"Your dad is dating Trashley Berkman? Didn't she...?"
— Cece
"Julie Berkman's Older Sister" is the third episode of New Girl's fourth season.
Jess and Cece meet Bob's new girlfriend, who turns out to be a promiscuous senior from their high school years. Meanwhile, Schmidt tries to come up with a marketing pitch for sponges for work, and enlists the other guys to rig a focus group in his favor.
Tropes in this episode:
- Age-Gap Romance: Jess's father is dating a woman who went to high school with Jess and Cece.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Schmidt finally gets his long-awaited idea for the sponge account pitch hearing Nick talking about needing to clean his room in anticipation of a woman coming over.
- Food as Bribe: Schmidt promised pizza if the roommates would help him out with his focus group.
- Men Can't Keep House: The reason for Schmidt's subplot — because men are generally slobs (him notwithstanding), he's having trouble with the concept of selling sponges to men. He finally comes up with "men will keep house if sex is on the table" and wins the account.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Ashley is a recovered nymphomaniac, so Jess is suspicious of her. She first reads incriminating texts that turn out to be from one of Ashley's clients (she's a sex therapist). Later Jess sees her with a stranger and assumes the worst; he turns out to be her sponsor.
- My Girl Is a Slut: Bob finds the fact that Ashley has slept with dozens, if not hundreds, of men fun and adorable.
- Obfuscating Disability: One of Bob's ex-girlfriends pretended to be paraplegic and gave it up after Jess pushed her off the chair and told her to get up.
- Parody Commercial: Over the credits, a parody commercial for the sponges is played. It's about a fanservicey couple who rub the sponge over their things and each other while murmuring "sponge". The dirtiest thing in the room has to be the woman, or so it says.
- Riches to Rags: Schmidt was formerly the most well-off member of the loft, but now his money's tied up in his lease and he's stuck bunking with Nick. He compares himself to "reverse Annie". Nick complains that Schmidt just spoiled Annie.
