Episode 5: “Cece Crashes”

“New Girl” just keeps getting better. Sure, the past couple episodes have been funny, maybe even somewhat hilarious. Yet if you weren’t sure whether Zooey Deschanel’s hit comedy fell in the “this is pretty good” or the “I love this!” category, with “Cece Crashes,” you should have your answer. For me, this fifth episode tips the scale decidedly towards the latter. As kooky roommates Jess, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston came out to play on Tuesday night, I was cracking up right along with them.

The premise for “Crashes” is that Jess’ supermodel best friend, Cecilia (Hannah Simone), comes to stay with Jess and the boys at their apartment. Having just come from a party at which she broke up with her most recent fling, Cece is drunk and apparently “really loose with her body.” Naturally, Schmidt and Winston perk up at this remark, but Nick is annoyed, having his hopes for a quiet weekend of video games and web surfing dashed.

Soon enough, though, even Nick is affected by Cece’s feminine wiles, causing Jess to be disappointed with all of her roommates, but particularly Nick. She says to him, “I thought you were better than that,” and he not so smoothly responds “I know, I am! Sometimes…” Clearly some Jess/Nick sexual tension is starting to brew, and thanks to Cece, this is only the beginning.

In addition to making Schmidt and Winston drool over her, Cece manages to completely freak Jess out with the suggestion that Nick is “really into [her].” She cites her philosophy that men’s feet point at what they want, saying that Nick’s feet were pointing directly at Jess. Before the poor girl can tell Cece that this is a ridiculous theory, the model has volunteered Jess to go run errands with Nick. This outing somehow manages to convince Jess that she has accidentally seduced Nick, worrying that it must have been her “really sexy posture.”

This potential roommate romance was not exactly a shocker, but it will certainly be interesting to see where it goes. The writers will have to do some fancy footwork to work around it, especially with the imminent arrivals of Justin Long (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) as Jess’ boyfriend, and Lizzy Caplan (“Mean Girls,” “True Blood”) as Nick’s new squeeze.

Not to be outdone by the budding flirtation between Jess and Nick, Schmidt and Winston have a lot of fun in this episode. Keeping up the friendly competition that seems to invade all aspects of their life — from jobs, to girls, to fashion — the roomies outdo themselves this week with new and funny shenanigans.

With hilarity and lighthearted drama all around in “Crashes,” “New Girl” has definitely proved itself as my favorite new show this fall.