Everything went absolutely wrong with Nick’s [spoiler] for Jess on “New Girl” — but honestly, it was perfect

At long last — and we mean long last — one of our absolute favorite shows is F-I-N-A-L-L-Y back. New Girl made a triumphant return tonight, April 10th, with the premiere of its seventh and *sobs* final season. And while we’re absolutely devastated that it’s the beginning of the end, the episode 100% delivered — especially on the Nick and Jess front.

Okay, so things didn’t go exactly as planned for Nick and Jess, but we still got some adorable AF moments, with the promise of many more. But first, context (and yes, *SPOILERS* from tonight’s New Girl, “About Three Years Later,” kick in from here)…

Upon Nick and Jess returning from a lengthy European tour for The Pepperwood Chronicles, their family and friends alike were surprised to see that the pair hadn’t gotten engaged while abroad. As Jess’ dad Bob (Rob Reiner), who we find out had given Nick his blessing, says, “What’s the holdup? It’s been six months since I gave you my blessing. When am I going to hear my daughter cry? I think I deserve to hear my daughter cry.”

That’s when Nick reveals his proposal plan: He’s going to pop the question that night at the loft — his choice over any of the romantic cities they had just traveled to — because it’s where they met. He hired an au pair to mail the ring from Turkey, so Jess would find the family heirloom for a rock when they’re opening mail.

Okay, so maybe that’s not the best plan, but the sentiment is sweet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCnTqEujvbo?feature=oembed

And Nick comes *so close* to going through with it, but it never quite works out.

He and Jess make it back to the loft — after attending Schmidt and Cece’s daughter’s birthday, where Jess ran into her ex, Fancyman (Dermot Mulroney), and lied about being engaged to prove she doesn’t have a problem with not rushing things, but ultimately came clean when Fancyman congratulated Nick on the engagement (Got all that? Great!). Right after returning home, Nick encourages Jess to open a certain letter from Turkey.

That’s when Fancyman shows up at the loft to try and convince Jess to work for him at his education-based non-profit, which he’d mentioned at the party. When he leaves, Nick tries to get Jess to open the letter again, but Cece, Schmidt, their daughter Ruth, and Winston all show up for various reasons. “I guess we’re going to open mail in front of everybody,” Nick says.

But, that’s okay, right? You would think, until Jess sort of shut down the idea of them getting married…

"Nick, I don't need to be married to know who we are...I love you and I love our life together, and I don't want anything to change. And the moment that someone suggested that we weren't where we should be, I went crazy. Because we're great, and why risk messing that up? We don't need to get married. And that's okay with us. Right, Nick?"

And so, Nick takes the mail back. *sigh*

BUT, fret not, because he has a new plan: He’s going to propose to Jess in a month’s time!

He tells Bob, “I’m sorry, but this thing has been 10 years in the making and everything about the proposal has to be perfect, and I’ll know when the time is right.” And then, when Bob makes him ask for his blessing again, Nick says, “Bob, I am in love with your daughter and I will be for the rest of my life. I want to ask her to marry me but only with your blessing.” Awwwwww.

Bob gives his blessing (again) — and honestly, how could he not, with a perfect profession of love like that? — but demands the proposal happen within a month. A MONTH, PEOPLE. WE’RE GOING TO GET A PROPOSAL SO SOON.

Like we said, knowing this is the beginning of the end of New Girl has us crying buckets of tears. But…the promise of Nick and Jess (probably) tying the knot is certainly helping us cope.

So here’s to an epic (and hilarious, and romantic) final season!