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Bells is the 7th episode of Season 1 on FOX comedy New Girl.

Synopsis[]

Jess gets jealous when Winston joins her troubled-youth handbell quartet and instantly becomes a natural. Meanwhile Nick and Schmidt engage in class warfare when the toilet breaks and they each have their own idea of how to get it fixed.

Cast[]

Main[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Recap[]

Schmidt has his way with a tray of sushi, but fails at tempting Nick with it. He's soloing on $80 worth of sushi. He invites Winston to join in, now that he has a temp job. Cut to Winston brainlessly stuffing envelopes and timing himself. "I'm losing my mind guys, I sometimes touch the frayed part of the power cord, just to feel something," he says.

Jess comes home, checking that no one is expecting "lady guests."

She has students with her to rehearse bells. "This is just like a nightmare I had were you brought over teenagers, with bells," Nick says. They picked music over early morning detention. A loud abrasive girl wants to eat Schmidt's water crackers, but he explains they're for adults to eat with adult cheeses.

They practice "Yankee Doodle Dandy", but really it could be anything. Jess gives them five minutes of text time.

Desiree uses the bathroom, but manages to overflow the toilet. Nick turns on the faucet, opens the hole in the wall and fiddles with the plastic soda bottle in the wall. Cut to Nick "fixing" other things, like a puddle on the roof, by drilling a hole in the roof.

He says he can fancy fix the toilet if Schmidt only asks. He does.

They're interrupted by the majestic, complicated chiming of bells from the other room. Turns out Winston has mad bell skills.

Jess begs him for help. He says he's never rung before. She only needs him til the concert on Sunday. He's in.

Schmidt checks on Nick's progress under the toilet, but gets a lecture on self-reliance. "All I'm hearing is that I can't use my toilet because you're poor," Schmidt says.

Jess takes Winston to rehearsal. He wants to know how you win at bells. She wants him to get the kids to try hard, but she says they won't listen to him.

Nick comes home to find Schmidt paying a plumber. Nick says he won't use it. He accuses Schmidt of being the kid who was born rich, whose bar mitzvah cost $40,000. They get in a fight about the time Schmidt spilled Midori Sour on Nick's bedspread his Nonny made him.

Schmidt reminds him he paid for the couch Nick is sitting on, and the rug he moves to. Nick retaliates by ripping out the cable cord -- he stole the cable. Nick storms off.

"And my bar mitzvah was an amazing event. The theme was sports jams!" Schmidt shouts.

Jess rehearses with the kids and Winston dazzles with his ability. The kids applaud. He suggests to "win" the concert they play "Eye of the Tiger."

Jess insists she's cool, too, and tries to show off, but ends up doing a robot bell-player. Winston encourages the kids to skip school to learn "Eye of the Tiger."

Nick tries to explain Winston to Jess, as he tinkers with the basketball hoop, that he's talented but a jerk about it. He says some guys are just dumb about this stuff. Schmidt takes the basketball and tries to shoot, but the hoop falls on him. Nick "unfixed" it. They're arguing again.

Nick wakes up to find piles of frozen food all over his bed. Schmidt pops in to point out he paid for the freezer.

At his temp job, Winston, in a giant paper funny hat, practices "Eye of the Tiger" on paper bells. He gets fired.

Later with the kids, he drills them on the meaning of the song. One girl brown noses with a man and his will to survive. For the first practice it sounds alright, but Winston isn't happy and berates the kids. He tells Desiree it looks like she's fighting a shark, when she should be trying to pet the dolphin.

Jess goes to the cupboard and the door falls off. "This has to stop! It's not my war!"

Schmidt approaches Nick and suggests they talk things through. Then he finds that Nick put his freezer and his couch in his room. Schmidt notices Nick hair smells like his lotus pear conditioner. He wants it back. He starts squeezing it out of Nick's hair.

Schmidt puts up his dukes, but runs when Nick chases him. They do laps around the kitchen island.

Finally Schmidt shouts and tells Nick he chose to be a bartender, he chose to quit law school, he's not some hardscrabble guy, he's just a "loser." Nick walks off. "These are the things that come out when you take another man's conditioner," Schmidt says.

Jess comes home after dress rehearsal angry at Winston. The kids freaked out in the park and ran off. Winston says he doesn't care and Jess explains that he can't be one more person telling them they're not good.

Nick and Winston share a beer on the roof. Nick explains the problem with getting older is you have friends who've known you for way too long and know all your weaknesses. "I want friends who still lie to me because they don't want to hurt my feelings," he says.

Winston marvels that he got fired from a temp job and got kicked out of bell group for yelling at kids. He knows it was a low point. Nick gently reminds him it's not about him. Nick and Winston head to the bells concert. Schmidt joins after grabbing his cardigan.

At the park, the kids perform as "Ensembell." Winston joins them on stage and they play.

Schmidt tells Nick he doesn't really think he's a loser. "I can't hear anything you say when you wear that sweater, Schmidt. You just open your mouth and I hear 'Cardigan. I am wearing a cardigan,'" Nick says. They share some gum and enjoy some bad, but enthusiastic, bell playing.

Music[]

eye of the tiger | SURVIVOR


' Season 1 Season 2

Pilot · Kryptonite · Wedding · Naked · Cece Crashes · Thanksgiving · Bells · Bad in Bed · The 23rd · The Story of the 50 · Jess & Julia · The Landlord · Valentine's Day · Bully · Injured · Control · Fancyman (Part 1) · Fancyman (Part 2) · Secrets · Normal · Kids · Tomatoes · Backslide · See Ya
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