Warning: Fullfrom New Girl: Season 3 to follow.

So close...

Fire and Ice, baby!

Going into Season 3 of New Girl, the gang was poised for some big changes, not the least of which was Nick and Jess officially getting together. Many fans might have singled out that event as Season 3's gradual downfall, but honestly Nick and Jess as a couple weren't really a problem until much later in the season. Honestly, at least for the first few episodes, it was Schmidt who got the season off on the wrong foot, as he strung along two girls at once, which, despite Schmidt's inherent douchiness, was pretty out of character.However, in the episode "Double Date," Schmidt finally confessed to both Cece and Elizabeth of his misdeeds, beginning a very long road to recovery for Schmidt and Cece. Following that, Schmidt's character was kind of sidelined for the rest of the season, either meddling in other characters' affairs or going off on his own tedious side adventures. (Jon Lovitz's Rabbi Faeglin comes to mind.) It also didn't help that Schmidt moved into the room across the hall, which had the potential to shake things up, but instead distanced him even more from the loft hijinks.Obviously the real shakeup of Season 3 was the return of Damon Wayans Jr. as Coach, although admittedly it took awhile for him to "click" with the rest of the group, both in-show and on the page. At first, it seemed like the writers didn't know what to do with him, as they tested out different things like him dating Cece (still weird, right?) and awkwardly befriending Jess (a milestone they didn't reach until episode 13, "Basketsball"). Still, Wayans Jr. brought a unique energy to the show and eventually found his groove. This arguably started around the Prince episode, in which Coach and Winston revived their old "Fire and Ice" routine. Likewise, transplanting Coach to Jess's school as the gym coach was a good way of furthering his relationship with Jess and, by extension, the other roommates.Meanwhile, Winston really came into his own this season, particularly in later episodes. The addition of his pet cat Ferguson made for some surprisingly humorous bits, as did Winston's evolving bromance with Coach: Fire and Ice, the bake-off and Coach helping Winston get through his LAPD Entrance Exam. Although Winston was rarely the star of any given episode, he almost always made his presence known and, every so often, even made mediocre episodes tolerable (most notably the abysmal "Mars Landing").Of course, the Nick and Jess saga was at the heart of Season 3, though it ultimately resulted in the couple's breakup. For much of the season, Nick and Jess's relationship was mostly benign and even sweet. Episodes like "The Captain," "Keaton," "Birthday" and most of the "Sister" trilogy were all good examples of Nick and Jess really vibing as a team. But that dynamic fell apart in "Mars Landing," as their savage breakup brought out the worst in both of them. Suddenly, after spending the majority of the season strengthening their romantic bond, Nick and Jess were over, and that took a toll on the remainder of Season 3.In retrospect, I suspect the goal of Nick and Jess's breakup was to get the show back to basics -- eliminate the most obvious variable from previous seasons and hope that no one would notice. The truth is, though, Nick and Jess weren't the worst of Season 3's problems, even if they contributed to most of them. Personally, I think what really set this season back was poor planning. New Girl creator Liz Meriwether has openly said numerous times that even she doesn't know where the characters are going half the time. That to me indicates a lack of longterm focus and, in many cases this season, a lack of payoff.Looking back, there were plenty of examples of Season 3's aimlessness: Nick not getting his life together, Jess not advancing her career enough, Winston's GF Bertie dropping off the face of the Earth, Coach arbitrarily dating Cece -- actually, pretty much every Cece storyline this season was just weird. (Bartending and Buster, anyone?) That's not to mention Schmidt, who didn't have much of anything going on past episode six.Now more than ever does it feel like the writers have no idea what to do with these characters that refuse to grow up. It's like Wendy and her Lost Boys, only Wendy is the star of a TV show, with the least interesting storylines, and the Lost Boys are a bunch of 30-something guys struggling to make ends meet, both professionally and personally. It's funny, yes (well, sometimes), but what's the point of tuning every week if the overall narrative just keeps running in circles? My only hope is that Season 4 has a little more structure to it, with reasonable goals in place from the start -- and, really, I don't think that's so much to ask from a season of television.