New Girl followed the quirky and lovable Jessica Day as she moved into a loft and met her new roommates, quickly become life-long friends with the men, including Schmidt. Schmidt changes over the seasons, he begins as a bit of a self-centered jerk who tends to hide his caring nature in favor of appearing cool.
Although he begins the show as an aloof character, he grows into a lovable and warm-hearted man who cares deeply for his friends and isn't afraid to show it. Here are a few things about New Girl's Schmidt throughout the show that make no sense.
His Workplace
Schmidt works at an advertisement firm where he is the only male employee in the office and works with only women. Presumably, this is the show's attempt on commentary about how women are treated in the workplace by men, but the plot falls flat. He's constantly harassed by his boss and co-workers and although he says multiple times he hates working in that environment he never really tries to look for a new job.
His Friend Benjamin
In the pilot, Schmidt is introduced as a bit of a jerk character and has a friend that has a similar personality to him at the beginning. It becomes clear that Schmidt has a deeper caring personality that is hidden under a jerk facade. As he allows the ones that he loves to see his real emotions it's odd that he still allows Benjamin in his life even though he hates him. This is realistic as some people can't drop friends easily, but it's still confounding as Schmidt grows out of his insecurity of not appearing cool.
How Did He Turn Into A Jerk?
Schmidt's character goes through multiple changes as the audience is introduced to the lovable character, but he's also a jerk at the beginning with the other roommates making him put money into a "douchebag jar" whenever he does something problematic.
In the flashbacks that show Schmidt and Nick growing up and being roommates in college, he's a sweet guy and it's never fully explained how he turned into the "bro" the audience is introduced to. Thankfully, he goes through another transformation throughout the series and ends up as the caring and sweet person he used to be.
Serious Vs Casual Relationships
Schmidt goes back and forth between wanting to hook up with women and wanting a serious relationship. Most of the time, he does want a serious relationship, but he keeps staying in terrible relationships or having one-night-stands. Schmidt has self-esteem issues, which could cause him to stay in a bad relationship, but his conflicting wants and actions don't make sense, but thankfully he works it all out in the end when he and CeCe get married.
His Obsession With Nick
Nick and Schmidt have a years-long friendship and they have a close bond. It's an endearing and lovely friendship, but Schmidt is admittedly more obsessed with Nick and gives more to the friendship than Nick ever did. Both of their personalities are incredibly different and at times the friendship doesn't make sense and Schmidt's obsession with Nick never really makes sense, but it's hilarious nonetheless.
His Organization And Cleanliness
Schmidt needs everything to be perfect in his life, including his need to have everything extremely organized and clean at all times. This is part of Schmidt's personality that was introduced at the beginning of the show, and the reason this makes no sense is that he lives with incredibly messy roommates.
Everyone else in the loft is low-key about plumbing issues or messes left around the apartment, but it constantly has Schmidt on edge.
His Relationship With Fawn
In season four of the show, Schmidt starts a relationship with Fawn Moscato and becomes the city council woman's arm candy and he gets caught up in her political world. She dominates the relationship and begins to change him and he lets her. If this relationship had happened at the beginning of the show, it would have made more sense, but Schmidt changes and grows up throughout the show and it's an odd relationship for him to have in the later seasons.
His Obsession With Japanese Culture
Throughout the series, Schmidt constantly mentions and shows how much he obsesses over Japanese culture. He is constantly eating sushi and wears a kimono for leisurewear around the apartment.
When Nick tells him he's planning a trip to Japan for his bachelor party, he breaks down crying because he's so happy. His obsession is never really explained, but it is an aspect of the character that is brought up pretty often throughout the show.
The Way He Talks
Schmidt has a certain type of dialogue that is unique from everyone else on the show. It is a hilarious aspect of the character, but it never fully makes sense. He makes incredibly niche references and seems to have a vocabulary of his own creation.
Doesn't Know How To Do Laundry
Seeing as how Schmidt is one of the most meticulous characters on the show, especially about his appearance and cleanliness, it makes no sense that he doesn't know how to do laundry. It's a hilarious moment on the show, but it doesn't make sense with his character. Of course, he dry cleans all of his clothes and bedding, but he should know how to do laundry given his need for cleanliness.