Summary: Jake and Amy's wedding is under jeopardy when a bomb threat is called in. Terry tries to get Rosa hooked up while they tend to Amy's veil. Holt gets an e-mail telling him if he became commissioner or not but he is terrified to open it.
The Good: This is a really strong episode that utilizes the characters well. Jake and Amy are really sweet here as a couple in love, and it's only fitting that they would work on a case on the day of their wedding. They have great moments together and the vows scene was done really well. It's easy to see what these two saw in each other, and this is one of the most earned weddings you will see in sitcoms. The other characters have nice stories too. Terry and Rosa get a really nice side story. Terry going from playfully pushing Rosa towards finding love to panicking once the veil is ruined was really amusing to watch. Charles' constant unease at having ruined Jake's wedding is really funny and there are some really clever jokes on the way to Charles finally saving the wedding by setting it up at the precinct. Holt's story is pretty good and it fits nicely in the background. I'm aware that the show was almost cancelled in this episode, and the ending with Holt reading the e-mail and not revealing the answer was the perfect way to conclude the season, providing a satisfying ending while also leaving the door open if the show was renewed (which it was on a different network). I appreciate that the story wasn't altered to be more like a series finale due to the threat of cancellation, and only the end of the episode served as one final joke had the series been cancelled here. The Bad: I thought the guest star appearances were weak in this episode. Teddy came back but he brought no original new jokes with him, just rehashes of what we already know. I had to look up on google who Mlepnos was since its been so long since he appeared and the character was really forgettable. It was cool to have a recurring character from the series pilot return, but Mlepnos wasn't utilized well enough since then to justify his appearance. Best Moment: The final joke of Holt looking at the e-mail and nobody being able to tell what it said. It would have worked really well as a final joke for the series and it perfectly encapsulated what makes holt so great. Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: Wedding episodes are always entertaining and this was no exception. This was a really fun episode with quality jokes and some sweet moments as Jake and Amy finally marry. This would have been a solid enough episode to conclude the series but thankfully, the writers didn't treat this episode as a series finale, allowing it to shine as the season finale it is meant to be. This season as a whole was really good, much better than any of the other ones. The show still has problems going from good to great, but it did so much more consistently this season, with more highlight episodes than all the other seasons combined. I really enjoyed the season and it feels like the show has finally started to live up to its potential. Score: 76
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Summary: Monica gets a stripper for a late bachelor party for Chandler when Phoebe lets slip that Monica had a secret bachelorette party. Rachel tries to tell her dad that she is pregnant. Ross continues to hide his situation with Rachel from Mona.
The Good: This was a really funny episode. The storylines here were all very well done and set up nicely for humour. Monica accidentally sending a hooker to Chandler and Joey is a unique idea that leads to plenty of awkwardness and comedy, culminating in a great final scene. I also really liked that the show addressed how Chandler and Joey aren't together as much anymore and how things have changed because of it. It was a nice story with funny moments. Rachel has a great episode as well as she can't help but lie to her dad to stop him from yelling. It fits her character and it's very funny to see her lie over and over again. And once more, it culminates in an excellent ending joke as Joey gets mad at Rachel's dad shouting on his phone. Rachel comes off as selfish here by lying, but the episode saves face by having her redeem herself by explaining things to Mona, in a scene that was pretty funny as Rachel somehow does the exact wrong thing every time despite trying her best. Lastly, Ross' storyline was comfortably the best part of the episode. The perfect storm that hit him when Dr. Green showed up with some unfortunate tidings was hilarious and David Schwimmer's reactions were gold throughout that entire scene. The Bad: Phoebe is the one character that drags this down. Everyone else is handled well, but Phoebe is such a prick throughout the episode. She seemingly thrives off everyone else's suffering and does almost nothing to help. She lets Rachel dig herself into a hole and offers no help to her, and then she sits around to enjoy the Ross/Rachel fight and complains when they handle it maturely and don't actually fight. It's hard to imagine why anyone actually likes her when she does stuff like this. Best Moment: Every second of Ross being intimidated by both Dr. Green and Mona. The best joke in this part was Joey's ill-timed phone call and Ross just deciding to lie down after being overwhelmed. Fantastic comedy, and one of the hardest laughs I've had in a while. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This is a really funny episode with 3 really good storylines to enjoy. Phoebe brings things down a bit, but outside of her, everything else is excellent. This season continues to have great episodes follow mediocre ones, so I can safely say that half the episodes this season have been excellent, while the other half have been poor. I would like to see more consistency, but I am pleased to see that "Friends" is back to having awesome episodes on a regular basis. Score: 76 Summary: Amy and Rosa chase down their nemesis who has returned to town. Jake gets Terry's help to do Amy's wedding prep. Gina and Charles try to get Holt to undermine his opposition.
The Good: I thought all three plots here were pretty good. The Amy/Rosa story is nicely done and does a good job of exploring the characters and their friendship. I thought Amy in particular was handled really well as the character's strengths, flaws and quirks were given a nice examination as her past lies anger Rosa before the two of them easily make up, a result of how their relationship has grown over the past 5 seasons. Jake and Terry's story is harmless fun as Jake predictably is unable to keep up with Amy's crazy schedule. The jokes here are really strong and there's a nice story here with Jake learning what he needs to do in order to be a great husband. Holt's story with Olivia is also quite nice. Holt's comments to Olivia are still a joy to watch, but the episode took a surprisingly serious turn as Olivia steps down in favour of Holt so that he can beat John Kelly. The story was well told and had some good jokes. The Bad: This episode was a bit lighter on the jokes, but I'm very accepting of that considering the quality of the stories being told. One thing that annoyed me was that Rosa has apparently had this nemesis for all these years yet we never heard her mention his name. It breaks your immersion when you realize that the only reason for this is because the character of Sergio hadn't been thought up until this very episode, and it's ridiculous to see Rosa and Amy act like they have this long backstory with him when it's clearly not the case. The show has had problems with storylines like this for a while now. A second problem is how every case always goes the same. There's always some sort of chase sequence as the bad guy runs away, and there's never a case where the detectives don't catch the criminal. This results in them all feeling incredibly similar and uninteresting. This has been a problem for many cases in the past, not just this one. Best Moment: I'll go with Jake destroying Terry's windows in his excitement. Terry's reactions and Jake's thoughtless excitement were wonderful. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This was a good episode with three very strong stories and some good jokes throughout. I had some complaints, but they are levelled more at the show as a whole rather than this specific episode. This was a much better effort than the past 4-5 episodes. Score: 68 Summary: Rosa gets involved in a shooter situation leaving the precinct concerned for her. Jake tries to work a case with Charles to distract himself. Amy and Gina try to repair a broken toilet. Terry tries to get life insurance.
The Good: On paper, this is a good idea. For a cop show, it's sensible to explore the idea that somebody is in a dangerous situation and might die. I liked the concept behind the episode and it led to some unique moments. The jokes here hold up really well. Hitchcock and Scully are used fantastically here. They pop up every now and then, and each time they do results in an excellent joke that utilizes the characters well. The main storyline has its moments too. Amy and Gina working on the toilet leads to some nice slapstick, and it's also nice to see Gina not completely abusing Amy as she always does. Gina is actually supportive here but is still in character as she still laughs at Amy's struggles. Jake and Charles have some nice moments as well, and I particularly laughed at their ridiculous attempt to get Jake to help Rosa. The return of the Holt soundboard was one of the episode's funniest moments. We also got another great cold open with Holt trying something new (it definitely didn't work). The Bad: Despite the high quality of humour, much of this episode fell entirely flat for me. If this was going to tackle the serious concept of somebody from the precinct possibly dying, it needed to have a more serious tone like "Moo Moo" did. This episode didn't do that. It still went really heavy on the jokes, resulting in really jarring tone shifts throughout the episode. The ideas in the episode just did not flow well at all. I also thought that doing an episode like this so late in the show's run was a poor decision. We've seen the characters in situations like this before, some situations being even worse than this. Because of that, it's hard to buy into how distressed the squad gets when their friend is in danger. They have been in danger before, this should not be treated like a new experience for them or for us. Best Moment: Hitchcock and Scully's penis-punching battle was unexpected and hilarious. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock. He had excellent lines throughout the episode. Conclusion: The jokes were really good here, but the story was disjointed and unengaging. Another disappointing episode and this season is really starting to drop in quality with these past few episodes. Score: 61 Summary: Charles prepares an overly elaborate bachelor party for Jake but Jake, Terry and Holt end up having their own fun instead. After a game of I Never, Amy learns that a guy she used to date will be playing at her wedding so she and the other girls scramble to cancel the performance.
The Good: This is a fun episode. Weddings and bachelor/ette parties are very familiar ideas for sitcoms (it's nothing new for this show either) but they always end up being a good time. Jake's bachelor story is fun with some good ideas throughout. There's a good story between Jake and Charles throughout and Terry's hungry rage as well as Holt being "one of the boys" was decent fun. Amy's party was the highlight for me though. Rosa and Gina were utilized very well here, and we even got a nice return from Kylie. The added background on Amy's relationship with Constantine was great and it led to the hilarious climax of the episode as Amy finally does something wild. It was also very nice to see Gina be a likeable person in this episode, which is something that the writers don't do nearly often enough. The Bad: As I mentioned above, this is not new territory for the show at all. We have seen all of this stuff before so there isn't much about this that really excels. As well executed as this episode is, it's all familiar stuff. We've seen strife between Jake and Charles, just as we've seen Amy be desperate to prove that she isn't tightly strung. It's fun to watch but it feels like there isn't a single original bone in this episode. I thought that Jake choosing to leave Charles and have his own fun with everyone else was a tough moment to buy into. Were all three of the guys really so willing to exclude Charles? Also, I found this to be a weak utilization of Holt in an unfamiliar environment. His behaviour here felt more like a one-off gimmick for this episode rather than an extension of the character. Best Moment: I guess the streak of excellent cold opens being here had to end. I'll go with Hitchcock and Scully returning to trick Constantine. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This was fun, like your usual "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode, but much of this episode treaded familiar territory and nothing here even came close to feeling special. Score: 58 Summary: Pimento appears as an insurance agent to help Charles when his food truck burns down, but Pimento thinks Charles did it for insurance fraud. Rosa gets Amy to openly look for wedding dresses. Gina and Terry help Holt get a social media presence.
The Good: Pimento is back in all of his wacky glory. A lot of the jokes surrounding him are a lot of fun and the uniqueness of the character is enough to get in some really good laughs even if he doesn't quite fit in at times (see: The Bad). I thought that the main storyline had some really good moments with Pimento being wild and unpredictable. The side stories ended up being inoffensive fun. Holt being a robot is always funny, and I liked the examination of the Amy/Rosa relationship. The Bad: Pimento's presence feels strange after he was missing for so long. To not address Rosa at all barring one line was weird, as was having Pimento return and interact with nobody but Jake and Charles. Pimento seems less like a part of the Nine-Nine and more like somebody like Bill. With Pimento feeling more and more like an outsider, it's awkward for him to come back and butt heads with Jake and Charles immediately, making you really question why he is still considered a friend anyways. The story of Pimento realizing that Jake and Charles are his friends didn't resonate with me as well as it should have since I don't have any reason to believe that these people are close. The side stories are fine, but like a lot of side stories they don't do a whole lot. Holt's story feels very familiar and there aren't any memorable laughs despite Andre Braugher being brilliant as usual. Rosa and Amy had a good episode but their storyline was light on laughs as well. Best Moment: The Mad Max food truck cold open was hilarious from start to finish. The streak of amazing cold opens continues. Character of the Episode: Pimento. Conclusion: The episode started off really strong with the cold open, but the episode's three storylines didn't fully connect with me for various reasons. This was one of the season's weakest episodes. Score: 55 Summary: Jake meets with one of his half-sisters but finds her to be extremely difficult to handle. Terry hurts himself while doing yoga with Charles and Holt but is ashamed to admit it. Gina tries to set Rosa up on a date but Rosa doesn't want her to.
The Good: There are a lot of good jokes here across all storylines. The Jake storyline has nice continuity with one of his half-sisters emerging, and things like the statue man and the Mongkut story were quite funny. I also quite liked Scully getting "tricked" by Holt and Charles into giving away the nap room and Holt shaming Charles for using wordplay, as well as Gina's absurdly funny Holt soundboard (I desperately want one now). I also thought that the cold open was fantastic, and one of the best jokes of the series (see: Best Moment). The Gina/Rosa story in particular was quite good. We haven't seen these two interact much so this was a fresh pairing and they got a good amount of time to tell a nice story and have several good jokes. The Bad: I thought that Kate as a character left a lot to be desired and the story told with her was bland and predictable without enough feeling to make it really work. I feel like the character of Kate never quite went far enough to make this story really work. Amy's role in the episode was also quite underwhelming as she was nothing more than a background character in most scenes. The Terry story wasn't that good either. Terry getting hurt was overly dramatic to the point that it wasn't really funny anymore. Having him get stuck in the supply closet wasn't a very compelling story either and while the payoff of Charles carrying was funny, it also made absolutely no logical sense. Best Moment: Jake getting carried away and having his prime suspects sing "I Want it That Way" was hilarious, made even better by the dark joke at the end of the episode. This scene is the essence of Jake as a character and it is tremendously funny. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This is a decent episode. The stories leave a lot to be desired, but the comedy was consistently good, saving the episode. Score: 62 Summary: Chandler hires a maid and Monica is convinced that she is stealing. Rachel gets Ross' help to find a new apartment while Joey convinces her to stay. Phoebe goes on a date with Eric who is having trouble getting over Ursula.
The Good: Joey and Rachel are very sweet in this episode and I really liked Joey's attempts to get her to stay. It's always nice when the characters in this show treat each other well. Ross does his best to make a weak storyline funny and he does well at certain parts. The Bad: Phoebe remains poorly written as she harshly blows off Ross in the opening scene. Her story wasn't very good and I would have preferred it if Eric hadn't returned since his story was pretty good in the previous episode. The story between him and Phoebe led to the obvious conclusion and didn't make enough jokes to justify it. Monica and Chandler's story is terrible and both characters come off as cartoon caricatures of who they once were. It's impossible to like them in this episode as they harass the maid, particularly Monica who makes completely unfounded claims. Chandler even realizes how absurd these are, yet he descends into complete lunacy as he somehow decides to listen to Monica by trying to get a look at the maid's bra. Ross does what he can with his story, but there isn't really anything to it. Best Moment: The best laugh was Chandler mocking Monica's nonsensical claims of the maid stealing. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: It wouldn't be late season "Friends" if there weren't at least a few stinkers, even though this season has had some pretty good episodes so far. This episode was not one of them and I didn't find very much to enjoy about it. Score: 43 Summary: Jake and Charles work to expose the pyramid scheme of NutriBoom which they got themselves caught up in. Amy struggles to handle a difficult police officer when she starts working as a sergeant.
The Good: This was a really funny episode centered around two stories. Jake and Charles investigating NutriBoom is an engaging story that provides nice continuity from this season's Halloween episode. Plus we get to see Bill again which is always great. I thought that the character interactions and jokes were great in this storyline as this was Jake and Charles at their absolute best. Amy's story is quite good, and the idea of having her go to everyone else to learn how they put up with her is excellent and it leads to some really funny moments like Holt calling her a massive tool. The Bad: It felt strange to not resolve the NutriBoom story in this episode. The episode felt almost unfinished in a way, and I found the conclusion to be rather abrupt and anticlimactic. Best Moment: I'll give it to the cold open and the hilariously unexpected fate of the pigeon which completely caught me off guard. Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: This was a rock solid episode with two really strong storylines and memorable jokes. The episode doesn't quite hit the highest levels of the show but it is consistent fun. This episode is the perfect example of a typical good "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode. Score: 69 Summary: When Amy becomes a sergeant, Jake invites her idol, the puzzle master Melvin to join them on one last case as two detectives and Jake starts feeling jealous. Terry, Rosa, Hitchcock and Scully argue over who gets the new squad car. Holt meets the other commissioner candidates and tries to announce himself as the commissioner who wants change.
The Good: I enjoyed Holt's storyline. It provided a good moral dilemma for the character as he was faced up with Olivia who makes him like just as much of a dinosaur as the other commissioners. I liked his decision to support Olivia's chances while she was being oppressed even though he despises her. It was a fitting character moment. Jake and Amy's story has some fun moments and funny laughs which is to be expected. Terry's inability to cheat without feeling guilty and Hitchcock's professional detective work to find it out were very funny. The Bad: It's hard to believe that Rosa wouldn't let Terry have the squad car immediately. Surely she already knows how hard working Terry is, she doesn't need to see it on a camera. This entire story screams filler. The main storyline was funny but it was lacking in substance. The jealousy plot is overused and it didn't do much for me to see it again. I also wasn't a fan of Jake leaving his posting. Charles could easily have kept watch alone instead of having Jake there, and it felt like this was written in specifically to serve the plot, ignoring all logic. Best Moment: The end of the episode with Charles getting jealous was a lovely bit of irony. Character of the Episode: Terry. Conclusion: This was a decent episode but it did nothing to stand out. It was a solid 20 minutes, but it never threatened to be anything more. Score: 62 Summary: Holt and Jake stay overtime to get a suspect to confess to a crime that they know he committed.
The Good: I love the concept of this episode. A full 20 minutes just with Jake and Holt examining their relationship while they try to get a suspect, played by guest actor Sterling K. Brown, to confess. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has pulled off some real highlights in its parody episodes, and that is the case here as the show parodies cop and detective shows, something that I'm surprised it hasn't parodied more often. The jokes worked really well here and I thought that the seriousness of the interrogation and the comedy from the jokes were balanced perfectly throughout. The writing of the overall story was superb and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Phillip attempt to play Jake and Holt against each other, getting Jake to make a big mistake before correcting it with a dramatic monologue that gets Phillip to confess to protect his pride. It was very entertaining and was also the best example of the classic "Jake screws up and has to fix his own problem" trope which was used ceaselessly back in season 1. We haven't seen very much of this trope since then, so it's actually refreshing for it to return here. The jokes were funny too. Jake's silliness was mixed in with Holt being Holt in several instances while also having Holt hilariously going out of character a couple times (his epic rant and the trio of oh damns). The interactions were excellent, and while there were fewer jokes in this episode, the ones that we got were high quality. The jokes that didn't land were few and far between, which is impressive since this show usually has several jokes that miss the mark in each episode. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. Best Moment: The return of the Jake guitar gag from season 1. Not only is it hilarious once again, but it also serves as a great reminder of how much these characters have changed (and remained the same) since season 1. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a really fun and creative episode. Whenever "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" gets creative and breaks the formula in a one-off episode, it usually results in something wonderful. That was absolutely the case in this episode, as the Jake/Holt centric story was a joy to watch while also providing some wonderful laughs. This is undoubtedly a series highlight. Score: 81 Summary: Mando finds Bo Katan and gets her help to track down Gideon. The crew steals an imperial shuttle containing Dr. Pershing and they get information from him. They all get in the imperial shuttle and sneak into Gideon's light cruiser, staging an attack from Boba Fett. Once inside, the girls fight off the stormtroopers and stage a distraction while Mando sneaks off to the cargo bay where the dark troopers are. After battling and defeating one, Mando manages to eject the others into space. Mando goes to Baby Yoda's cell and finds Gideon already there. They fight and Mando defeats him, leaving him alive. Mando returns to the bridge and learns that the darksaber is his now since he defeated Gideon. Suddenly, the dark troopers return and enter the light cruiser, trapping everyone in the bridge, which Gideon expressing that only he and Baby Yoda will survive. An X-wing appears and enters the light cruiser. Luke Skywalker is inside and he destroys all of the dark troopers. Gideon tries to kill himself but Cara stops him and knocks him out. Luke gets to the bridge and Baby Yoda decides to go with him. Baby Yoda says goodbye to Mando. Later on Tatooine, Boba and Fennec take over Jabba's palace.
The Good: The second half of this episode was really well done. I thought that the mission to rescue Baby Yoda gave this episode far more stakes compared to everything that came before and there were some excellent moments of drama that came up later in the episode. The action in particular really stood out. Mando's initial fight with the dark trooper was tense and exciting. It was great to see Mando legitimately pushed to the limit against this thing, and seeing him get utterly decimated by just a single dark trooper made it far more intense when dozens of them returned at the end of the episode. The action sequence against Gideon was also excellent. The choreography, visuals and sound were superb in this sequence, and it was a very intense fight heavy with stakes and suspense. The whole sequence felt gritty and real in a way that most lightsaber duels in "Star Wars" haven't felt since the original trilogy. I was very pleased with this skirmish. Amazingly the episode only got more intense once Gideon went down. I thought the twist of Mando getting ownership of the darksaber was a superb moment that ratcheted up the tension by suggesting some ingroup conflict that has been orchestrated by Gideon, who has become more and more enigmatic as the show has gone on. Gideon was fascinating throughout the episode no matter what he did. His attempt to get Mando to lower his guard was great, his cocky words while in custody did a terrific job of demoralizing the heroes, and his terrified reaction when Luke arrived was priceless. Speaking of which, Luke's appearance was a huge surprise that delivered on every level. Once again the jedi feel mythical in nature, and Luke's silent arrival was tense, exciting and mysterious. Seeing him mow down the dark troopers was brilliant entertainment, and an example of fanservice done well. I thoroughly enjoyed this sequence, and I thought that the decision to use CGI to bring in a younger Mark Hamill was the best choice here for the brief appearance of Luke. The ending of the episode was an emotional high for the show. Having Mando say goodbye to Baby Yoda was a sad moment, and seeing him take off the helmet without hesitation to say goodbye was very powerful stuff. I'm pleased that this season ended on such an emotional and conclusive beat, serving as a perfect conclusion to the story of Mando and Baby Yoda. I also quite liked Cara's conversation with the pilot that happened early in the episode. It was some of the best dialogue written this season and it continued to examine the show's themes. The Bad: I had several issues with the first half of the episode. First of all is the issues with logic. We aren't given any explanation how Mando's group found the shuttle that Dr. Pershing was in. How did they know that this shuttle was coming in? Without this convenient bit of knowledge, their plan would not work at all. This needed to be explained. Furthermore, it's very strange that Dr. Pershing cooperates so much with Mando's group. We don't know why he would do this and we don't even know what happened to him since he cooperated. This should have been addressed. The plan to attack Gideon's ship was pretty terrible. Had there been even a single darktrooper activated in preparation for Mando's attack that he stupidly announced last episode, they would have been screwed. The darktroopers need to charge, but can they not just have 1 patrolling the ship while the others charge? Furthermore, it's ridiculous that Gideon didn't immediately fortify Baby Yoda's holding cell. He knows that Mando is going for Baby Yoda, so everyone should have been sent to defend him. Plus, Mando sneaking around unexpectedly should never have worked, again because Mando stupidly announced to Gideon that he was coming. The final scene of the previous episode has gotten worse and worse as the story moves forward. As a final note, why did Gideon just wait for Mando to show up? He's on a ship! Just fly somewhere else. I thought the assault itself was also lacking. It was more dumb, boring action which didn't do much for me until the darktroopers came out. With the stormtroopers being portrayed as total geeks for 3 other episodes in this season, I felt no tension at all when they were attacking the main crew. Furthermore, the entire sequence was blatantly put together to provide a "strong women" moment. I'm fine with having strong women and showing it off, but it's frustrating when it's so obvious that the writers manufactured the story to make it happen in numerous ways. Some key examples being Mando being off on his own, Boba not helping out with the assault at all, and the third Death Watch member from "The Heiress" (a male character) being conveniently absent. What makes this even worse is that none of these people are well defined characters. This is proven when there is absolutely no interaction between the characters in this episode, which is a shame because fun interactions are a staple of "Star Wars". That tells me that character work was sacrificed in favour of this unnecessary scene where a group of women can dominate the enemies. Again, I am fine with portraying women like this, but the problem comes when the story and characters are ignored in favour of doing this. In this case, it badly hurts the narrative as well as my immersion. I want to return to my statement about fun interactions being a staple of "Star Wars". I firmly stand by this, and I believe that this is what made the original trilogy so engrossing. There's dramatic action, but through it all, there are very strong main characters who are fn to watch and show lots of personality when talking with each other. Nobody in this crew outside of Mando and Cara had any personality, and even Cara hardly has any since she has been handled so poorly this season. Cara had an interesting scene to start the episode where she murders the Imperial pilot who pisses her off, but she doesn't get any character work done outside of that. This is very disappointing since that initial scene didn't explore very deep into the character, and seemed to suggest a character trait that could cause problems during the assault. Instead it never came up again. Something else that never came up again was Bo Katan and Koska Reeves hating Boba for being a clone. This started up as a big deal, but like all other interesting character arcs, was dropped the moment the assault began. I would have much rather seen these stories develop during the assault instead of getting a brainless sequence of women being cool. While I loved the climax of the episode, some small things bothered me about it. For one, when everyone was making their final stand I was confused by the fact that everyone was holding blasters. Blasters don't work on the darktroopers and they know that! Why would they not prioritize using the darksaber and Mando's Beskar spear, the only two weapons in the room that could kill these guys. Also, I thought that Mando taking off his helmet for Baby Yoda had diminished impact since he took off the helmet in the prior episode. Had this been the only time he took off his helmet this season, the moment would have meant so much more. The ending sequence annoyed me a lot. I had hoped that Boba would be an addition to the main cast of this show since he would do well as an engaging supporting character. But since Disney wants more money, he becomes yet another character to get his own spin-off. I'm also very disgusted by his and Ahsoka's presence in this show as they had no impact on the story of "The Mandalorian" and only served to hype up completely different shows that Disney wants us to watch. It's the same tactic they use for the MCU and I'm very upset to see business taking precedence over telling a good story. Furthermore, we still don't know anything about how Boba survived, what he did on Tatooine, how he brought Fennec back, what his motives are, etc. I guess we'll have to watch yet another "Star Wars" TV show to find out, and that's not even a guarantee. Boba's return this season was botched really badly and I'm incredibly disappointed with the lack of character work done on him. The Unknown: What is going to happen with the darksaber? Will Bo Katan allow Mando to have it? Will she fight him for it? How will this be handled? I'm guessing that season 3 will be taking us to Mandalore to see how this is resolved. What happens to Gideon now that he has been captured? I hope we get to see a lot more of him so we can learn more about his motives which are still unclear. The character has thrived purely on Giancarlo Esposito's natural charisma, there is still a lot that we need to learn about him. Will we see Baby Yoda again? What will happen when he joins up with Luke? We know in the future that Kylo Ren will burn down Luke's Jedi temple. Will Baby Yoda die in this sequence or will he escape again? What will Boba Fett do now that he has taken control over Jabba's palace? Best Moment: Mando giving up Baby Yoda and taking off his helmet to share one final moment with the little guy. Character of the Episode: Luke. Seeing him again was wonderful. Conclusion: This episode had a lot of cool stuff in it and the second half in particular was a joy to watch with some exciting twists and dramatic moments. However, this show continues to get in its own way with its insistence on cool stuff being more important than storytelling, and it once again significantly damaged the quality of the episode. As for the season overall, I can't say I was a fan of it. It was watchable stuff, but the lack of character work in favour of self-contained action spectacles that completely lacked in personality was a very uninteresting choice for me. Looking back on this season isn't very pleasant as all I really got out of this was mindless fun that didn't capitalize on any of the potential that this series had. I had a good time for sure since a show as well produced as this will always be entertaining, but I was emotionally unengaged for 95% of this season and I finished every episode except the first one want for more character work, world building and storytelling. This is decent television, but it takes no risks to be anything more and that's very disappointing to me. Score: 62 Summary: Jake is tasked as a negotiator when Doug Judy returns, having secured hostages in an attempted robbery. Charles opens his new food truck and gets Amy and Gina to help. Terry and Holt work to prepare Hitchcock for an interview.
The Good: I really enjoyed the main story. The writers keep coming up with unique ways for Doug to show up and escape after a short period of fun with Jake. This episode managed it very well with the negotiation sequence as well as Doug being in over his head rather than an outright criminal in this episode. I thought the laughs here were really strong and Jake and Doug's interactions were excellent. I also really enjoyed the small role played by the actual negotiator, who was given a lot of funny lines. Hitchcock was very funny in his role and the writers have learned how to perfectly use Hitchcock and Scully now that they have been given a more regular role in the show. The Bad: The side stories are pure fluff even if they have some funny moments. Hitchcock's interview never feels like it will have consequence so it's horribly bland and impossible to invest in. Charles' food truck is a rushed and predictable story that is short on laughs and doesn't use Charles, Amy or Gina in good ways at all. Doug's story doesn't have much to it compared to his previous episodes. It was disappointing to not get much of a character exploration from his episode this time around. Best Moment: Doug and Jake singing karaoke. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: Doug's return made for another very fun outing, though the poor side stories and lack of overall purpose detracted from this episode. It's still enjoyable television, but it's missing something. Score: 66 Summary: Cara takes Mayfeld out of confinement so that he can use his knowledge to help Mando locate Gideon. Mando and Mayfeld hijack a rhydonium transport into an imperial base and enter it, with Mando taking off his armour to don imperial armour. They get attacked by pirates but they survive and make it to the camp. Mando takes his helmet off to use a facial recognition scanner to get Gideon's coordinates. An imperial officer, Valin Hess pulls Mando aside and Mayfeld steps in to save him. Mayfeld served under Valin Hess. Valin Hess asks the two of them for a drink and after discussing the past, Mayfeld snaps and kills him. Mando and Mayfeld manage to escape the facility and blow it up. Cara and Mando decide to let Mayfeld go free. Mando sends a message to Gideon to let him know that they are coming for him.
The Good: I definitely preferred the pacing and themes of this episode compared to the last one which ended up being mostly just an action spectacle. This episode told a much better story, opting to center on a supporting character in Mayfeld while exploring several interesting themes and ideas as we learn more about Mayfeld. I enjoyed this and I thought it made for a richer viewing experience as Mayfeld went from reluctantly doing Mando's bidding to save his own skin to actively working against the Imperials who seemingly abused him and his comrades when he was likely in service (see: The Unknown). I really enjoyed this story for Mayfeld and I thought that there were some unique ideas explored here like freedom vs order and the justification of the empire's cruelty presented by Valin Hess. Mando's story was pretty good as well. I love the idea of him having to take off his helmet to save Baby Yoda and I thought that this was executed mostly well with a few issues (see: The Bad). Overall I thought this was a good development and it gave the episode a more emotional and thoughtful edge to get us to question how far Mando can bend his own rules for Baby Yoda's sake before realizing that Mando is willing to do whatever it takes to get Baby Yoda back. I liked the pacing of this episode too. It was refreshing to see several characters going together on a mission while moving along their own individual character arcs in the process. This is the heart of what "Star Wars" is about, and I thought that this was missing in the previous episodes. Having a team set up and enact a plan while encountering dilemmas that forced inner conflict within the characters is a simple but effective way of storytelling, and it helped make this episode stand out. There were some details I liked. The seismic charge was a nice callback to the prequels and it was produced amazingly well. I also really liked that Mayfeld's concern for being recognized was misplaced and Valin Hess didn't remember him at all. It really showed that the lives of the soldiers who served these officers are not considered important at all. Lastly, Boba Fett's line about having a recognizable face was a clever bit of humour that made me openly laugh. The Bad: While I applaud this episode for exploring meaningful themes, I found them to be alarmingly black and white. "Star Wars" has always been about looking at the world as either good or bad, but I would have preferred to see a deeper and less simplistic view of things as a way to grow the scope of the franchise. Leaving things in black and white makes it hard for "Star Wars" to tell more meaningful stories. The whole pirate attack sequence was really bland television. It's the kind of boring action filler that I would expect from a procedural drama, not a show like this. And it wasn't even good action. So many things about this sequence made no sense. First of all, the motive of the pirates is never revealed so we don't know why they are targeting the rhydonium. This is a severe flaw because we learn later that the rhydonium would be used as a weapon to kill. So was Mando killing pirates that were simply trying to save their own planet? This should be a big deal but it is never mentioned or explored and the pirates remain as generic bad guys. It's very poor writing. Furthermore, a lot of details were horribly inconsistent. It's apparently really risky for Mando to shoot a blaster near rhydonium, yet the TIE fighter blasts were somehow acceptable? Furthermore, if rhydonium is so unstable, why would the thermal detonator need to be placed directly on top of it? Just throw the damn thing and watch it detonate! The pirates are stupid for even attempting to board the Juggernaut. The end with them all being detonated at once was also absurdly stupid. Did they really not expect Mando to throw the detonator back at them? Also it was mighty convenient that the detonators always took forever to explode when Mando needed to throw them away. This is just atrocious writing for an action scene. And as a final quibble that really frustrated me, defining these guys as pirates is factually incorrect since pirates pillage and steal, they never just destroy things without expecting to collect plunder. The writers couldn't be bothered to come up with motives for these people so they incorrectly decided to call them pirates instead. It's woeful writing made worse by the fact that having these "pirates" be village folk instead would have made for a much more compelling story. There were several moments that broke my immersion. For one, why was Mayfeld the only person that wasn't wearing a helmet? That's just incredibly suspicious and it makes him stand out when there's supposed to be a stealthy mission happening. I understand that they wanted Bill Burr's face to be visible, but it really breaks your immersion to see this. Another detail was the facial scan that had to be completed. Facial scans are meant to determine if the person accessing the system has the authority to do what they need to do. Running a facial scan to simply verify that there is a person there is a lousy system that feels like it was lazily slapped into the episode to give Mando a reason to take off his helmet. Finally, there is the convenient idea that Moff Gideon's coordinates could be easily tracked from an Imperial system. This is a very easy solution to be sure, and it's made way more ridiculous when you realize that if Gideon simply moves his ship, Mando's team would never be able to find him since his coordinates will have changed and they have no way of knowing where he went. Another immensely dumb scene was Cara and Mando deciding that Mayfeld died in the blast. I thought they sprung him out of jail in secret, so why would they acknowledge that they went with him to this planet as the reason for his disappearance? Also wouldn't Cara be in huge trouble for this? She took Mayfeld away in broad daylight and never brought him back. Plus she deserted her job posting to help Mando. Having her join the New Republic is a development that keeps getting worse and worse. It seems that the show has no interest in exploring a single thing Boba Fett has done since "Return of the Jedi". This is an unfathomable skip in character development and it leaves me feeling absolutely nothing towards Boba Fett. The final scene of the episode is highly problematic for me. Having Mando remember exactly what Gideon said to him back in "The Reckoning" is very implausible, and it made for an absurdly cheesy ending speech that made no sense. Having Mando passionately express his desire to get Baby Yoda back would have been much more relatable and emotional, but instead Mando mocks Gideon in a way that forces me to suspend my disbelief a great deal for a speech that doesn't have any emotional impact at all. Furthermore, notifying Gideon of his impending arrival seems like an idiotic idea, and unless Mando is somehow preparing a trap, this has to be one of the stupidest things he has done so far. My final point is a familiar one. Yet again we have an episode of this show where Mando goes to a new planet to accomplish a small task that he needs to do to progress the plot which results in an action sequence that has absolutely no tension because we know the characters will make it out okay. This formula has been frustratingly repetitive throughout the season and it continued to annoy me in this episode. The Unknown: Does Mando have a plan to get Baby Yoda back? If so, what is it? Who will he recruit for help? Was Mayfeld a stormtrooper in the past? What exactly was Operation: Cinder? I know it was an event from one of the video games but I never knew what it was. Will it be explained in the show? Best Moment: The table scene between Mayfeld, Mando and Valin Hess was excellent stuff, nicely exploring the character of Mayfeld and the themes of the episode. Character of the Episode: Mayfeld. Conclusion: This episode impressed me with its exploration of themes and Mayfeld's character. However, there was a whole myriad of stupid writing that plagued this episode and makes it completely fall apart under further scrutiny. Despite all I liked about it, the disaster that was the writing meant that this wasn't a good episode overall. Score: 53 Summary: Kevin is put in a safe house against his will with Jake as protection, stirring conflict between Kevin and Holt. The rest of the precinct works to bust Seamus so that Kevin can go back to his normal life.
The Good: The Jake and Kevin pairing worked wonders. Their dynamic ended up being a tremendous amount of fun and many of the episodes funniest scenes featured the two of them interacting with each other. From a pure comedic standpoint, this episode was terrific and nailed a lot of things, particularly in this main storyline. Holt also had some really good moments, like his ridiculous text messages. All in all, I really enjoyed the main story. The side stories also had their moments. Rosa in particular was hilarious as she is forced to ham it up in order to get some information from Seamus' girlfriend, while also getting a terrible new hairdo. The Bad: Seamus as a character completely failed. He was another uninteresting villain that was taken out in a completely uninteresting way. I understand that serious plot isn't the point of this show and that comedy is the main goal. But if that's the case, then why introduce a story like this if the resolution is going to be as silly as this? It feels awkward and everything after Holt gets kidnapped felt completely at odds with the laughs happening in the safe house and library. I do find it hard to believe that Jake doesn't have any of the Die Hard movies in his DVD collection. The Scully/Amy/Terry storyline was very silly and simplistic and didn't do much for me in terms of comedy. It was a fine way to progress the story in a joking way though. Best Moment: Kevin realizing that Jake had some genuinely good movies in his collection that they never watched. Character of the Episode: Kevin. He really got to shine here. Conclusion: This episode was really funny with the interactions between Jake and Kevin being a highlight of the show. But there are still tonal problems with how the show utilizes its recurring villains and that hurts this episode. Score: 68 Summary: Seamus Murphy gets Holt to do a favour for him, and Jake and Charles do their best to get Holt out of his involvement with Seamus. Amy gets Rosa to help her with complex bureacratic paperwork.
The Good: I thought the main storyline was pretty good. The introduction of Kyle as a silly side character works well enough and there are some good laughs that come about from his antics. The plot of Jake and Charles trying to save Holt does have weight to it, and it gave a good reason for Jake to never want to give up, highlighting his growth from season 1. Plus we got a lot of nice references to "The Godfather" which worked pretty well, especially with Charles relating everything to Diane Keaton. Amy and Rosa's story is also surprisingly well done and it utilizes both characters extremely well with a fun cameo from Hitchcock at the end. It was nice to get a side story that had relevance to the main story while also exploring the characters and their relationships in new ways. The Bad: Kyle was a bit too much at times, and I feel like more subtlety could have worked better. The Terry and Gina storyline wasn't interesting and it went to a predictable and underwhelming conclusion. Plus there weren't very many jokes in this story. Lastly, I find that the tone of having crime boss Seamus Murphy around is hurtful for the show and he seems like a very bland character. The overarching storylines typically haven't been very compelling and this episode does not give me hope for any change. Best Moment: Amy's speech on bureaucracy was a fantastic and creative piece of comedy. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: Overall this was another solid episode. It had some flaws to be sure, but as a whole I had a lot of fun and laughed several times. Score: 66 Summary: Jake helps Rosa when she struggles to tell her parents that she is bi. The precinct goes to Gina for help to get better internet from cyber crimes.
The Good: The Jake and Rosa story is really good. I love that an entire episode was dedicated to Rosa dealing with coming out to her parents and I thought that the story was very well written. It was funny at a lot of points, especially with Jake always being placed so awkwardly, but it never detracted from the seriousness of the story as Rosa's parents prove to be very unaccepting of her. There are ebbs and flows throughout and Stephanie Beatriz is superb here at conveying Rosa's emotional state throughout the episode. I especially appreciated the decision to end the episode without a cheap happy ending as Rosa's parents still have trouble accepting her. However, ending with the entire squad going to Rosa's place for game night was a lovely moment to close out the episode. Plus, Rosa's parents were a lot of fun and I really should have guessed that Danny Trejo would be Rosa's father, it makes perfect sense. Gina's return is pretty well handled and that storyline has some fun moments even though it clearly plays second fiddle in this episode. I thought there was a good story here with Gina deciding to stay with the Nine-Nine. Lastly, I really enjoyed the secret Santa cold open with Jake figuring out all the pairings. The Bad: The cyber crimes storyline led to some lame jokes about the Nine-Nine not being tech savvy which didn't really land for me. Other than that, I don't have anything big that I didn't like. Best Moment: Jake singing the "song" he apparently made for Rosa was the funniest joke of the episode for me. Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode that did a lot for Rosa as a character. While not the funniest or the most emotional the show has ever been, this was still an excellent episode of comedy. Season 5 continues to deliver. Score: 73 Summary: Mando arrives on Tython and takes Baby Yoda to the seeing stone where Baby Yoda uses his powers and separates from reality. Boba Fett and Fennec arrive to the planet and start negotiating with Mando to get Boba's armour back. A sudden transport of stormtroopers arrives and attacks and the three team up to take them down. They are eventually overwhelmed but Boba gets his armour and chases them away. Moff Gideon arrives on an imperial cruiser and blows up Mando's ship. He sends dark troopers which take Baby Yoda and takes him. Mando goes to the New Republic and meets up with Cara as he, Boba and Fennec plan to get Baby Yoda back.
The Good: I thought that the opening scene of the episode was really good, far more emotional than anything we got in the last episode, which was quite hollow. This time we actually get to see how Mando feels about Baby Yoda, with his encouragement of his training and the realization that he won't be able to be with Baby Yoda forever since he isn't able to go with him into the world of the force. Mando isn't force-sensitive so there's forever going to be a barrier blocking him off from Baby Yoda, and he's never going to be able to cross that barrier. I enjoyed Moff Gideon's arrival in the episode. Much of what happened before he arrived was fun, but it was lacking in true suspense and tension (see: The Bad). But with Moff Gideon arriving and destroying the Razor Crest, a vehicle we have grown to love over the past 14 episodes, it elevated the stakes immediately and the episode reached a brilliant level of tension as Baby Yoda is surprisingly kidnapped and Mando loses everything he has. It's an effective sequence that serves as a surprising climax for the show while leaving an exciting cliffhanger as Mando prepares to get Baby Yoda back. Additionally, I quite liked the final scene between Gideon and Baby Yoda as it emphasized the tyrannical nature of Gideon and the angry defiance of Baby Yoda which could make him very susceptible to the dark side. I probably will not use the name Grogu. I don't like it very much and Baby Yoda sounds much cuter. The Bad: The return of Boba Fett was badly botched. This doesn't feel like the character he used to be, and not in a good way at all. Suddenly Boba has become a chatterbox which is far removed from what he used to be. And this would be fine if we got to see how he became like this, but it's never revealed to us, which is very disappointing. In fact we learned nothing about Boba at all in this episode. We don't know his motives, we don't know much about who he is, we don't know why he wants his armour, and this prevents me from relating with the character at all. He feels like he could be replaced with literally anybody else and it would not make a difference. I feel nothing towards the character and even though his return had some cool moments, it left me feeling extremely empty inside, not dissimilar to Ahsoka from the previous episode. The show is just lacking storytelling with its characters. It doesn't help that Boba's arrival has several plot holes to it. If Boba was simply after his armour, why didn't he just get in from Cobb? He clearly knew he had it, so it makes little sense that Boba wouldn't have done anything about it. Furthermore, it's been 5 years since Boba was eaten by the Sarlacc which is a long time. We needed answers for what he's been doing since then and why he hasn't gone for the armour or left Tatooine in this time. We get no such answers and that is very sloppy. Furthermore, we need to know how he survived being eaten and how he somehow ended up away from his armour. Getting no answers for this is really weak character work and it leaves me with too many questions for Boba's return to feel even slightly satisfying. Additionally, why didn't Boba confront Mando when he saw him on Tatooine? Instead he has practically chased him across the galaxy! This seems incredibly counterproductive for Boba to do. And even more annoyingly, how the heck did Boba chase Mando through hyperspace? This was established in "The Last Jedi", it does not exist yet. And it's impossible to believe that Mando flew to both Corvus and Tython without using hyperspace since Mando has clearly stated that hyperspace is essential for his survival. On top of all that, the dialogue between Mando and Boba isn't good either. Boba was just looking to get the armour which was rightfully his, knowing full well that Mando would give it once he proves that the armour is his, which as we saw, he could easily do. But instead, Boba comes in with hostility and threatens Baby Yoda while also making it seem like he was just some random guy who wanted the armour instead of the rightful owner. All he had to do was explain to Mando that his father was a foundling and the tension would have deflated. Instead Boba inexplicably kept saying the exact wrong things to make things more confrontational. It ended up being a frustrating sequence. The ensuing action sequence also did not do much for me. The stormtroopers keep getting effortlessly destroyed by the main characters so they have already lost any sense of danger that they originally had. Seeing an entire transport run away from one man wearing armour only to be blown up immediately was incredibly silly, and now even an entire legion of stormtroopers pose no threat in the show. I will never be able to take them seriously, and that removes any sort of stakes to the action as I'm never concerned for the fate of the heroes. I thought the action in this episode ended up being hollow and boring because of the lack of stakes, and I didn't get into it until Moff Gideon arrived. I found the end of the episode to be disappointing too. Mando lost everything and it feels like he should be in a really bad place right now. But the episode doesn't spend enough time focusing on what the events of this episode have done to Mando, instead they are happy to gloss over his emotions to set up a rescue mission immediately. Also, the episode reveals that Cara is now part of the New Republic. I'm very disappointed that this key decision for Cara was glossed over entirely, making it almost entirely meaningless to see her there. Furthermore, she's going to be breaking the rules immediately which should be a key point of inner conflict for Cara. Instead it's not explored at all, and the kidnapping of Baby Yoda gets Cara on board right away. Is it too much for me to expect even a little bit of storytelling and character conflict from this show? The lack of details also completely ruined the planet of Tython. Tython ended up being nothing interesting at all, which is hugely disappointing when you consider that this is a planet in the deep core that used to house a jedi temple. The total lack of worldbuilding is a massive disappointment, and I find myself wishing that we had gotten much more than what we actually got. Also, why was Fennec coming back to life not a bigger deal than this? This is literal resurrection and it should be a massive deal for this universe, instead Mando shrugs it off entirely, and the moment isn't treated like as much of a big deal as it should be. It's very disappointing since Anakin's entire turn to the dark side hinged on him wanting the power to save Padme's life. For Boba to just have this power now is absurd. As a final point, this episode wasn't even 30 minutes long which is absurdly short. It makes me even more frustrated to see so many key storytelling details skipped over when there easily could have been another 20 minutes to this episode. It's one thing to have short episodes that make me wish for more, but it's another thing to have short episodes when there is clearly a lot more story that should have been told. The Unknown: What does Mando need Mayfeld for? How will he try to get Baby Yoda back? What happened to Boba that allowed him to survive the Sarlacc? How did he lose his armour? Why does he want it back? Why didn't he get it back sooner? Why did he stay on Tatooine for so long? What are his goals? How did he bring Fennec back to life? Best Moment: The opening moments between Mando and Baby Yoda. Character of the Episode: Baby Yoda. Conclusion: This episode had a quick pace and lots of action but not much more than that. The character dynamics, worldbuilding and storytelling was hugely flawed and I did not enjoy much of it at all. This episode should have had a lot more to it. Season 2 has been fun but the lack of quality storytelling is hurting it massively. Score: 52 Summary: After going to LA for their former captain's funeral, the Nine-Nine try to rush back to Brooklyn to get Holt to an interview for the commissioner position.
The Good: This was tremendous fun. For a show that always splits its characters into multiple stories, it feels incredibly refreshing to have an episode where everyone is together for the whole episode in a single story. There are smaller subplots of course, but having everyone together makes this monumental 99th episode feel legitimately special (as a side note, I really appreciate the decision to focus on the 99th episode instead of the 100th). I thought that bringing back the Seamus Murphy plot line worked pretty well and it gave this episode a unique dynamic as Holt sabotages all of the attempts to get back to Brooklyn only for the Nine-Nine to step up and get him there anyways. Just about every character here was enjoyable. Jake and Holt's relationship is still a highlight of the show and their dynamic was explored well here with tons of excellent jokes. Furthermore, the trip to Nakatomi plaza was tremendous fun courtesy of Andy Samberg's intense excitement. Terry being obsessed about enjoying something has become something of a trait for him (first class Terry!) so I enjoyed seeing it here. The best storyline for me was Rosa and Charles. Charles trying to figure out the name of her boyfriend only for the reveal that Rosa is bi was a terrific story to tell, one that had actual consequence and developed both the characters and the relationship they have. And it was funny too. I wish all episodes had the consistency across all storylines that this one did. Lastly, the visit with the Texas Boyles was a lot of fun, fit the show perfectly, and led to plenty of good jokes. The Bad: The one character who didn't entirely work was Amy. Surely she should know not to try to be super chill anymore since it hasn't worked for her in the past. However, I will say that the resolution with Amy going crazy to get Holt back to Brooklyn was tremendously fun. Even though I've had problems with Gina's character last season, it doesn't feel right for her to be absent in an episode like this. Best Moment: Tough to call. Character of the Episode: Charles. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode that celebrated the show in a nearperfect way. A unique plot with some excellent character beats, a whole host of wonderful jokes, including several staples of the show that were used in an effective way. What's there not to love about this? I'm not sure what it is that the team behind the show realized after season 4, but this season has been a massive step up. Score: 82 Summary: When Parlov comes to the precinct with another problem, Jake and Terry take his case again, this time with Rosa's help. Holt, Amy and Charles prepare for a guest instructor in an attempt to get a certification for the precinct.
The Good: Some jokes here were pretty good, which is to be expected from the show. I thought that the main plot had a lot to it and did well to utilize a lot of different elements. The Bad: But much of this episode was a miss for me. Skyfire wasn't a great concept last season so I see absolutely no reason to revisit it here. The jokes were repetitive and felt familiar, and I didn't get much out of seeing Parlov and fantasy book parodies for a second time. The episode just didn't justify returning to this concept. Terry's writing was an okay storyline, but it was predictable and by-the-numbers the whole time. The Holt side story was weak. Charles constantly telling stories feels like one of those gimmicks that only exist for one episode, and I highly doubt we will see it again. Holt was out of character here as he inexplicably prioritized a certification over Charles' health, which is something that he is known to not do. It felt like regression to have Holt go through this storyline. Best Moment: Rosa wearing the exact outfit as another character and walking into the convention to find others dressed like her was the best laugh of the episode for me. Character of the Episode: I'll go with Rosa. Her reactions to Jake and Terry being nerds were fun. Conclusion: This was the first disappointing episode of the season. There just wasn't much to this episode and it's easily the weakest of the season so far. Score: 51 Summary: Jake and Amy unite their families for Thanksgiving. Holt's pie is stolen and he suspects everyone in the precinct of stealing it.
The Good: This episode was very rich in laughs. The huge influx of guest stars in this episode really helped it, and allowed the show to step out of its comfort zone in a number of ways. The Jake and Amy story is excellent. The concept is simple, relatable and set up perfectly for laughs. It's a basic sitcom storyline, but it's executed really well with the outlined differences between the Peraltas and Santiagos setting up for some really funny moments. Bradley Whitford and Jimmy Smits are a joy throughout the episode, and even though Jake and Amy get shifted to the background a bit, the episode does a wonderful job of letting these guest actors shine. The precinct storyline was also a blast and had a unique take on detective work with Holt accusing everyone of lying and breaking through their alibis. Holt's antics are a blast, and the 3 confessions that Rosa, Terry and Charles had to make were quite funny. I also really liked Hitchcock and Scully doing expert detective work when it comes to food, which was funnier than it should have been. The Bad: Not many gripes with this one. I thought that Jake and Amy could have done more than simply reacting to the chaos around them. Best Moment: Plenty to choose from. I'll go with the 3 confessions and Holt's dismissive reactions to them. He just needed to know who took his pie. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode that had plenty of laughs and 2 memorable storylines that utilized the main cast and the guest stars quite well. Not quite perfectly, but it was close. For a show that struggles with making consistent storylines, this is an especially impressive episode. This season has been very good so far with consistent episodes and a few that really shine. I'm hoping that this consistency can continue. Score: 74 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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