6/10
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