While this episode doesn’t do much to advance the show’s plot (namely, Winston and Nick’s new relationships, neither of which are mentioned even once), “The Landlord” served as a way to further explore Jess and Nick’s characters and the way they relate with one another.
The episode begins with Nick and Jess being confronted by a man with a gun who wants their parking space. While Nick is eager to back down and give him the space, Jess talks him down, calming him enough to leave the two alone, leaving Nick baffled. It is Jess’s never-ending faith in humanity juxtaposed with Nick’s cynicism that makes up the bulk of the episode.
Upon discovering the apartment’s broken sink, Jess decides to pay the landlord a visit only to be warned by the guys that he is, to quote, “the worst.”
Jess goes to see Remy the landlord while brandishing a tray of cupcakes, only to find him sharpening the end of a broom into a fine point. While there, she accidentally reveals that there are four of them living in an apartment meant for three, prompting an unexpected visit from Remy later that day. After the four scramble to make it appear that the apartment is inhabited by three people, the landlord agrees to let them continue their living arrangement, but not before discovering a mural of a “sexually-charged zero-gravity tea ceremony” in Schmidt’s old bedroom. Before he leaves, Jess cajoles him into taking a look at the many improvements needed by their apartment.
While Remy works on the apartment, he and Jess bond as he opens up to her about his ex-wife. Nick, however, is suspicious, thinking Remy simply wants to sleep with Jess. We’re then treated to a flashback dedicated to how each character formed their worldview on life: Nick, ever negative, began his spiral into cynicism as a five-year-old after finding $5 on the road, only to have it snatched away by a stranger moments later. Jess, at the same age, was offered candy from a large white van, only to discover that it was, indeed, filled with free candy. Back in the present day, Jess is unconvinced, going so far as to invite Remy over for dinner to thank him for his hard work, leaving Nick to invite himself along to keep an eye on the situation.
At the dinner, however, the two surly men open up to each other about their turbulent past relationships, culminating in a teary embrace that leaves Jess mystified. The three spend an enjoyable evening together, only to discover that it was not a rendezvous with Jess that Remy wanted, but a threesome, discovered after he appears in the living room in a button-down, boxers and cowboy boots.
In a somewhat unnecessary twist, Nick agrees to go along with the landlord’s request just to prove Jess wrong, who still believes that Remy is just looking for a friend. The situation escalates until Remy insists that she and Nick “begin,” forcing her to back out. Embarrassed, Remy leaves, leaving Jess to realize that maybe everyone’s personality isn’t as warm, innocent and fuzzy as hers.
In a sub-plot, Schmidt is trying to decide whether or not to make a move on his boss, whom he claims has been sending him signals for the past several months. Unfortunately, Schmidt’s record at picking up said signals is far from perfect, emphasized in several vignettes, culminating in him turning down a mailman because “he said he had a package for me.” After a pep talk from Jess’s best friend Cece, Schmidt decides to make a move anyway. Fortunately, he’s right — she’s into him. Unfortunately for him, he chooses to make a move in a parking garage in the middle of the night, only to be struck down by security guards, who saw the incident on camera and assumed it was assault. Still, all is well, and Schmidt is on the way to a new romantic storyline — culiminating hilariously in a sexy striptease, which he accidently broadcasts via video conference call overseas.
Although this episode obviously wasn’t meant to further the plot along too much, it did explore the nuances of Jess and Nick’s relationship with each other, with Nick’s protectiveness hinting at the possibility of something more in the future — but with Nick’s new relationship in the picture, it’s hard to imagine that happening anytime soon.
Highlights:
Nick to Jess on flirting: “Any time a man shows a woman how to do something from behind, it’s just an excuse to get close to her and breathe down her neck. Just watch any sports movie.”
Schmidt listing things that are worse than when a guy asks a girl for permission to go in for a kiss: “What if I ate my own hair and pooped out a wig? What if I called my mom after sex and describe it to her?”
Winston (who has approximately three lines in this episode) on Schmidt’s mural: “Maybe I just got bored painting over your interplanetary ass dojo.”
“You would seriously have a threesome with that man just to prove that I’m wrong?”
An item from Schmidt’s 2007 list of New Year’s resolutions: “Just pick a color of crocs and buy them already!”