‘New Girl’ went through a bit of a change from its series premiere to the second episode. Damon Wayans, Jr. was recast because of his role on ABC’s ‘Happy Endings’. What did that mean for the show? Well, as I always say, life is better when you can subtract a Wayans.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. To be fair, Damon Wayans, Jr. is nowhere near as annoying as his pops (though he was a voice for one of the talking animals in ‘Marmaduke‘, so that definitely counts against him). At any rate, he was replaced by Lamorne Morris, who you’d probably know from… well, nothing in particular. His chemistry with the other roommates, on the other hand, is much more believable – especially the interactions between him and Schmidt.

I liked the pilot episode, but I thought that ‘Kryptonite’ is even a step up from that. It feels a little less corny, like the show found its comedic footing and knows where it’s going to go from here on out.

Jess is still taking the break-up with her boyfriend a bit hard, and the guys are trying to convince her to go back and get her stuff. This is partly because they want her to stand up for herself, and partly because they want her TV since Jess broke theirs while trying to show off her non-existent basketball skills.

The subplot of the episode has Winston taking advantage of Schmidt’s douchey personality and trying to convince him that the “top dog” should actually have the smaller room. Winston just wants the bigger room, but it’s easy to play mind tricks on a guy who doesn’t really understand that you’re playing mind tricks on him.

I was sad that the Douchebag Jar wasn’t mentioned this episode, but I did see it in the background of several shots. I hope that the show doesn’t do away with that joke, as I’d like to see it play throughout the season. Schmidt does plenty of douchey things that should’ve warranted a donation.

What’s strange to me is that I’m used to seeing Zooey Deschanel play a somewhat strong, independent female character. Jess is completely the opposite. She’s self-conscious, unsure of just about everything she does, and a complete pushover. It’s weird seeing Deschanel in a role like that, but she does the needy thing really well. Also, more characterization is needed for the guys, who as of right now don’t have much going on for them that we should really care about.

I’m really starting to like this show. It’s on Fox, so I’m scared that it could get axed at any time. As long as it’s on the air, I think we should celebrate. How about a good old fashioned Jam-boree?