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
1 Comment
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: 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: 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: 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: 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 Summary: Jake and Amy book a venue for their wedding only for it to be snagged by The Vulture. Charles and Rosa are tasked to find the missing Sergeant Peanut Butter. Holt tries to get Terry to acknowledge his problem that he loves to be loved by everyone.
The Good: I enjoyed a lot of this. Jake and Amy's enthusiasm carried the main story and I found their interactions to be tons of fun. The Vulture's cameo was pretty good and the show found a creative way to use him by having him snag Jake and Amy's venue despite not being into his own relationship at all. Having Jake and Amy go after him and ending up in a moral crisis was enjoyable television that had good storytelling and some nice laughs. Hitchcock's brief appearances were also excellent. Terry and Holt's story feels like filler but it's helped by the fact that both Terry Crews and Andre Braugher brought their A-game to some good dialogue and laughs, making the most out of every moment. Rosa and Charles' story was fine and had the odd laugh as well. What worked best was how Terry and Charles' storylines combined with a feel-good ending. The Bad: The two side storylines were rather dull until the ending. As much fun as I had with them, I can't overlook how thin they felt and how rushed they were throughout the episode. The toit nups line was very much hammered in and it felt like the episode was trying to hard to make a catchphrase. It was amusing the first time, but after that it became annoying. Best Moment: Holt's anger at being called Ray by Terry. Is there anything Holt says that isn't funny? Character of the Episode: Holt, though Terry is a close second. Conclusion: This was another solid episode, but another episode that didn't really excel. I'm glad that this season has found more consistency and this episode was a breeze to watch, but I can't help but feel that the show can do better than this. In spite of this, I have been enjoying this season so far. Score: 65 Summary: Holt falls back into a gambling addiction when helping Jake and Terry with a case. Rosa tries to prove to Hitchcock and Scully that she can sit for longer than them. Charles gets Amy's help to open up a food truck business.
The Good: I enjoyed much of this. The central story was very well done. Holt's gambling past feels odd to be brought up this late in the show, yet it fits perfectly with the character. There have been hints of his love for gambling before (like the one episode with Pimento) and this character conflict fits nicely with the less robotic personality that Holt had in the past. The story was told well, had some nice moments and a lot of good laughs. I really enjoyed the contractions reveal since it made perfect sense, was set up well, and made Jake look genuinely smart as a detective. The side stories were fine. Charles' murder truck had some good ideas and Rosa gaining respect for Hitchcock and Scully was a nice side venture. The Bad: I do wish that the side stories had been given more time to develop. They felt rushed and I feel like more could have been done with them. Amy investing in Charles' truck was a strange idea and not one that I ever bought into. Their storyline and conflict was silly and quite difficult to buy into. Neither character came off well in this episode. This episode as a whole wasn't as funny as the show usually is. It's still good stuff, but coming off of last week's hilarious episode it was a noticeable step down. Best Moment: I'll go with Charles becoming Jake's "BM" in the cold open. Easily the funniest part of the episode. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: While not one of the show's funnier episodes, this was pretty solid and it had some nice moments. A good episode. Score: 65 Summary: The precinct competes in its fifth annual Halloween heist, with everybody getting a chance to claim the title of amazing human/genius.
The Good: Halloween episodes always deliver and this was no exception. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" excels when its characters are allowed to be them goofy selves for good reason, and that reason was provided here. The motivation of the heist allowed everyone to be at their entertaining best in attempts to win, and with the show's sense of humour getting better and better with each season, the Halloween episodes too continue to get better and better. This episode was absolutely hilarious with superb jokes surrounding things like Bill's pyramid scheme, Amy's constant trashing of Jake and Holt's never-ending supply of hilarious lines including "you're just some common bitch" and his excessive repetition of "cummerbund". As expected of Halloween episodes, this one had twists on top of twists until it ended and it was tremendous fun to watch all of them. Furthermore, the final twist of Jake asking Amy to marry him was absolutely perfect. Not only was it fitting for their relationship but it also gave this episode a greater purpose to it, and provided a genuinely touching and memorable moment to close out the episode. Plus getting the whole precinct's reactions was a magnificent touch. The Bad: Nothing I can call bad. This was tremendous entertainment. Best Moment: There are so many outstanding jokes and lines to choose from, and on top of that there's the wonderful moment of Jake proposing. If I had to single out just one moment, I'll go with Terry being given 3 GPS trackers before the heist, something that was laughably ridiculous yet fit in perfectly with the both the tone of the show and the crazy antics of Halloween heists. Conclusion: Such a magnificent episode of television. These Halloween heists feel like they are from a completely different show with their extreme absurdity, insane fun factor and crazy creativity. It's a blast every season and this one was the very best of them. This was both a hilarious episode and a touching episode and it was easily the best episode the show has ever done. I doubt we'll see this kind of quality from the show again... at least until the next Halloween episode. Score: 85 Summary: Jake gets Holt to evaluate him so that he can get back to working a case, as opposed to just doing desk work. Rosa gets advice from Terry and Amy when she thinks that Pimento is cheating on her.
The Good: This was a fun episode and a welcome return to the status quo after what was probably the show's longest overarching storyline so far. It was a blast getting a story just centered around the precinct for once. I greatly enjoyed Jake's storyline in this episode. Not only was it funny with Holt being a gem as usual (the squats were hilarious), but it also put Jake through some worthy character development, showing us how his time in prison affected him. I really like this detail and it's one of the first times in this show that I've felt like the events of these overarching storylines have had consequences. Rosa is handled similarly well. The writers are smart enough to run a different story with her, this time fixated on her relationship with Pimento. Their story is very well written as well and we get to learn more about how Rosa was affected by prison. The break-up with Pimento was well handled and well explored and I thought that the characters were very well utilized. And of course Terry and Amy were terrific in their supporting roles. Pimento was used sparingly here and that role fits him much better than being pushed the the forefront of the story. Pimento's always funniest when he comes in for the odd joke. The Bad: The only character who I thought wasn't handled well was Charles. He's funny, but it really feels like he's just along for the ride and is as useless as Hitchcock and Scully throughout the episode. A lot of Jake's poor decisions in this episode should have been checked up by Charles to properly draw on the fact that Jake may not be the same but instead Charles comes off as a total chump. Is he funny? Yeah. But the character looks like a woeful detective in this episode. Best Moment: There were lots of great jokes. I laughed the hardest at Pimento screaming during hopscotch. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to Terry, he was terrific here. Conclusion: This was a refreshing episode. The characters were all utilized well, the stories were good and the episode had tons of great jokes. Score: 70 Summary: Jake tries to get information on Romero to give to the warden. The Nine-Nine work to find some evidence on Hawkins to get Jake and Rosa out of jail.
The Good: There is a lot to enjoy here. Jake's story is pretty fun and has some fun moments like with Jake in solitary, and the creative turn of events that ended with Jake being found out as a snitch despite him doing everything right. The Nine-Nine working to free Jake had fun moments. I enjoyed Amy being weirded out by Charles' antics and straight Holt was an absolute delight to watch. The ending reveal with Holt using Seamus to frame Hawkins is an intriguing development that ends the episode fittingly. The Bad: It makes no sense that Romero would tell Jake where the blizz comes in just because he is using it. He's high, he could literally tell anyone else this information at any given moment! Romero as a whole didn't quite click because the character didn't have a whole lot to him. The same goes for Caleb who felt like he was straight out of a cartoon for much of this episode. As expected, Hawkins' defeat is very by-the-numbers and surprisingly unsatisfying. I suppose this will go down as another rather forgettable storyline due to the tame ending that Hawkins was given. Best Moment: Every moment with straight Holt was magic. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This episode was a bit of a mixed bag. There were plenty of funny moments but some aspects of this overarching story didn't land as well as I had hoped. I suppose that's par for the course for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and its long-running storylines though. Score: 61 Summary: Jake tries to survive in prison with his cellmate Caleb the cannibal. Rosa sends Holt and Terry to do tasks for her when they make her feel uncomfortable by behaving weirdly around her.
The Good: This was overall a pretty good episode. I thought that the prison setting was utilized very well and Jake was hilarious throughout the episode as he tried to settle in. His interactions with Caleb were a ton of fun and the show did well in crafting a memorable side character with Caleb and his cannibalistic antics. The brief exploration of the corruption of the prison system worked surprisingly well, especially since the show actually focused on the topic for more than just a small laugh. I enjoyed Rosa's side story as well which was written brilliantly to showcase Rosa's discomfort while also allowing Holt, Terry and even Hitchcock to be at their comedic best. The Bad: Some of the jokes were far too dark for the show. I understand that spending so much time in the prison would cause tonal issues, but I still feel like much of this episode bordered on territory that was too dark and upsetting. Caleb is funny, but the more time the show spends on the cannibalism idea, the more uncomfortable I became. I feel similarly to the character of Romero who feels far too serious and threatening to fit appropriately in a comedy show. Best Moment: Holt playing the gay card (yas queen). Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This episode had tonal problems but overall it utilized the setting well and ended up being very funny. This was really enjoyable and is probably one of the show's better episodes that focus on an overarching story. Score: 69 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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