Here's an article by Entertainment Weekly's Lanford Beard, which gives some behind the scenes scoop on last night's episode, episode 2x23 "Virgins", directly from the creator and executive producer of New Girl, Elizabeth Meriwether, and Jake Johnson. In the article, Elizabeth Meriwether talks about why she and the other writers for the show decided to have Jess and Nick sleep with each other at this point in the series. Jake Johnson talks about what it was like to film the ending of the episode. Elizabeth Meriwether and Jake Johnson also talk about how the episode originally had a different ending. They also talk about what's going to be happening between Jess and for the rest of season two. Here's an excerpt from the article:
Meriwether admits she had very specific priorities when it came to Jess and Nick’s first time: “We wanted it to feel honest and, honestly, hot. What’s fun is doing a genuinely sexy romance in a sitcom. That doesn’t always happen.” She adds affectionately, “The characters themselves are such idiots when it comes to each other that it’s fun to figure out what new idiotic thing they will get up to.”
Seven episodes after Jess and Nick’s first kiss, Meriwether felt it was time for the roomfriends to take things to the next level. “We were worried that it would come too soon, but we felt like, in reality, these characters would probably take that step. They’ve been back and forth and called it off, and basically they’re totally confused about how they feel about each other. We felt like they would realistically find themselves in that situation.”
For his part, Johnson was champing at the bit to explore the relationship on a deeper level because, “as an actor, I’ve wanted to do those scenes. As a fan of the show, I want to see what happens between Nick and Jess.” That said, he didn’t find the watershed moment that much of a change of pace from an average scene with Deschanel. “Zooey and I are around each other close to naked a lot,” he laughs. “We have to dance in front of each other and do things that are pretty humiliating enough times so that, at this point, it wasn’t too weird.”
After at least one fish-tank destroying makeout scene, fans were probably surprised at how understated the duo’s move from friends to lovers ended up playing out. For Meriwether, this was a purposeful choice made in the edit bay. In fact, Johnson and Deschanel filmed the scene with and without kissing, but Meriwether opted for eye contact over locked lips because “we felt like them just staring into each other’s eyes was really more exciting than them kissing — it had this intimacy to it.”
As to whether the other version will see the light of day, Meriwether says, “I don’t think [we'll release it]. It’s a question of, ‘How much do we show, and how much do we not show?’ We felt like there was just enough in this episode.”
For Johnson, perhaps more than enough. The two set-up required more than a dozen takes — a fact the actor began to regret: “The scene is, I walk in carrying Zooey, we have a moment, and then we go to bed,” he says. “As a man, that’s an easy thing to do — just carry a woman to bed, fantastic. That’s what you do. By the fifteenth take… you know, I’m not a man of steel! My arms were getting a little bit noodly. You don’t want to say, ‘Can we speed this up?’ I’m carrying Zooey Deschanel — there’s a lot of guys who’d kill for this moment.” By the end of the night, he laughs, “I was just throwing her on the bed. Once we were out of frame, I’d just be, like, ‘Get off of me, woman!’”
On screen, the scene played much more smoothly — almost mellow, really. Meriwether kept the tone steady in the episode’s final moments — an extended shot of silent action and reaction between Deschanel and Johnson. She explains, “I felt like, just sort of put a camera on them and let them react in ways that their characters would react. It ended up [as] kind of a cool thing that you don’t always see on TV: two actors and 30 seconds of silence.”
How that silence will translate into words for the hyper-articulate Jess and Nick as the season winds down… well, Meriwether is keeping that secret close to the vest. Next week, Jess’s father (Rob Reiner) is sure to put a wrench in the works when he shows up at the loft unexpectedly. Then, with Cece (Hannah Simone) and Shivrang’s (Satya Bhabha) quickie wedding on tap for the May 14 finale, let’s just say Nick and Jess won’t have a lot of alone time for DTR-ing — though Meriwether and Johnson both promise the will-they-or-won’t-they questions will be answered by the end of season 2.
Of course, answering one question doesn’t mean plenty more won’t pop up. Johnson, for one, sees a long and adorkable road ahead for the roommates-turned-lovers: “I know they’re going to do something interesting in season 3. Knowing the way Liz writes these characters, I’d be surprised if they just date and are happy.”
Link to the full article:'New Girl': Jake Johnson talks [SPOILER] scene with Zooey Deschanel | Inside TV | EW.com
My thoughts: As I've said before, I personally think it was a very risky move on Elizabeth Meriwether's part to have Jess and Nick kiss each other for the first time and now sleep with each other fairly early in the series' run, but I personally think that it has really paid off for the writers to take that risk. I definitely agree with what Elizabeth Meriwether said about it seeming very realistic and true to Jess and Nick as characters for them to act rather impulsively as they've tried to figure out how to navigate this new development in their relationship. Personally, I think that Jess and Nick both have a tendency to be rather impulsive at times, but I definitely think that Nick is the more impulsive of the two. With that in mind, it really makes sense to me that they would sleep with each other at this point in the series.
While I can understand why most writers for TV shows tend to drag out the will they or won't they element of a couple's relationship for the sake of drama, I've often found that to be very frustrating and unrealistic at times, because in real life I don't think that most people who have feelings for someone would drag things out for several years before they do anything to act on it like characters on most TV shows do. The fact that Jess and Nick's relationship has taken the turn that it has definitely feels very realistic and true to life, in my opinion. The fact that the writers are willing to let the writing for the show basically take on a life of its own and that they kind of go with the flow as the show progresses is definitely one of the things that I love most about New Girl. I can't wait to see what happens next between Jess and Nick. :)
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