Cooler

 is the fifteenth episode of the second season of New Girl, and the 39th episode overall. The episode originally aired on January 29, 2013.

Summary
Jess is considered to be a cool force when she goes out with the guys, so they go out to find women and leave her at home. Jess hears noises outside and asks the guys and their dates to return. Party games begin, and Nick has to kiss Jess.

Recap
Nick finds a trench coat has been accidentally delivered to their apartment. He puts it on and suddenly has a boost in confidence, dancing around despite the comments from the other roommates that it’s a woman’s coat. Schmidt comes out of his room wrapped in bed sheets, complaining about his inability to pleasure himself. The guys all decide to go out and pick up women, leaving Jess behind as she is considered their ‘cooler’.

They are hanging out at the bar after having been kicked out of the club, accusing Nick and his trench coat as the reason. When an attractive woman by the name of Holly (Brooklyn Decker) walks in, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston all get competitive over her. Winston is first to approach Holly, which his shaken confidence causes him to stutter and embarrassingly walks away. He takes a seat next to Daisy, who makes a comment about the awkward encounter. When he starts to stutter again in response, she tells him to relax and reveals that she is engaged. Nick and Schmidt are talking to Holly, lashing out against one another to impress her. Much to Schmidt’s surprise when he talks up how miserable Nick’s life is, this is a turn on for Holly.

Meanwhile, Jess is bored and alone in the loft. She keeps herself entertained in a variety of ways: cleaning out her closet, running around the loft with no bottoms, acting as a robot wearing a box, drawing Nick’s face on a melon, and pretending to be a Kenyan runner. After she hears scratching at the door she becomes terrified and starts calling Sam, Cece, and eventually Nick. Initially, he is mad at her for interrupting his chances with Holly, but ultimately agrees to come home. Everyone, including Holly and Daisy, come back to the loft and are greeted by an alarmed Jess who charges them with a baseball bat. Upon releasing the intruders are her roommates, she drops the bat and throws her arms around Nick and Holly. The group starts a game of strip True American, as Jess’ way of making up for being Nick’s cooler. The competition between Nick and Schmidt over Holly got heated, and Jess initiates a way to settle the score: by selecting two people to go behind doors and make out. The intention was to get Nick and Holly together, however Nick and Jess ended up the participants. They spend a significant amount of time battling with the idea of kissing one another, giving Schmidt the opportunity to sway Holly. He tells her sad stories surrounding Cece and their breakup, and that it’s Cece who still has feelings for him. Cece then shows up at the loft with her date in response to Jess’ earlier calls for help. At first she denies Schmidt’s accusations, however seeing that Schmidt is pleading with her to cover for him, she sacrifices the success of her date by admitting to them.

During the course of the game, Daisy is helps Winston gain confidence in talking to girls. Eventually she reveals that she is single, wearing a ring to prevent guys from hitting on her in bars. She asks Winston what he is going to do in response, in which he leans in and kisses her.

Nick and Jess are still behind doors and after a few failed attempts at kissing have a heartfelt talk. Jess admits to him that he’d be “smoking hot” if he did a little grooming; he thanks her and the two exchange smiles. The moment is interrupted by Sam, who has also come to the loft in response to Jess’s earlier calls. The group begins chanting for them to kiss, however Nick slips up that he will not kiss her “not like this”. He panics and escapes out the window thus ending the game.

Later that night, Jess hears the scratching at the door again. She calls for Nick, when he opens the door it is revealed to be the neighbor’s dog. She discovers that he is wearing the trench coat she ordered and becomes enraged that he ‘stole’ it. He is forced to return it to her and she leaves in a huff. Nick and Jess are walking back to their rooms, making small talk about the coat. As Jess says goodnight, Nick grabs her and the two begin to passionately kiss. He makes the comment “I meant something like that” and immediately returns to his room, leaving her stunned.

Main

 * Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day
 * Jake Johnson as Nick Miller
 * Lamorne Morris as Winston Bishop
 * Max Greenfield as Schmidt
 * Hannah Simone as Cece Meyers

Guest

 * David Walton as Sam Sweeney
 * Brooklyn Decker as Holly
 * Brenda Song as Daisy