 " New Year 's Eve " received several positive reviews from critics . New York writer Steven Heisler praised the episode for avoiding " sitcom @-@ y territory " with the emotional ending . He also called the series a better choice to follow The Office then Whitney . The A.V. Club reviewer Margaret <unk> complemented the <unk> of the main <unk> @-@ Chris plot . Despite this , she criticized the Ava @-@ Kevin subplot comparing it to a storyline from Sex and The City . She also noted the plotline didn 't stay true to the characters following their plotline in the previous episode , " First Christmas " . She ultimately rated the episode with a B. Adam <unk> of Paste called the episode a perfect transition from the previous episodes and allowed Ava to be " a <unk> third wheel to a completely strong duo in Chris and Reagan " . He also reacted positively for the scenes featuring Missy , comparing her scenes to " early Ava , but less <unk> " . He ultimately gave the episode an 8 @.@ 7 / 10 calling it " <unk> " . Bradford Evans of <unk> praised Jennifer Hall 's performance calling her the " <unk> hero " of the series . He also reacted positively towards the episode 's ability to <unk> the show and " keep all of the characters on the same turf " . He concluded that he hoped the series could make itself a vital part of the network 's lineup . HitFix reviewer Alan Sepinwall called the episode " one its [ the series ] strongest episodes to date " . He wrote that the addition of Jason Lee <unk> Ava more and gave her a more natural reason to visit Reagan and Chris at home . He also wrote that the episode worked on a " character level " . 
