One of the hallmarks of a good sitcom episode is just how believable a massive misunderstanding between characters can be. The best sitcoms see characters go for long stretches of episodes not realizing they might be talking about, or arguing about, two different things. Easily misunderstood topics can lead to awkward exchanges, recurring jokes, or expand on a character's personality.
In New Girl, the misunderstandings between characters are always played for comedic effect. Some of those misunderstandings are hilarious, while some miss the mark just a bit. Others, while still funny, don't really hold up long term in the show.
Hilarious: Nick Punches Zombie Jess
There are plenty of times the New Girl characters have a knee-jerk reaction to surprising circumstances that could get them in trouble. One of those involves Nick in a haunted house.
Though Nick doesn't want to admit he's terrified of a walk through a haunted house, it's pretty clear that he is. Especially once he heads in to warn Jess that the guy she's casually seeing is also seeing other women. Screaming and huddling in corners to avoid the people in costume, Nick finally gets brave when confronted by a "zombie," but it turns out to be Jess he punches in the face. Nick ends up giving Jess the chance to get back at him, allowing her to punch him after he's been helping her ice her wound.
The Worst: Sam Gets A Restraining Order
After Sam and Jess break up for the second time, the audience might think they won't see him again. That isn't the case. He returns in a later season as the boyfriend a school principal.
Sam sees Jess as a disruption in his life and mistakenly blames her as things start to spiral. Jess tries to make things right, which leads to Sam getting a restraining order. This entire situation is, as most things are in New Girl, played for laughs, but it's more awkward and out of place than anything else. Jess genuinely wants to apologize but makes several mistakes, and Sam ends up wanting to date her again, so the entire situation seems ill-conceived.
Hilarious: Cece's Feet Pointing Theory
In the episode "Cece Crashes," Cece comes to stay with Jess at the loft for a few days. Though Cece means well, she takes one look at the interactions between Nick and Jess and puts it into her friend's head that Nick is harboring a crush on Jess.
While Cece isn't entirely wrong, neither Jess nor Nick are completely aware of their feelings at this point, so Cece's meddling leads to some extremely funny interactions between the roommates. Jess even monitors the direction of Nick's feet when they're out thanks to Cece telling her that men point their feet at what they want. Jess gets so freaked out, she jumps out of Nick's car while they're in traffic.
The Worst: Winston's Cat Date
Winston's love life isn't spotlighted quite as much as others', but when it is, it's usually to show how things go wrong. After Winston has put off dating and bonded with the cat he took from his ex, he has a chance to go out on a date with a fellow cat owner, but completely misreads the situation, and so does she.
Winston wants Ferguson to have quality time with a female cat before being neutered, and when he explains that to a woman he meets, she thinks it's a line he's using. She does bring her cat over for a playdate but is extremely confused when Winston refuses wine because the cats can't have any. Eventually, she realizes it's just a date for the cats. Poor Winston cannot catch a break, and the entire story thread only reinforces the idea that people who own cats are destined to be alone.
Hilarious: Jess Accidentally Buys "Meth"
When Winston becomes a police officer, he has to undergo an extensive background check that also involves a home visit. The visit occurs during the fourth season not long after Jess buys a piece of furniture she believes has a bag full of meth inside.
Jess never gets rid of the bag because she's not entirely sure what to do with it, so then tries to hide it during the visit. She ends up roping the other roommates into increasingly outlandish efforts to hide it from the inspector, only for the inspector to let them all know that it's a bag full of aquarium rocks, not meth at all.
The Worst: Nick Asks Jess Out
Nick finally gets the courage to ask Jess out in the middle of the second season, but it doesn't go as planned. He bungles the actual request, so Jess doesn't know it's a date, but just thinks it's two roommates grabbing dinner.
It's not until Jess arrives outside the restaurant in casual wear, thinking they're eating at the hot dog cart, to see Nick dressed nicely that she realizes that dinner is a date. Rather than be upfront, Nick denies that he asked her out, and the two end up not going on a date, then going on a date, multiple times in one night. While the situation starts off funny, it quickly gets old for the viewer, especially since the two already went on their first non-date earlier in the season in "Fluffer."
Hilarious: Jess Contacts The Landlord
It's pretty clear that apartment 4D has some serious safety issues early in the show. Jess decides to look beyond the terrible decision they've all made in living there to reach out to the landlord despite her roommates telling her not to.
Jess thinks the landlord is a nice guy that her roommates are unfairly judging. After Remy fixes things around the apartment, however, Nick is sure Remy is after Jess. It turns out, Remy is under the impression that he, Nick, and Jess are going to have a threesome. While Nick is partially right, it makes for one of the funniest misunderstandings on Jess' part as she and Nick end up in a weird standoff with Remy.
The Worst: Winston's Birthday
Most of the characters see a birthday celebration at some point in the series. Winston only gets his when he accidentally walks in on an attempt at a romantic evening between Nick and Jess, which makes this particular misunderstanding just sad.
While Cece is preparing for her wedding, Nick and Jess are figuring their relationship out, and Jess's dad shows up for a surprise visit. This is all happening on Winston's birthday - which no one remembers. Winston gets sent on errands for Jess, thinking he's going to be surprised with a party, but he never is. Ultimately, as Nick tries to give Jess the breakfast on the roof, and Schmidt tries to stargaze with Elizabeth, Winston finds them all and assumes they're celebrating him. There's never any acknowledgment from his closest friends that they all forgot him.
Hilarious: The Popcorn Machine
In "Spiderhunt," Jess gets it into her head that Cece is hiding her feelings for someone because she doesn't want Jess to know she's developed a crush on Nick. Jess takes it upon herself to prove that she's okay with them being together.
The trouble is that when Jess tries to talk to Nick about what Cece wants, he thinks Jess is talking about a popcorn machine for the bar. Though Jess is completely weirded out by their conversation, she still pursues the idea of getting her friends together. It might be one of the funniest jokes the show has done.
The Worst: Angie Switches
Before Nick and Jess get together in the second season, they're both in ill-fitting relationships. Nick dates Angie, an impulsive woman willing to try anything, while Jess dates Sam, a doctor who initially doesn't want a commitment. Jess invites Nick and Angie to a cabin for the weekend with her and Sam, which proves to be the downfall of Nick and Angie's relationship.
While there, Nick and Jess's closeness, as well as the seclusion of the cabin, makes Angie assume that they'll be switching partners during the weekend, so she makes a move on Sam. Her decision spoils the friendly dynamic and she ends up leaving in the night, breaking up with Nick in a note, and stealing his money.