It’s not that we didn't miss Jess; we did. We were legitimately looking forward to seeing her again and hearing about her jury duty adventures. Now that she's back, we want to see her help Cece with wedding planning. And we’re curious if the Jess and Nick's relationship will see any redevelopments. Nick, Schmidt, Winston, and Cece (and Coach) wouldn’t be the characters they are today if it weren’t for Jess. One hundred episodes ago, she was begging her new roommates to watch Dirty Dancing. She couldn’t pay Cece to spend time at the loft. And now, they’re the ones begging Reagan to hang and partake in their collective quirky dynamic — one largely influenced by Jess. She’s the glue that brought everyone together, but she isn’t the only thing that keeps everyone in place.

When the cast doesn’t have to play by the rules of the leading lady, they’re free to be, well, more themselves. It allows the actors to play messier and more tactile. Nick can dream up all the weird ideas he wants. Schmidt can continue to flip-flop between being simultaneously hypersexual yet disgusted. Winston can keep cracking himself up (honestly, I would watch 30 minutes of him practicing his cop voice). And Cece and Reagan and even Aly can take their turn as “the girl.”

Still, no one cast member steps up to replace Jess. Instead, they band together and all replace her as an ensemble. No one ever monopolizes the story line; everyone takes turns, and every relationship gets its moment in the spotlight: Nick and Schmidt, Schmidt and Cece, Cece and Winston, Winston and Aly. And let’s not forget Reagan and everyone else. In her five episodes, Megan Fox manages to have major plotlines with each of the five leads, including Jess. Without Jess, the cast got infinitely better at supporting each other. Before they turned to her for everything, but during the jury duty arc, they learn to figure things out together.

When New Girl started, it was all about Jess. Three seasons ago, the show would have been lost without her at the helm for more than six minutes. But now, a six-episode run without her is nothing. And that’s the secret to the show’s success: When Jess isn’t able to be there physically, the story becomes about the others feeling her absence and surviving without her. And you know what? They fare just fine on their own.

New Girl definitely isn’t the same without Jess, but I’m happy to have her back as part of the group again. Yes, I said as part of the group, not as the star. Jess may have been the leading lady when she left, but she came back to a different cast. One with ensemble members who are, in fact, worthy of carrying an A-plot now and then.