Summary: Amy goes into labour as New York gets thrown into a city-wide blackout. Charles tries to get Jake back tot he precinct for the birth. Terry and Holt get trapped in an elevator.
The Good: The cast really carries this episode. The storylines are very familiar in this episode, borrowing from several sitcom tropes at once with a lot of simplistic jokes. But what makes them work is the cast who are terrific in this episode. Amy in labour shouldn't be as funny as it is, but it's a ton of fun to watch. Charles and Jake trying to get back to her is surprisingly funny because of the many guest performances that brighten the episode up with great laughs. Rosa is also really fun as she is grossed out by birth, and Terry and Holt's dance is hilarious. All the storylines are consistently fun, making for what is probably the season's most consistently enjoyable episode. The Bad: This isn't without flaws though. While funny, the episode never threatens to make me laugh hard and is a bit forgettable as a result, which is a shame for a season finale. Furthermore, even though the cast saved this episode from being bad, it doesn't mean that reusing sitcom tropes isn't a problem with this episode. The storylines and jokes were very predictable and that hurt the episode. Best Moment: Terry and Holt performing the "Salt and Pepper" dance routine in front of Amy and Rosa. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This finale was a consistently fun watch, and while it doesn't threaten doing anything mind-blowingly hilarious, it's a funny and exciting episode to end off the season. Season 7 ended up being another solid but unspectacular season. Being so short, this season got to have only the best episode concepts being showcased, leading to no episode feeling like they didn't belong in the season. And lots of episodes had outstanding storylines that featured some of the show's best content. But in the side storylines, the show almost always faltered. It's clear to me that the writers are running out of ideas since they are reusing ideas from previous seasons, making references, and sacrificing character consistency to make jokes. What this means is that while the A-story in an episode was often good, it would be let down by silly and stupid B and C storylines more often than not. This is a season that had great ideas, but the show feels like it's approaching its natural endpoint and that shows in the decline of quality in certain episodes. I still think this was an entertaining season, but the longevity of the show is working against it. Score: 68
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Summary: Holt and Kevin get Jake's help when Cheddar gets kidnapped. Charles and Terry try to start up a bone broth business. Rosa helps Amy in an attempt to win her a stroller.
The Good: The A-plot is a ton of fun with a lot of really good ideas. Centering the story around Cheddar is fun and it allows us to see Kevin and Holt in a unique new mood, which makes for a lot of fresh laughs. There are also some excellent comedic ideas here like Jake impersonating Kevin, Kevin being unable to walk through the park and Holt's epic John Wick parody sequence. I've also really enjoyed the season's running joke of Jake being unable to beat Wario. The side stories have some funny moments throughout. The Bad: The side stories have fun moments but both ultimately fall flat. Terry and Charles' storyline has more laughs, but it has the air of filler. The jokes are all nothing special and feature the show treading familiar ground the entire time. The Rosa/Amy story is poor. It's an okay idea, but in execution it fails badly. Teddy's return is terrible and does absolutely nothing new with the character. He's a caricature of who he used to be, and having him come back with the same character flaws with the same stupid jokes is painful to watch. Best Moment: "What you need is an umbrella cause there's a s*** storm gonna rain down on you, punk." Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This episode had an outstanding A-story, but the side stories really let the episode down and prevented it from being as good as it could have been. This is still a good episode, but it's one with ups and downs. Score: 65 Summary: This year's Halloween heist ends up spanning multiple holidays.
The Good: Another season goes by, and we get another awesome Halloween episode. Once more, the show proves that it still isn't running out of ideas and things can still get more and more ridiculous. The planning, interactions, cameos from Bill, twists, and all of the other Halloween staples are still hilarious and make this episode an absolute blast. There's enough innovation to make this one feel unique though. The trips to the vet are a blast and bring in several great lines, the gag with Jake's therapist being fake is genuinely hilarious and as things get more and more ridiculous, somehow the episode gets better and better. This was a ridiculous episode in all the best ways. The Bad: Some jokes are starting to get a bit stale since Holt, Jake and Amy have been bickering about who won the 5th heist for several seasons now. It's still funny, but it's starting to get repetitive. Best Moment: Jake's therapist being fake and both Amy and Rosa have been listening in on his therapy sessions. It's a fantastic joke with continuity from a previous storyline with a pretty twisted punchline with the therapist that Jake finally trusted being a fake. Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: It's a Halloween episode, so obviously it's another winner. This was more laughs, more creativity and more fun, and I absolutely loved it. I feel like I could watch episodes like these forever. Score: 81 Summary: Amy and Jake reveal that Amy's pregnant and they plan a gender reveal cake. Jake tries to connect his father and grandfather. Holt tutors Terry to help him master the flute. Rosa and Amy try to correct an important case they accidentally gave to Hitchcock and Scully.
The Good: There are plenty of good laughs here. The A-story with Jake, his father and his grandfather is really entertaining. The guest stars are a ton of fun but not at all overused. They provide a lot of good laughs, and their relationship with each other is very fun to watch. I also really enjoyed Charles' role in the story as he stole the show every time he showed up. The Terry and Holt story is over the top but it's a really funny parody of Whiplash. The Hitchcock/Scully story is decent fun as well. The episode has consistent laughs throughout and is easy to enjoy. The Bad: Two of the stories here feel repetitive. Hitchcock and Scully surprisingly being better than they look has been done before, as has Jake having concerns about fatherhood and his relationship with his father. Best Moment: Every time Holt called Terry the "garbage man". Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: I didn't have much to say about this episode. It's just a good episode of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" with a few repetitive beats, nothing more, nothing less. Score: 67 Summary: After a glitter bomb explodes on Jake's desk, Holt calls in Dillman to determine who in the squad was responsible.
The Good: Doing a whodunnit was a lovely idea and it was really fun to watch. The show always excels when the characters are together for a single story and that remained true here. Watching Dillman come in with his ridiculous attention to detail and quiz everyone is a blast, and there are a lot of high quality interactions to enjoy in this episode. Dillman himself is incredibly entertaining, helped by the fact that he's played by the great J.K. Simmons. He commands the room in every scene and his interactions with Rosa and Jake in particular are really funny. The character's resolution was also really well done, and I appreciate that Dillman is shown to be human, and the conclusion with him losing some respect from Holt at the end of the episode was well done. I was also pleased that Charles was given the task force position. The show consistently leaves Charles behind when it comes to detective work so I'm happy to see him get some credit as he is long overdue some success. I also really laughed when Charles tried to offer his position to Jake over and over anyways. The Bad: Some things didn't quite work. I haven't been a fan of how everyone has been so hostile towards each other in this season and that trend continued to set up the whodunnit. Thankfully it went away afterwards, but I was really annoyed at first. Holt is starting to feel very phony with his jokes again. It feels like the character is being forced something "funny" to say in this episode and it makes Andre Braugher's line delivery fall flat when he's obviously only saying these things because the writers had to force jokes into the episode. Rosa's character continues to be sacrificed. Apparently she watches soap operas too. The idea of Rosa being surprisingly soft isn't funny anymore because it's no longer a surprise. Best Moment: Dillman reminding Jake that he's married to a know-it-all. Character of the Episode: Dillman. Conclusion: I really liked this episode. It had everyone together, had a unique premise, a great guest star, and some great jokes. The show unfortunately has had a lot of problems this season, and that continues here. But this time there's enough excellent stuff to comfortably overcome my qualms, and I can confidently say this this is a great episode, flaws and all. Score: 70 Summary: Jake meets with Doug Judy after learning he is getting married, and joins him for his bachelor party. Terry tries to make sure everything is prepared for Holt's return to the office. Amy frets over getting a new vending machine.
The Good: Jake and Doug still have a fun relationship. Some of the antics they get up to are quite fun, especially the reverse heist. I also like that the bachelor party was all set up by Doug to fool Jake, being consistent with the Pontiac Bandit episodes throughout the show. The Bad: But the Jake and Doug interactions feel very overdone by now. It's always them singing together, which isn't as funny as it used to be since we've seen it so many times. The rest of the story doesn't quite work either. The reverse heist was rushed, the ending twist was tacked on, and Trudy feels like she doesn't belong in the episode at all. There was too much going on here. The side stories were terrible. Holt's business card is one of the show's dumbest ideas. Are we seriously supposed to believe that Holt wouldn't keep the card with him if it's so important to him? Getting upset with Terry over throwing it away is juvenile and stupid. It's beneath the character of Holt to behave so childishly without an external reason to do so. Furthermore, the emotional weight of the business card is another dumb idea. There's no reason to believe that Holt needs to learn to hold his successes closer to his heart than his failures. It feels like a shallow attempt to add weight to this episode. If anything, Holt needs to learn to stop being such an ass when talking with Terry, who was in charge of the precinct this entire time. Speaking of which, it's a disappointment that nothing was done with the dynamic of Terry being in charge. Another issue is Rosa's role in the story. She gets the most laughs, but it always feels like she does not belong in this story and is just tacked on. The vending machine story is pure filler and there aren't even any funny ideas implemented. I did not laugh once. Also there's no reason to believe that Scully and Hitchcock would not know how to sneakily get food from the vending machine, and that Charles has to show them this trick. Finally, the show seems to have forgotten that Amy got pregnant since it isn't brought up at all in this episode. There is no continuity here at all. Best Moment: Jake posing as an ASMR streamer. Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: This was another really weak episode. This season started strong, but it has had some very poor efforts since then. The Jake/Doug storyline here was fine, but everything else was horrible and brought down the episode hard. Score: 48 Summary: The Nine-Nine receives news that Wuntch is dead and Holt is ecstatic, but learns that he has to host a memorial for her. Terry and Charles compete to see who gets tickets to the premier of Kwazy Kupcakes The Movie.
The Good: The Holt storyline was really well done. Wuntch's death is a surprise twist and the writers went all out to give the character a big farewell. And it did so by hammering in insult after insult from Holt, all of them witty, creative and funny. Better yet is Rosa's reactions which make the jokes land even better. These insults were the highlight of the character of Wuntch and her relationship with Holt, so I really enjoyed this story. I thought that the Adam twist as well as Holt's eventual speech were strong moments in the episode as well which played a key role in the story while also giving some laughs. The Bad: Unfortunately everything else about this episode was really bad. While Holt and Rosa were great in their storyline, Amy was a frustrating trope. I've always been annoyed by how sitcoms portray the mood changes caused by pregnancy, and the ones with Amy were unoriginal, unfunny and downright annoying at times. The B-story was one of the worst that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has ever done. This show is usually so good at not selling out its characters for laughs, so what the hell happened here? Terry and Charles are both complete assholes here and don't even slightly resemble themselves. The boxing match was ridiculous stupidity, their interactions with Jake did not fit their relationship with him at all, and the conclusion with them essentially being rewarded for their awful behaviour was some of the worst writing I've seen on this show. It's frustrating because every time I would start enjoying the episode with the Holt storyline, my investment would be destroyed by how stupid this storyline was. It pains me to see good characters like Charles and Terry sabotaged like this, and for no good reason. Best Moment: Rosa claiming Wuntch's video could be a live stream and Holt's reaction to that. Holt and Rosa had many amusing interactions in this episode, and this was the best. Character of the Episode: Holt, though Rosa is a close second. Conclusion: With how good the Holt storyline was, this should be one of the best episode's of the show. But everything else was so atrocious, especially the Terry/Charles storyline, and that completely ruined this episode, turning it into a frustrating experience. Score: 55 Summary: Jake and Amy try different things to have a baby. Charles and Rosa try to find someone to buy their guinea pigs. Terry refuses to move Holt from his posting. Hitchcock tries to find the woman he met in a bar.
The Good: I really liked the A story of the episode. It doesn't always work to take a more serious turn in sitcoms but this was executed extremely well. The struggle for Jake and Amy is portrayed well and it is sad to see them gradually come to accept that they might not be able to have a baby. This is a very mature topic to explore and I think the show handled it tastefully while somehow maintaining lots of laughs throughout the episode to make sure things never feel too heavy. Moments like the guinea pig scare and the "Hitchcock way" made this story have the laughs it needed. The side stories were pretty solid as well. The focus on Hitchcock worked surprisingly well and his story is really funny, with one of the highlights being that magnificent cold open ("Hitchcock still sucks"). The other two stories are much emptier but they do their job of getting the laughs in. One of the episode's best jokes was Charles drinking from the guinea pig water bottle, which seemed like your typical silly sitcom moment. But the show explains that Terry believed it because it was Charles who did it, which was a really funny twist, integrating a sitcom trope into the story in a way that was really clever. The Bad: Holt and Terry's story is bland and doesn't have much to it at all. Holt is written pretty poorly here since he sounds like a caricature of himself saying lines that don't seem like things he would say. It feels like the writers tried to hard to come up with something funny for him. Charles and Rosa's story is ridiculous and I don't buy into the guinea pigs being kept secret for so long. Furthermore, Rosa being the "mushy one" of the squad was a poor joke that further destroys her character. Best Moment: I really enjoyed the montage in the middle of the episode. There were some funny jokes throughout and it was a pleasant surprise to see such good editing on a sitcom. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This episode was better than it had any right to be. The mature subject matter was handled tastefully and there were plenty of great jokes throughout the episode. The side stories had some blemishes, but overall this was a consistent and funny episode. Score: 71 Summary: Jake and Rosa try to bring in Debbie after she steals cocaine from the evidence room. Amy and Holt have a contest to read through Debbie's journals.
The Good: Some jokes here were really strong. The cold open was fantastic as Debbie's nervous mannerisms were hilarious, leading up to the fantastic ending with the Hitchcock reveal, but the Nine-Nine already know that Debbie is guilty (see: Best Moment). Debbie has some fun moments as a loose cannon, and the episode definitely isn't lacking for any originality with this storyline. I also really liked the ending scene with Jake and Rosa agreeing to hide that they were beat up by Debbie, followed by Rosa taking the joke too far. The Bad: Much of this was executed poorly. Jake and Rosa's storyline doesn't work. I'm so frustrated with how the show continues to have these two feel so shallow with their motivations. I'm tired of Jake's mindset being determined by his troubled relationship with his parents and I'm tired of Rosa suddenly being able to sympathize when she connects to her relationship with her parents. It's shallow storytelling and I can't fathom why this show has done it so many times by now. I'm sick of seeing it. The handling of Debbie is awful as she completely betrays everything we learned about her this season. There is absolutely no way that the Debbie from "Manhunter" is involved with crime, and there's no way that a crime boss will be stupid enough to trust somebody like Debbie. It's completely implausible and it prevents me from ever getting into the storyline. You could say that it's all about the jokes so who cares about getting invested in the story, but if that's the case, then the show has no business making Debbie commit a serious crime while exploring morality through Jake and Rosa if it's only trying to be funny. This episode bites off more than it can chew with this storyline and the inconsistency of Debbie paired with the repetitiveness of Jake and Rosa really hurts this episode. I'm also stunned that Debbie's story to Holt in "Manhunter" about her twin never came up again. That was clearly the better story option but the show inexplicably chose to forget it. The B-story was weak. Charles sparked this change in Debbie yet that isn't mentioned at all and Charles is relegated to the sidelines in this episode. Holt and Amy's speed-reading is stupid and not at all funny. It's a silly gimmick that has no semblance in reality with how fast they are supposedly reading and memorizing, completely at odds with Jake and Rosa's lives being in danger when dealing with Debbie. Best Moment: The transition from Debbie's secret call in the women's room to Hitchcock saying "I know something but you can't ask how I know it" was fantastic. Better yet was that the squad already knew because of how suspicious Debbie was. It's a great one-two punch that really made me laugh. Character of the Episode: Debbie. Conclusion: This episode had an interesting premise and some funny jokes. But that's all the good I can say about it. The Jake/Rose conflict was shallow, unoriginal and frustrating, Debbie's character was completely destroyed and the Holt/Amy side story was incredibly dumb. All of this combined to make this one of the show's worst episodes yet. Score: 45 Summary: With Terry and Amy leaving the squad for a day, Jake decides to hold another Jimmy Jab Games to prove that he's still immature.
The Good: This season continues to celebrate past episodes of the show and nothing is more blatant than this one, bringing back a Nine-Nine tradition that hasn't been seen since season 2. The Jimmy Jabs are a good concept so I was happy to see them again, and the contest was a lot of fun, particularly with Hitchcock getting juiced by Scully's pills and Charles being an overly dramatic host. Debbie gets some good laughs and the ending with her is interesting. I wonder if she's about to make an effort to solve her sister's murder which was brought up a few episodes back. The Bad: This was a disappointment though. The games weren't as fun and before and I thought the character interactions were disappointing. Having Jake go to the immature Jake of the past was a decent idea (again playing off of how this season is celebrating the past) but it doesn't quite work and the laughs are bland. It feels like both the character and the show have moved past the point where revisiting this storyline is a good idea. The Holt/Rosa story was nothing special. I've been annoyed by how often the show goes to Rosa's more sensitive side and they do so here again. It hurts the plausibility of the character when they have revisited sad Rosa so many more times than with anyone else. The break-up with Jocelynn had no weight to it in the end. Holt's relationship with Rosa is nice to watch but it feels like treading familiar territory without enough innovation to really be special. I have reservations about the ending. It feels ridiculous that Charles can motivate Debbie to do something so drastically dangerous. Best Moment: Debbie calling herself anti-dextrous was a clever joke. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock. Conclusion: It was cool to see the Jimmy Jabs return, but the handling of them was disappointing and I was let down by the lack of memorable laughs in this episode. This season has delved into previously explored storylines with some surprisingly good results. Sadly, that wasn't the case here. This was fine but it should have been better. Score: 57 Summary: Jake tries to avoid telling Charles that he and Amy are trying to have a baby. Pimento returns with severe memory problems. The rest of the Nine-Nine attend a mandatory seminar that they all hate.
The Good: The joke quality is as good as ever. There are tons of laughs throughout the episode and I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. Pimento was used perfectly here. I've had my ups and downs with the character, but having him in one-off episodes like this works magnificently as the writers can include only the best jokes surrounding him. Most of Pimento's lines in this episode were hilarious and the interactions between him, Charles and Jake were a blast. The A-story was a bit familiar with somebody trying to kill Pimento, but thankfully the show never took itself too seriously here and told this story in a really unique way with Pimento's amnesia. I also really liked how Pimento's story was woven into the Jake/Charles story, making every second of this A-story feel meaningful and fun. The B-story with the seminar has its fun moments like Terry trying to soften up the squad for bad news. I also really loved the cold open showing Jake prank a sleeping Hitchcock once again. This season is really committing to references the earlier parts of the show. The Bad: Why are Jake and Charles somehow allowed to miss the seminar? This is such an obvious hole in that story. The seminar story also doesn't quite work because it forces the characters to be uncharacteristically awful to each other. It's a shame because this show is usually quite good at not selling out characters and their relationships with each other for cheap laughs and conflict. It happened in the Jake/Charles story as well. Jake and Charles' conflict feels repetitive, predictable and unnecessary. I don't buy into these two getting into such a big and dramatic fight. Furthermore, Charles' extreme investment in the Jake and Amy relationship has been a little weird for a while now, and it's odd that the resolution for the storyline isn't Charles choosing to be less intrusive on them. Just like how the show tries to justify Gina's selfishness, it also tries to justify Charles' creepy behaviour. Best Moment: The ending joke with Pimento finally watching Memento only to say it was "okay". The joke was perfectly executed and was a fantastic pay-off to the Finding Dory/Memento jokes throughout the episode. Character of the Episode: Pimento. Conclusion: This was a really funny episode which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately the story had some big flaws in it, but since the episode had such incredible jokes, I still think that this is a really good episode overall. Score: 69 Summary: The Nine-Nine get a new captain, Kim, who Jake and Holt immediately don't trust even though everyone else likes her. The Nine-Nine are invited to a party at Kim's house and Jake attempts to find proof that Kim is conspiring with Wuntch.
The Good: This episode seemed to be paying tribute to season 1 which I appreciate. The cold open was in the same location as the climax of the pilot episode in season 1, and the format of this episode was really similar to the season 1 formula with Jake screwing things up and learning a lesson by the end. It even paid homage to "The Party" by having the concept of a house party being disrupted by Jake's nosiness, even complete with a dog being locked away upstairs. I appreciated the nods to season 1 (the show does do a nice job of acknowledging past episodes from time to time) but what really made this stand out was what was new. Even though the formula was similar, enough was changed to really make this shine. This wasn't Jake screwing up out of immaturity, this is him screwing up for fear of yet another bad captain, and this time he actually has Holt's backing due to Holt's hilarious distress as he deals with having a new captain at the Nine-Nine. Plus the focused storyline allowed the characters to bounce off of each other really well, leading to a collection of fantastic jokes throughout the episode. This was a surprisingly funny episode. The utilization of the characters was so clever. I've already mentioned Jake and Holt, but I really liked Amy's chaperone role, Terry being terrified of the creepy ex-criminal guy (the perfectly reasonable explanation was amazing), and Charles becoming "badass Chuck" has to be one of the show's most fleshed out and memorable single-episode gimmicks its ever done due to the hilarity of the jokes and the logical explanation of why Charles is acting like this. This episode corrected a lot of the issues that "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has typically had trouble with without sacrificing any of its strengths, which is a really impressive feat. The Bad: Having so many similarities to season 1 does have its problems though. It feels like much of this episode is treading familiar ground, and even with the bits of innovation throughout the episode, a lot of the comedy was lessened by the fact that it all felt so familiar. Furthermore, it feels odd for the show to try so hard to reference previous seasons when this season isn't the final season of the show. This would have been more effective as a celebration of the show if it was coming to an end. Best Moment: There are plenty of jokes to choose from. I'll go with Holt using sneakers for their literal purpose (sneaking) and his anger at being exposed so easily. Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode that highlights the best of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". The joke quality and execution of the storylines was top-notch. Had this episode had more original ideas it could have been one of the show's very best. Even still, it's a damn good episode that gets season 7 off to a superb start. Score: 78 Summary: Jake is put in charge of a manhunt but struggles to have the spine to take command when a demoted Holt hopes to contribute. Amy is worried that she is pregnant and tells Rosa.
The Good: The 2 storylines here are both pretty fun. I'm glad to see that Holt's demotion is already having an impact on the show, and I'm hopeful that this is the type of change that the show won't simply lose interest in and undo in 2-3 episodes. Watching the dejected Holt interact with Jake and Charles is tremendous fun and the character dynamics with Jake pitying Holt and Holt being desperate to return to his position are pretty well done, leading to several strong jokes. Meanwhile, the Amy stuff is a solid side story with a purpose as it sets up for Amy and Jake trying to have a baby. There are some fun moments here with Amy's aggression and Terry amusingly bringing too much of his personal life into his job. Debbie is also a fantastic addition. I'd love to see more of the background characters coming to light, especially with how funny Debbie was here. The Bad: The episode doesn't feel like anything too special. The case itself is pretty boring with lots of familiar jokes between Jake and Charles. I also have a burning hate for whenever the criminals try to run away since I've seen it so many times in this show by now. Best Moment: Debbie revealing her backstory was entirely unexpected and served as a hilarious punchline for the character. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to Debbie honestly. She was wonderful. Conclusion: This was a really good episode to kick off the season. There's nothing too special here, but it's consistently entertaining all the way through with some really good jokes. Score: 69 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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