photo: fox
Santa
Original Air Date: Dec 11, 2012
Divina F – TwoCents Reviewer
divina@thetwocentscorp.com
Obligatory Holiday Episode here we go!
Jess, Nick, Schmidt and Winston find out that they only have one night together before they all go their separate way for Christmas – specifically with Nick leaving to be with his family, once again leaving on a cheap red eye flight. Jess decides that they should all go to as many parties as they can.
Almost the whole time, Winston has a cranberry stuck in his ear. It’s mildly funny in the one place where it serves a purpose – I’ll get to that later – but I want to get up on a soapbox and complain about how every other character in this episode got to deal with a major relationship thing while Winston gets the throw away gag. I really don’t feel it’s fair for him not to get enough screentime or plotlines that are complicated and helpful to his character. Am I the only one who feels this way?
They go to Jess’ lesbian friends’ party first, and it’s all awkward between Cece and Schmidt because he’s in the bitter heartbreak stage. And then Jess spots Sam – the doctor not ex boyfriend – and when he tries to talk to her she makes a run for it. Of course since Winston has a cranberry stuck in his ear, he trades information on the next party for an impromptu ear exam. Sam is trying to tell her that he made a mistake and he wants her back for real, but she does everything to avoid him, including tell him that she’s now seeing Winston. Winston can barely hear a thing so he goes along with the story without knowing what’s going on until Sam actually removes the obstruction from his ear.
Nick, meanwhile, is trying and failing hard to be as adventurous as his stripper girlfriend Angie. They haven’t slept together yet, and despite her doubts that he can “handle” her, she keeps trying to jump his bones at every party they go to. He ends up making some really weird innuendos and making a fool out of himself before managing to insult her. Jess talks him through it, helping him figure out that he’s scared about a lot of things, and he publicly apologizes to her, earning him a lapdance.
And by virtue of a very lenient traffic cop – who everyone instantly believes is Santa – Jess decides to take another chance on Sam.
Best Schmidt Quotes:
“…we were on very strict instructions from Rabbi Schmooie not to say a word until the last Christian kid found out about Santa Claus.”
“I don’t celebrate Christmas, okay? Or as I like to call it White Anglo-Saxon Winter Privileged Night.”
[to the cops that pull them over] “There’s two of you?! I thought we were in the middle of a budget crisis.”
“I’m so sick of hanging out with Christians. This is my last Christian Christmas.”
TheTwoCents 
When Schmidt threw the jacket on the 2nd cop – I died laughing.
You should start keeping track of Nick moments too – man, his facial expressions KILL ME!
And I’m totally on your page with Winston – give the man something deep to deal with.
“Nick Miller, turning lemonade into lemons since 1991”
I didn’t notice the jacket thing until I watched the episode for a second time! It was hilarious. (And I wonder if it was unscripted.)
Apparently Brenda Song has been cast as Winston’s next love interest. Hopefully this will give him more to do.