New Girl was not safe from plot holes, and there’s one regarding Nick and Jess’ dynamic in the first season, which doesn’t fit with a reveal in season 2 – here’s what happened. Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl premiered on Fox in 2011 and came to an end in 2018 after seven seasons full of jokes and a couple of sad moments. New Girl was very well received from the beginning, with critics praising it for its tone and the performances of its main cast, particularly those of Max Greenfield and Jake Johnson.
New Girl followed Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel), a young, bubbly teacher who after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, moved into a loft with three strangers she found on the internet. After a period of adjustment that wasn’t easy for anyone, Jess became very close to her roommates Schmidt (Greenfield), Nick Miller (Johnson), and Winston (Lamorne Morris), with her best friend Cece (Hannah Simone) also joining the fun and becoming a part of this unique family. Jess became especially close to Nick, with whom she ended up forming a family, but the road to that wasn’t easy.
Jess’ arrival at the loft was a big surprise to everyone, including her, and as her breakup was very recent, she spent days crying and watching Dirty Dancing, which confused and annoyed her new roommates. Although Jess eventually bonded with Schmidt and Winston (and later Coach, who returned in season 3), she had a harder time getting along with Nick, who wasn’t the most welcoming guy. It didn’t help that Jess laughed at him when she accidentally saw him naked and that she tended to fix everyone's problems, which is something that deeply annoyed Nick. But this behavior ended up becoming a plot hole when Nick made a big reveal in season 2.
New Girl season 2 was where Nick and Jess kissed for the first time (as part of a game of True American) and realized they had feelings for each other. Nick also confessed to Jess that he had had a crush on her from the beginning, so much that he and the boys came up with the “No Nail Oath” to stop Nick from going after Jess, but she initially thought the oath was because they thought she was going to sleep with one of them. Nick then explained that the oath was made for him, as he was attracted to her since she arrived at the loft and didn't know if he was going to be able to resist. As awkward as Nick always was, his confession doesn’t really fit his behavior towards Jess in season 1, as he was rude to her and didn’t seem to stand her at all.
Of course, there’s the possibility of Nick not knowing how to deal with those feelings and so he came off as rude and impatient when in reality he was struggling to not let his feelings for Jess take control of him. Although this plot hole doesn’t really affect their arc as they got together for good in New Girl season 6, it’s one confusing moment in the rollercoaster that was the relationship between Nick and Jess.