'New Girl,' season 3

This past week “New Girl” welcomed back an old roommate and, like anytime you catch up with someone you’ve lost all contact with, it was awkward and uncomfortable.

Coach returns to the loft for the first time since the pilot, announces that he has broken up with his girlfriend and gets the guys to agree to go out to the strip club on a Tuesday evening. Jess confronts Nick about how she’s uncomfortable with Nick going, and Coach overhears their conversation. After butting in, Coach begins taunting Nick about being whipped, causing Nick to overreact and tell Coach that Jess isn’t actually his girlfriend.

This, of course, causes a big fight between Nick and Jess, resulting in Jess telling Nick to go to the strip club while she goes out with Cece to find herself a new man. Crazy shenanigans ensue with the guys going out. Coach confesses that he was dumped and is really depressed. Nick realizes he only wants to be at home with Jess. The guys drive to the police station to find Coach’s ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.

Jess and Cece hit the bar in pursuit of a better man for Jess. Jess finds this new, better man and decides to take him home. She changes her mind, however, when she walks into her room to find this new suitor naked in her bed. Nick walks in moments later and, of course, nothing ends up happening. Nick and Jess patch things up, reaffirm their commitment to each other and continue on in their temporary bliss.

After making his comeback on the show, it was announced later in the week that Coach would be back for the rest of the season. While it was funny to see the roommate who mysteriously left after the pilot return to the loft, this is a big mistake for the show. It’s one thing to have Coach return for an episode to poke fun at the fact that he literally disappeared from the show with no explanation after the pilot. It’s quite another thing to include his character in the rest of the season.

“New Girl” has a delicate balance going between the four main roommates and occasionally Cece. Adding Coach into the mix completely throws off this delicate mix of characters and personalities. This would be the equivalent of adding a new friend during the fourth season of “Friends.”

It’s been clear, however, that during this season Coach isn’t the only disturbance to the good flow they had going with the main cast. During the whole third season, the writers have let the overarching plot lines completely dominate the show.

They’ve lost the funny moments that come from the roommates simply hanging out and getting into their crazy antics. Instead, this season has been completely about Nick and Jess and the oh-so-many issues they’ve already been having.

Each episode this season has presented a new problem that threatens to tear apart their precarious relationship. They already decided they were “all in” during last season’s finale, so it’s unnecessary to reevaluate their relationship every single episode this season.

Jess and Nick’s relationship has the potential to add a really great layer to the show. If they keep treating this relationship like they have the rest of the season, though, not only will Nick and Jess get tired of their relationship, but viewers will also.