Summary: Jake organizes a heist before Holt and Amy leave the precinct, also planning to announce his retirement from the Nine Nine. After a final crazy heist, the members of the Nine-Nine spend one final night together and then move on.
The Good: I've decided to tackle this two-part finale as a single episode because it was clearly intended to be viewed as a double-length episode instead of as two different episodes. Thankfully, the experience was wonderful. I've had major problems with season 8 as "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" felt like a show running out of ideas the entire season. But luckily that didn't interfere with my love for these characters and I was still able to enjoy and appreciate this series finale. I'm thrilled by the decision to end of the series with a heist. If I'm being entirely honest, the heists will likely be all that I remember this show for 10 years from now because they were easily the highlight experience of what was otherwise a solid but not great sitcom. And this last one maintained that trend. I was nervous that going for 40 minutes would make this episode feel stale, but this was packed with original jokes, callbacks, hilarious absurdity, and clever plans to make this stand out just as well as every other heist episode. This one even had the extra emotion of being the last episode of the show to make it stand out further. But what I will focus on, as always with these heists, is the absolute absurdity of what happened here. I've maintained that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is best when its not taking itself seriously - the cast is the best aspect of the show and when the cast members are allowed to go bananas with the characters they have been given, it will make superb television. Once again, that's what we got here. The twists and jokes in this episode were outstanding and somehow the show even reached new highs with moments like Terry's fake interview , the fake-out of Jake waking up in the future, and Holt showing off his absurdly amazing tattoo. The conclusion for all of the characters also felt natural. Jake quitting the force to be a good parent, Holt leaving, Terry being left in charge, and several of the characters making peace with one another all felt satisfying. The final scene with the gang all coming back together the next year for another heist was a perfect ending scene that kept with the spirit of the show. The Bad: Not all of the cameos worked. Gina never clicked as a character with me post-season 1, and her return was flat and uninteresting. Some of the other returning characters weren't given enough original material so they just went through the same tired jokes, like Teddy, Pimento, Mlepnos, Bill, and Caleb. Best Moment: This was an episode packed with spectacular laughs and it's hard to choose the best one. I'll go with the clever fake-out of Jake waking up in the future only for it to be yet another absurd elaborate scheme by Amy in an attempt to win the heist. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was an excellent finale. Even with the double-length, this never felt long and there were tons and tons of jokes that took up the entire episode. I ended the show feeling satisfied with where everyone ended up, and I'm pleased that we finished on a high note, even if season 8 was not a particularly good season. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" as a whole is a show that I have somewhat mixed feelings about. It's a good show, and I laughed a lot watching these last 8 seasons. But I still feel like it never quite lived up to its full potential and thinking back on it, the show is somewhat forgettable when you think about great sitcoms in the last 10-20 years. I do think that I overrated much of the show, but there were certainly some fantastic highlights in its run like the iconic heist episodes and classic episodes like "The Box" and "99". Season 8 as a whole was disappointing and it feels clear that the show should have ended in season 7 with how badly the writers struggled for good ideas this season. However, this final episode was terrific and it ends the show on a positive note. Score: 78
2 Comments
Joe Y
10/5/2021 07:03:22 am
I agree with you, Aaron. This was a terrifically fun way to end a good but not great show. As I said back in S2, the show rarely goes above a B/B+ level. Comedies are extremely hard to write, and in general it's very hard to elevate a show from good to great. I think this show suffered from both of those afflictions. The final season was extremely weak, in part because the show is too heavy handed to grapple with such dark subject matter head on. That being said, for a 150+ episode network comedy, you could do worse. A lot worse. "Young Sheldon" just got renewed for Seasons 5, 6, and 7..........
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Aaronic
10/5/2021 08:18:32 pm
It's nice to hear your thoughts on the show. It looks like we are in total agreement about Brooklyn Nine-Nine; I even think my season ranking is identical to yours! I'm stunned that Young Sheldon is still going. Hard pass on that one. Shows like that make me appreciate Brooklyn Nine-Nine a lot more. It is comfort food comedy. Solid, easy-to-watch, and nothing too special. I will miss the show. Time to put a balloon arch on the grave of my arch-nemesis.
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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