New Girl S2 E3 – Fluffer

Last updated on May 21, 2021

This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 3, Fluffer, which originally aired on October 2, 2012 and was directed by Fred Goss and written by J.J. Philbin and Kim Rosenstock.

Episode Recap

Jess shares with the loft mates that she’s having non-committal sex with Sam, but realizes she needs more to get in the mood. When Schmidt forces the boys to help, Nick ends up serving as her “Emotional Fluffer”. Meanwhile, Schmidt tries to convince a woman he met at a club that he’s a political candidate’s son, “Tugg Romney”. Winston is struggling in this episode as he and Shelby are in a rut.

Episode Notes

On this episode’s Pop Culture section we reviewed:

• Mitt Romney (& Mormonism) – Schmidt pretends to be a son of politician, Mitt Romney who is also of Mormon faith. 
• Kanye West – Schmidt wears a belt with whales on it that he says Kanye West wore.

Additional Pop Culture References such as:

• The Walking Dead – Nick mentioned Jess was a “big girl” and could watch The Walking Dead alone. The Walking Dead is an American zombie post-apocalyptic horror television series based on the comic book series of the same name.
• [Jimmy] Fallon – Schmidt pretends that if he were to call Kanye West before bed, he would ask him if he was watching Fallon. James (Jimmy) Fallon is an American comedian, actor, television host, singer, writer, and producer, known for his work in television as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and is currently the host of late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
• The Notebook – Jess mentions that she and Sam had a bad makeout session and just laid there like the old people in The Notebook. The Notebook is a romantic drama movie based on a book of the same name where an elderly man comforts his wife with dementia and remembers their love story; the elderly couple is often shown as laying together quietly.
• Adele – Winston mentions that men and women who are just friends should never do anything concerning Adele. Adele is an English singer and songwriter known for her melodic ballads. She is one of the world’s best-selling music artists with sales of over 120 million records.
• Taylor Swift – Cece noticed that Schmidt was going through a “Taylor Swift range of emotions”. Taylor Swift is an American singer and songwriter known for her narrative and emotional lyricism, which often takes inspiration from her personal life. She has won 11 Grammys (3 for Album of the Year) and 23 Billboard music awards.
• [Law & Order] SVU – Shelby asks Winston if he wants to come upstairs and watch SVU. SVU is short for Law & Order: SVU, which is a television series following the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the N.Y.P.D., who investigate sexually related crimes. This show is a spinoff of Law & Order and has now aired 492 episodes, surpassing the original show which only had 456 episodes.
• [Everybody Loves] Raymond – When Winston asks if Shelby’s sure she wants to watch SVU, she mentions she’s too tired to watch Raymond. Raymond is short for the television series, Everybody Loves Raymond, which is a sitcom about the experiences of Ray Barone and his family.
• Moonwalking – Nick moonwalks into his room after hearing Jess play the mixtape he made for her. Moonwalking is a dance move in which the dancer glides backwards but their body actions suggest forward motion. It became popular following Michael Jackson’s moonwalk during the performance of his song, “Billie Jean”. 
• Nick’s Sexy Mixtape Songs – Nick provides Jess with a mixtape to play to help get her in the mood. Songs on that mixtape that are either listed or played in the episode are:
  • “The Humpty Dance” – “The Humpty Dance” is a song by the rap group Digital Underground from their debut album Sex Packets. Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Singles chart.
  • “You Can Call Me Al” – Written by American singer and songwriter Paul Simon, the lyrics to “You Can Call Me Al” follow an individual seemingly experiencing a midlife crisis.
  • “LAY YOU DOWN” – The song is performed by Spank and is used in many television shows of the 2010s and beyond.

We also cover Schmidt’s description of how he wants to be Kanye’s friend as the “Schmidtism” in this episode. Our “not” for “In the 2020s” was how Schmidt discussed race in this episode when talking to Winston and Cece but our “yes” for “In the 2020s” was how Nick set his own boundaries for his friendship with Jess. Additionally, we also discussed the careers of David Walton (Sam), and Taryn Southern (Megan).

Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we did not discuss in the podcast: Rebecca Delgado Smith (Courtney, one of the Kappas), Anisha Adusumilli (April, another Kappa), and Tarina Pouncy (the waitress).

We also talk about how Nick’s speech to Jess at the restaurant incorporated aspects of the Animaniacs in the way he said “Hello Nurse”. You can watch a clip of the Animaniacs version here and the rebooted version that inverts the gender norms here. We also talk about David Walton’s robes which you can find here.

While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:

• Olympics – When Schmidt is preparing to pretend to be a Romney, he talks about how the family had a Romney Olympics every summer which he felt would be similar to the real Olympics. The Olympic Games are an international sports competition featuring summer and winter sports where thousands of athletes from around the world compete and represent their countries. They are held every 4 years with either a Summer or Winter Olympics every 2 years.
• That’s All She Wrote – When Jess is considering breaking up with Sam because she needs more out of a relationship, she says the phrase “and that’s all she wrote”. This is an American idiom used to indicate when a person’s plan has come to a sudden stop and that there is nothing else to be said about the matter. While the origin of the phrase is unknown, most attribute it to the Dear John letters sent during World War II. There have also been several songs written about this phrase.

This episode got an 8/10 Rating from Kritika and an 8.5/10 from Kelly and we both had the same favorite character: Nick!

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 4!

Music: “Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.com