If you would like to read my review of last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Jess tries to appease Winston’s anxiety about his impending fatherhood by tracking down his long lost dad. Meanwhile, Schmidt goes back to work for the first time since Ruth’s birth. Then, Nick’s plan to propose to Jess is thrown off-course when they decide to get a dog, Winston sees color for the first time and Schmidt worries about Cece getting pregnant again. (TVGuide)
Writer: Lamar Woods & Joe Wengert
Director: Lamorne Morris & Jay Chandrasekhar
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 44mins (2x 22mins)
Airs: Tuesdays at 9:30 pm on Citytv (Canada)/FOX (United States)
“Godparents”starts off with Winston and Aly summoning the group to their bedroom to pick a godparent. They tell them to face the wall one by one until only Jess remains. She will be evaluated over the next couple weeks to see if she’ll be a good godparent. As she leaves, Aly and Winston go to light a cigarette for Aly, but Jess returns and swats it away passing the first test. Meanwhile Schmidt gets prepared to return to work and tells Cece all the ins and outs of parenting their daughter.
Jess goes to birthing class with Winston to prepare him, but instead freaks him out over the new chapter in his life. He holds a fake baby and ends up decapitating it which causes him to frantically run out. Schmidt returns to work to find that they were bought by a Japanese company to Schmidt’s delight. At home, Cece is doing laundry to be frightened by Nick holding a very dirty looking bear. He offers to help with Ruth, but she says she does not need any help with her daughter. Winston is fearful of being the same type of father as his own and wishes his dad would magically appear to make things better giving Jess an idea that can only go wrong!
At home Winston is trying to set up a crib when Jess arrives with his dad (JB Smoove). He starts to freak out about having a conversation with his dad, but that feeling quickly disappears when he sees him and they instantly embrace. Cece calls Nick to ask him for help picking up Ruth and he laughs it up. As Schmidt prepares to make a pitch at work, he gets a call from Ruth asking him to pick her up and he leaves to help his daughter. Nick heads to Ruth’s school and tries to entice a girl to open the door for him when he’s stopped by security. While Winston and his dad are catching up Aly pulls Jess aside to tell her that this man isn’t Winston’s father and is actually in the police database.
The security brings Ruth to Cece and Nick as he delivers her half eaten lunch to her. As Jess tries to remove the imposter, he lets it slip that he’s never been to Chicago causing Winston to question his identity. Schmidt arrives at the school to find Ruth has been taken home by Cece and Nick prompting him to yell at security then head home to make sure they are alright. While Cece and Schmidt discuss how to cheer up Ruth, they turn around to find Nick has solved it showing his abilities as godparent. Winston and his fake dad confront Jess about her case of mistaken identity and she pleads her case, but Winston can’t handle it and has to leave. Of course on the way out he falls over and breaks the crib he had finally built.
Back at work, Schmidt is trying to make his salsa pitch when he receives pictures of Ruth having fun with Cece and Nick. He uses an analogy to relate the salsa to his love for Ruth and his new boss nonchalantly agrees to the idea. Jess defends her decision and tells Winston he will be a great dad prompting them to keep her as godparent. The dad imposter returns to ask if he could be a part of their family and they politely decline. The episode ends as Schmidt returns home to talk to Cece about quitting his job to become a full-time stay at home father. She agrees when Schmidt is startled by the dirty bear and throws it out onto the lawn.
“Mario”starts off as Winston talks to the guys at the bar about his plans for the evening with Aly while she discusses them with the girls. The two groups talk about their evening plans showing the difference of opinions in the couples’ plans for the night. It all comes to a head when Nick reveals he plans to ask Jess to marry him tonight. After trying to ask multiple times, he has finally found the perfect place to, but Jess has different plans as she plans to reveal the newest member of their family: a small puppy.
At the loft Jess tells Nick about the plan for a new dog, but they need to impress the shelter representative that night putting their dinner plans on hold. Aly and Winston prepare for their big night as Winston uses colorblind glasses for the first time to see the diversity of the world. At first he is excited, but the colours overwhelm him and he starts to freak out. Schmidt and Cece leave for their date when she reveals she’s ovulating prompting Schmidt to avoid any accidents and divert their night to Winston and Aly’s. Schmidt brings this revelation to Winston. Nick and Jess prepare themselves for the representative by making sure Jess will love whatever comes through the door. They open the door and Jess runs off to her room to scream into the sheets, consumed by the feelings of adorableness.
Schmidt wants a big family, but fears the wrath of pregnant Cece. He wants to go into hiding while she’s pregnant, but Winston tells him to just deal with it. The representative talks to Jess about being skeptical she’d be a good dog owner, but Jess needs to excuse herself again this time with the dog. Nick calls the restaurant to keep his reservation when Jess’ dad calls with his proposal deadline. He finds Jess in the bedroom showing an obsessive amount of affection to the dog. Schmidt confronts Cece about her temperament during her pregnancy and Aly agrees with him. The representative asks Nick and Jess questions about the home and where the dog would end up if they broke up prompting Jess to be scared that they might not last.
Jess confronts Nick about his view of the future and their potential breakup. While she is freaking out about their relationship, Nick receives a phone call from the restaurant, but Jess answers it and tells them they won’t be coming. Schmidt and Cece decide they want to have another kid and vow to be better partners during the pregnancy. They sneak into the loft to have some privacy unaware that people are home. Winston questions his entire fashion sense and Aly’s decision to stay with him prompting a cute moment between them. In bed Schmidt applauds Cece’s technique to discover it’s the dog. They run out coming face-to-face with the representative who decides to take the dog away. While Nick pleads their case, the dog runs off.
Nick and Jess chase after the dog to an outdoor movie night in the park where Winston and Aly are. Nick finds the dog and is able to catch it. As Jess remembers that the park was where their first date was and Nick tries to leave she notices he is lying he reveals his whole plan and in the end pops the question right then and there. The episode ends as Jess and Nick call her father who is bawling his eyes out at the proposal story.
Overall, this was a good hour-long penultimate episode. The first half allowed for some much needed development in Winston and Aly’s relationship while not neglecting the rest of the group. Schmidt’s realization in the first half of wanting to stay at home with his family is further explored in the second half showing his growth as a father and husband to Cece. The comedy of this hour-long story is filled with a ton of laugh out loud moments headlined by a series defining moment. The will-they-wont-they at the heart of not only this season, but this entire series finally comes to a head as the answer leaves fans with a bittersweet feeling about this series ending without seeing more of these characters and what the future holds for them. Thankfully this important moment happened in this episode so a glimpse of these characters and their future can be seen in the series finale.
Score:
Godparents: 7.5/10
Mario: 8/10
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