The father of Nick would want an Elvis-themed funeral.
It has been said that when we go home, we regress. For Nick Miller, the opposite is true.
This week’s episode of New Girl finally regained the series’ footing with a deeper look into what makes Nick well, Nick. While the ridiculous humor is inescapable on the show, “Chicago” proved that New Girl is more than funny quips and a delayed romance.
The episode opened with some sad news – Nick’s father died, and he needed to return to his hometown of Chicago for the funeral. The roommates decide to accompany Nick in solidarity and support.
While Schmidt and Winston are well acquainted to the unexpected dynamic of the Miller household, Jess is in for a surprise. At home, Nick is the impressive one – he actually made it to college, unlike his siblings and parents. And so, all of the responsibility tends to fall on him.
Nick’s mother, Bonnie, asks that he organize the entire Elvis-themed funeral, from the Elvis impersonator to the eulogy. The Graceland-inspired food and 15 limousines are easy for Nick. What he has trouble with, though, is the eulogy.
This is unsurprising, as the show consistently emphasizes Nick’s inability to emote. And when he tries to pawn the eulogy off onto ever-helpful Jess, she tries but is unable to come up with anything, as she met Nick’s father once.
Meanwhile, Schmidt is busy doing what he does best – focusing on himself. Amid the Miller house chaos (pot-smoking grandma, brawling cousins), Schmidt has a more haunting issue to take care of: his fear of death.
The issue is a little ridiculous, yet also completely Schmidt, so it works, but barely. Winston gives himself over, and pretends to be dead so that Schmidt can practice seeing a dead body.
Oddly enough, it works. Schmidt gives a meaningful speech over Winston, which has us all convinced that New Girl will actually be serious for a second. Of course, Winston moves and ruins the moment, but it nonetheless exists.
Elsewhere, Jess tells Nick she cannot write the eulogy. He then disappears, only to show up at the funeral the next day, plastered from a dozen beers, with a guy he found at the bar who promised to play Elvis for $20. It’s a dark situation, but the goofballing involved lightens the moment.
That’s the thing about this episode, and may New Girls in general. Anything that is remotely deep or even dark automatically gets lightened up with some sort of goofy situation eventually. It works sometimes, especially on this episode, because the creators finally allowed for some depth in character development.
The episode culminates nicely at the funeral. Schmidt catches one of Nick’s cousins trying to steal a signature gold chain from Walt’s corpse. He fights him over the chain and literally comes face to face with death – his face is shoved into the casket.
Meanwhile, Jess decides to impersonate Elvis when the guy from the bar drinks too much. Despite Mrs. Miller’s attempts to end the funeral, Jess insists it be carried on. She sings, and Nick comes in and gives a beautifully fitting eulogy for his father.
The episode ends with Mrs. Miller finally accepting Jess, and a hint at a marriage in the future. What more could New Girl fans ask for in teasers for the next episode?