Summary: Jake recruits Wuntch, CJ and The Vulture to help the Nine Nine bring down John Kelly, leading to lots of tension. Terry is in denial about his transfer.
The Good: This episode and the last are polar opposites. Where the last episode poorly utilized the characters and had a shocking lack of effective jokes, this episode had some of the best and funniest character interactions I can remember in the show with nearly every joke landing perfectly. This is "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" working at its fullest potential. Finally the overarching story is actually used well because it doesn't take itself too seriously and the episode is packed with jokes no matter what the situation is. This show has always failed when we are expected to take it seriously. Thankfully that's not the case here at all. Furthermore, the characters are all used perfectly. Terry's gimmick makes logical sense as he's in denial about a very real problem, and the show isn't concerned with tricking us into thinking that Terry's actually leaving. It's a plot used to make jokes which is perfect, and Terry's constant denial is joked about in really clever ways. The side characters are utilized perfectly in this episode and all of them are hilarious. I've had problems with the repetitiveness of Wuntch, the blandness of The Vulture and the over-the-top nature of CJ, but I thought all three characters were at their best in this episode, bringing in jokes at perfect time. Plus with so many characters in the episode, each characters shtick never got old and it was 20 minutes of pure fun with some outstanding jokes packed in there. The Bad: Nothing I would call bad. Best Moment: It's incredibly hard to pick. I'll have to go with Rosa questioning Holt calling Wuntch a snake only for him to reply "the devil comes in many forms". The icing on the cake is Rosa nodding as if it's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Character of the Episode: It's a hard choice. I'll go with Terry for this one. Conclusion: This is exactly what I've wanted from the show. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is always at its best when it commits to being silly, fast-paced fun and I'm very glad that it went all out for this episode. All in all, this was a very memorable season finale that ended up being one of the show's best episodes. The season as a whole wasn't quite so good. I've used the word inconsistent many times in my reviews when describing this season and I wholeheartedly stand by that. This season had some really good episodes but it had far more stinkers than any other season. Some good ideas were explored well, but even more bad ideas came up and detracted from the episodes. In its favour, I can safely say that season 6 was the most ambitious and experimental season of the show, with plenty of episodes that took risks and tried something different. I appreciate the risks but not all of them paid off unfortunately, and a lot of choices in this season did not work. One other big talking point about this season was the departure of Gina and unfortunately this was the worst part of the season. Gina has always been the weakest character of the show and this season utilized her worse than any other. Overall, I enjoyed parts of this season but much of it was incredibly disappointing to me. This was one of the show's weakest seasons, along with season 4, but I hope that the showrunners have learned what works and what does not so we can get a more consistent experience in season 7. Score: 82
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Summary: Holt tasks Jake and Charles with hunting down a serial killer using traditional methods to spite John Kelly. Terry learns he's going to be transferred to Staten Island so he tries to get a coworker, Brian, to quit so that the Nine Nine can have enough funding to keep him there.
The Good: I liked parts of this. It was nice to see Caleb again and I enjoyed Jake and Charles investigation story. The episode's clear highlights came from Holt dissing Kelly repeatedly. The Terry storyline is decent fun and there are some good moments throughout. Hearing Down with the Sickness play at the end was beautiful, and I think this "suicide squad" set-up is a really exciting idea for the next episode. The Bad: But this episode wasn't very good. Once again "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" goes towards an overarching story and it does not work. This episode did not have enough laughs and the story was bland and predictable. Of course Kelly is so villainous that he tries to make New York a police state. Of course his henchman said baba booey on hot clues for some stupid reason so that Jake could make the connection. The writing is horrible and I don't care for this Holt vs Kelly story since we know Kelly obviously won't end up succeeding, just like all the other villains in the show. Caleb's return was fun but the character was really sold down the river by having him spontaneously try to bite anyone that gets near him. The cannibal jokes started to get old last time we saw Caleb, and it's disappointing that his return only led to even more of these horrible cannibal jokes. The Terry story is underwhelming as well. It's obvious Terry isn't going to be leaving and the episode doesn't do enough with this idea to be funny. As a final note, I didn't like how minimal of a role Amy, Rosa and Charles played in this episode. In an ensemble sitcom it's weak when half of the characters hardly do anything in an episode. Best Moment: Probably Terry trying to claim that Staten Island is still part of the city. Not many other moments made me smile. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was really underwhelming. It set up a fun story for the next episode but I was stunned by how dull and unfunny this was, especially for a show that has usually at least been entertaining even if not always hilarious. The inconsistency of season 6 continues. Score: 49 Summary: On the day of Terry's lieutenant's exam, the precinct decides to do the delayed Halloween heist.
The Good: Clearly my negativity in the last episode was misplaced as I had completely forgotten that we hadn't seen a Halloween heist in this season yet. And as usual, it was spectacular. The crazy twists and turns and the vicious competitiveness of all of the characters has become par for the course for these heists and as ever, it was tremendous fun to see everything go down. So many parts of this episode were terrifically funny, like Holt's constant insults and claims that he is the only two-time winner, Amy and Jake's taser gifts, Jake constantly betraying Terry, the second Scully and the return of Bill (he's not dead!). All of these moments were fantastic and were incredibly fun to watch. The creativity on display in these Halloween episodes is unmatched, and it's no wonder that these are always so much fun to watch. Having Terry win this one was perfect, as was the reveal that he already became a lieutenant weeks ago and simply orchestrated all of this to have his big moment and one-up the rest of the precinct. The Bad: Nothing about this episode was bad. The only reservation I have is that these Halloween episodes almost feel like they are from an entirely different show, one that is far better than this one. I wish the show could be this good in every episode. Instead it feels like I have to get through the show, waiting for it to entertain me in the select few episodes as good as this one. Best Moment: So many moments to pick from. Character of the Episode: Terry. Conclusion: This episode won't change my opinion about the season as a whole, but wow I had a tremendously fun time watching it. The Hallwoeen episodes are the best thing this show has done and every season they seem to be several levels above everything else that the show does. This episode was no exception and managed to be just as fun as last season's Halloween episode, which is no mean feat. Even as the show is starting to lose my faith, I'm still excited to see more of these. Score: 84 Summary: Jake is thrilled when he and Terry get to meet with Gina again but he finds that she is surprisingly distant. Holt is convinced Nikolaj is a genius and helps Charles give him the training he needs. Rosa is injured but refuses to take any help from Amy.
The Good: The physical comedy of Rosa trying to open the door was pretty funny and it also had that fantastically explicit line from Rosa (see: Best Moment). It was a dumb C-story, but had some good jokes, complete with a wonderfully ironic end with Amy absurdly being taught a lesson by watching Rosa. Holt and Charles have a few good lines in their story as well, with Holt's consistently hilarious personality shining once more. The Bad: This side stories have their problems though. The Amy/Rosa story is familiar physical comedy for the show and it feels like regression for Rosa to go back to being too tough for help after all of the development she has gone through throughout the series. The Holt/Charles storyline is honestly pretty dumb. It's blatantly clear that Nikolaj isn't a genius so the reveal that Holt is wrong isn't funny and it just makes him look like an utter fool. The main storyline was a complete failure courtesy of Gina's return. It's infuriating that the show brings Gina back only to misuse her even more than ever. Gina in this episode embodies all of her worst tendencies as she proves to be as selfish as ever, cutting off her friends and making it abundantly clear that they mean nothing to her. Yet by the end of the episode, the writers try to get us to sympathize with and understand Gina in spite of her making no moves to change who she is, acting like Gina is completely justified in what she's doing. It's every bit as frustrating as it was before Gina left the show, and I'm left feeling disappointed that Gina's return gave us all of the characters worst attributes without giving us anything worthwhile to appreciate her return. Best Moment: Rosa responding to Amy's "you can't spell independent without dependent" with "you can't spell go f*** yourself without f*** you!" Character of the Episode: Rosa. Conclusion: Gina's poorly handled return, combined with some empty side stories made this episode another failure in a season that has been extremely disappointing. Right when the show strings together some strong episodes, it falls to the bottom with this poor episode. Inconsistency has dragged down this season, and my hopes are low for the season turning into something worthwhile in the final few episodes. Score: 45 Summary: The Nine-Nine try to stop a hacker from accessing their records. Rosa is unsure of what to do when Jocelyn arrives, wanting to break up with her.
The Good: This was another experimental episode and I really enjoyed it. The time crunch led to a lot of fun and fast-paced interactions, squeezing a lot of great jokes into the episode. Hitchcock and Scully were the highlight in their quest to get the garlic bread in time for the lasagna so they could really enjoy it. It was dumb fun that meshed brilliantly with the serious threat of the hacker to keep things feeling light and entertaining. Plus the ending gag with the two of them eating their food in silence was perfect. Rosa's story was also a good use of the character and she was given some nice scenes with Jake. Amy's FOMOW was a lot of fun as well and I really enjoyed her irrational attempts to get back to the precinct. The Bad: Jocelyn comes off as incredibly selfish for putting herself above Rosa's incredibly important job, especially since it seems like she spends plenty of time with Rosa anyways, evidenced by Rosa's everchanging hairdos in "The Crime Scene" and Rosa saying that they still see each other every day. It's hard to buy into Rosa really liking Jocelyn when we know nothing about her and when she comes off as a total bitch in this episode. The twist with Knox being the hacker was really easy to predict unfortunately which hurt the episode a bit. Best Moment: Hitchcock and Scully calling Holt and Jake, demanding to know what happened to the lasagna. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock and Scully definitely take this one. Conclusion: This was a fun and unique episode that got in a lot of laughs, even if some of the storylines weren't as good as they could have been. Score: 68 Summary: Jake helps Holt on a case when he starts feeling self-conscious interacting with Kevin's academic friends. Terry and Amy compete over who can throw the best lunch party for the Nine-Nine.
The Good: I really loved the main storyline of this episode. Having Holt, the most intelligent and robotic member of the Nine-Nine express feelings of self-consciousness and insecurity when dealing with Kevin's friends is wonderful and it's a very unique side of the character to explore. It's a clear case of impostor syndrome, a complex psychological condition that I'm really surprised to see this show tackle. Holt is wonderfully human as he deals with this and there is a surprising amount of comedy scenes throughout this more serious plot line, making it consistently entertaining, and even unpredictable at times. Holt was fantastic throughout the episode, portraying his nervousness while also being hilarious doing little things like "creating a kerfuffle" or playing crossword games. Jake is also excellent here as he tries to convince the smartest man he knows that he isn't just some loser. Jake is endearing, and his lines throughout the episode are great, with my favourite being when he learns that he's like a Hitchcock to these academic people. As a final note, it was very satisfying to have Kevin stand up for Holt against his colleagues. The show did a wonderful job of using realistic superiority complexes to make these people utterly detestable. Also, highly educated people looking down on less educated people as lesser individuals is a huge pet peeve of mine, so the ending really worked for me. The B-story has some fun moments too like Gary complaining about getting shot and Hitchcock and Scully somehow travelling to both lunches. The Bad: The B story unfortunately isn't very good overall. For some reason it's centered around John Kelly's budget cuts which feels really out of place as it's a storyline I had completely forgotten about. Furthermore, the lunches that Terry and Amy made were incredibly expensive and it's impossible to buy into both of them dropping that much money wastefully, especially when they complain about budget cuts hurting the precinct's quality of life. It should be a no-brainer to spend this money on services around the precinct rather than expensive lunches. Honestly, having such expensive lunches really undermines the threat of budget cuts anyways, and it also means that the plot makes no sense whatsoever. Best Moment: Holt playing the crossword app. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This episode had one awesome storyline and one weak one. I think the excellence in the A-story shines enough to overcome a lot of the episode's shortcomings however, so I have a much more positive feeling towards this episode than a negative one. Even with some nonsensical aspects, the high quality of the A-story helps the episode overcome a lot. Score: 71 Summary: Jake convinces Amy to have a "casecation" where they spend time together working on a case in the hospital but early on they stumble upon a serious issue when they realize that they disagree on the matter of having kids.
The Good: This was another single storyline episode and I really like how often these are coming uo. It's enjoyable to watch a single story unfold and I thought that it improved the experience of this episode. There were some good jokes here like the hilarious debate and the endless stream of debate monitors as well as Terry and Rosa's ill-times casecation dance and Pam's hilarious comments. The Bad: But unfortunately the story needs to be good for a single storyline episode to deliver. This one was not a good story because it wa shighly implausible. I could understand a couple getting haphazardly married without determining if the other wants kids or not. but I absolutely cannot buy somebody like Amy not making this clear with Jake beforehand. It's an insult to the character of Amy to assume that she didn't discuss this with Jake several years ago. Furthermore, it's absurd to think that this never came up. Did they seriously not discuss this in episodes like "Moo Moo" where Charles outright encourages them to have kids and they actually babysit? Furthermore, we have never seen Jake express that he doesn't want kids so this came right out of nowhere, and it's starting to get frustrating how the show explains away random new character beats being added to Jake with "daddy issues". It's repetitive and lazy, and this episode falls victim to it. What's worse is Amy threatening to divorce Jake having not given him even a few hours to search his feelings. It doesn't feel consistent with the relationship these two have had over the past 5 seasons, and it's a complete overreaction from Amy. Lastly, Holt's arrival in this episode made no sense. There's no way that Holt would ever stop working to monitor a debate between Jake and Amy. Hell, he thought Amy was keeping Jake in check during an investigation! Why on Earth would he be okay with this debate? Much of the episode was written poorly like this. Lastly, the bomb scene felt tonally out of place in this episode. It was needlessly intense without any stakes and it very much feels like it was forced to give Jake the necessary moment where he realized he wants kids. Like the rest of the story, it felt lazy. Best Moment: The countless membership credentials being listed off was a funny joke that kept getting funnier as it went on. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This episode was hugely disappointing. This should have been a great episode but the horrible continuity and writing dragged this one down badly. Another poor episode in what is turning out to be a really disappointing season. Score: 48 Summary: Jake and Charles work a case involving a therapist who Jake thinks is guilty of the crime. Terry tries to hide that he ordered a sex book. Holt tries to get Rosa to let him meet her girlfriend Jocelyn.
The Good: The 3 stories here are fine enough. Jake not liking therapy has been a trait of his for a long while, so I really enjoyed seeing an episode dedicated to this idea. There were some good moments in the storyline like Jake's horrible accents. The side stories were solid enough. Rosa's fake date was fun once you realized what was going on, and I thought that the relationship between Holt and Rosa was nicely explored in this storyline. It's great to see how much these characters have grown from the time they struggled to speak to each other while Rosa was dating Marcus. The Terry/Amy story is pure filler but it's funny filler and I enjoyed it. Unlike last episode, this episode clowns Terry in a believable and funny way. It humanizes Terry to have him have sexual flaws and it's funny to see him go to such lengths to keep his secret. The Bad: There was something missing from all three of the storylines. Since Gina's departure, the show has had fewer storylines per episode on average which has helped make each of the storylines more significant, for better or for worse. This episode has 3 storylines and it really hurts the episode because none of the three storylines ever hit their full potential because they feel very rushed. Best Moment: The ridiculous cold open using B words the entire time and ending in an absurd scream of "BABUSHKA!" is funnier than it has any right to be. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a solid episode of comedy. The storylines were rushed, but they were all good and easy enough to watch. There isn't anything special about this episode, but it meets my expectations. Score: 65 Summary: Jake and Charles work together to stop Nikolaj's birth father Gintars from confusing Nikolaj. Holt and Amy get excited when forensics expert Dr. Yee comes down to the precinct.
The Good: There are some good jokes here. Holt and Amy's awe towards Dr. Yee is funny, as is Terry's deteriorating face. Jake and Charles have a nice enough story with some good moments to it. The Bad: I did not like the stories in this episode. The A-story was the better of the two, but it had weaker jokes and a pretty dumb premise. Gintars coming to see Nikolaj is strange. You get the sense that he would have given up all rights to contact Nikolaj when he put him up for adoption yet this was never mentioned. Furthermore, it's idiotic that Jake and Charles would allow Gintars to meet Nikolaj purely because he said he would not reveal Nikolaj's true parentage. It feels dumb for them to be so trusting of Gintars. Additionally, I did not like that Jake inexplicably went behind Charles' back to get rid of Gintars when typically they would do something like this together. And it feels even more forced that Charles wants Jake to get out of his family life when Charles gets involved in his and Amy's life all the time. The story was not well written here. The B-story is a typical sitcom story that sabotages its characters. Holt and Amy are annoying and out of character as they inexplicably geek out over Dr. Yee. It's beyond stupid that they kept up this behaviour after Dr. Yee was revealed to be a fraud and it makes them look awful. Holt gets it the worst here as the character is completely sold out for jokes. He insults Terry and Rosa at will and shows no concern whatsoever for his detectives or his position while dealing with Dr. Yee. It's an insult to the character of Holt to have him behave like this, and several decent jokes are ruined because Holt is such an out-of-character asshole in this episode. Terry ruining his face is funny but the reason for him doing so is idiotic. Everyone knows that microbes live on the human body so having Terry get rid of his facial hair to prevent this makes him look like the dumbest person in the precinct. Best Moment: Gintars and Charles trying to out-Nikolaj each other. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was a bad episode. Dumb storylines, characters behaving woefully out of character, weak jokes and poor writing all combine to make this one of the worst episodes of the show. Season 6 has been incredibly inconsistent so far with some great episodes but some bad stinkers like this one. Score: 43 Summary: Amy takes Jake to a dinner with her mom and perfect brother David who is obviously the preferred child. Charles enlists Terry and Holt in a competition to determine who can go undercover to get information from a criminal.
The Good: I enjoyed both storylines. They have their fun moments and I laughed numerous times. Jake is perfect in the Amy storylines as his reactions to Amy's unhinged responses to David being arrested are fantastic. He seems genuinely confused and almost scared for her which is realistic but still funny. Furthermore, the end of the episode where he lashes out at Amy's mom was excellent and I really enjoyed it. The Charles story is also pretty good. Charles isn't allowed to show how smart he is in most episodes but thankfully he got to prove that here as he sets up the horrible Holt and the average Terry for failure in order to send Rosa to extract the information. Terry and Holt are really funny here and I enjoyed their roles. At first I was annoyed that Charles' worst attributes were being focused on to ruin the plan, but the writers came up with a clever twist to end the episode and I really liked it. The silly traits that these characters exhibit are always far better when they are clearly being done as a joke rather than these traits just being who the characters are. The Bad: Amy's arc doesn't feel like the right one. It seemed like the episode was going to tackle how unfair it is for parents to clearly have a favourite child but instead what we focused on was just pure jealousy from Amy and the greater problem of Amy's achievements not being recognized by her parents was completely ignored. It felt awkward throughout the episode to not address this, and I always felt like the wrong story was being told. Best Moment: Jake raging at Amy's mom. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This is another solid episode with a lot of good jokes. It doesn't end up being anything special, but I liked it. Another typical "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" episode. Score: 67 Summary: Jake helps Amy solve a sexual assault case. Holt suspects that his nemesis the Disco Strangler has escaped prison though it is far more likely that he is dead.
The Good: I enjoyed both of the storylines in the episode as they were quite fun. The Jake/Amy story feels like a spiritual successor to "Moo Moo", bringing light onto the serious issue of sexism. This story ran a huge risk of failing but I think it worked overall, particularly with the consistent jokes throughout the episode that kept everything fun and breezy. Jake in particular was handled really well as he was comedically ignorant but respectful when he needed to be and I really liked that. I also liked that the episode did not have a simple happy ending and Amy only got to provide a small victory instead of a full victory. It's a realistic resolution for a situation like this and I appreciate that the episode didn't sugarcoat it. The guest star characters at the office were also a lot of fun with how scummy they were. The Holt story is also pretty good. It's a story that uses the character of Holt really well and it allows him to be at his sassy, hilarious best as he tries to hunt down this old man he insists is still alive. The Bad: The Disco Strangler as a nemesis of Holt feels forced because we're only told that Holt obsesses over him and are never shown this happening in previous episodes. It's very clearly a retcon to make an interesting plot in this episode. Amy's problems with sexism don't work even close to as well as Terry's problems with racism. Whereas the race problem has been an issue since the beginning of the show with Holt, this sexism problem has been introduced out of nowhere so unfortunately it feels like it was forced into the show instead of being a natural episode like "Moo Moo" was. If an episode like this was the plan, I wish that Amy and Rosa had been characterized better to reflect the ideals that they expressed in this episode. Best Moment: Holt giving out a warning about the Disco Strangler. Everything he says is made 100 times funnier simply because he is the one saying it. Protect your neck! Character of the Episode: I want to give it to Holt but Amy feels right for this episode. Conclusion: This was a solid episode. While not as well done as "Moo Moo", this was a strong episode that tackled a serious topic in a way that didn't detract from the humour you would expect from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". There were still flaws of course, but I liked this episode. Score: 69 Summary: Jake and Holt work together when they discover a spy has been sent to their precinct. Amy tries to get the precinct more organized.
The Good: The A-plot is brilliant and is "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" at its best. Watching Jake and Holt work together to take down the spy is brilliant and it's their dynamic at its absolute best. On one hand there's Holt who is fantastic here, be it his never-ending barrel explanation or from his reactions to his assistant's "obvious" flirting. He's hilarious throughout and this is Holt at his best. Then there's Jake who is the loveable, energetic detective we have known. What starts as an innocent plan to get Holt a new assistant becomes a spy thriller as Jake channels his inner "Thomas Cruise" while trying to get Holt to engage in the spy dynamic. The story throughout is tremendous fun, and it culminates in a wonderful moment as Holt commits to the spy dynamic to frame John Kelly. It's a satisfying story with numerous funny moments. The Bad: But then we get the B-story which is not good. First of all, it's hard to believe that Amy hasn't already tried to clean the precinct. Second, why does everyone here keep so many possessions? They have homes to put this stuff do they not (looking ta you Charles)? I get that this is why it's supposed to be funny, but it's so stupid to see nobody bring up the sensible solution of taking your stuff home instead of leaving it at the precinct. Furthermore, the reveal Terry's connection to the suspenders is because he wanted to wear them as a lieutenant feels cheap. Why would Terry not just say that before instead of keeping it secret and making everyone feel guilty afterward?! It's an absurd story twist to force an emotional element into the story. Best Moment: I'll go with Holt's hour-long dialogue on barrels. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was an episode of two halves. The A-plot was magnificent and had me tremendously entertained, but the B-plot was a typical stupid sitcom plot idea that was executed poorly. The good does outweigh the bad, but I'm left wondering at how good this episode could have been with a better B-plot. Score: 68 Summary: Jake and Rosa work together to solve a crime after Jake foolishly promises the victim that he will solve it.
The Good: This feels like an unofficial sequel to "The Box". Here's an episode that focuses heavily on the police work aspect of the show while exploring a relationship between Jake and a secondary character without being burdened by B and C stories. It worked wonderfully well once again. The story here was really fun and the detective work was engaging. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jake and Rosa as per usual, and their relationship remains one of the high points of the show. The jokes were also really good here. Jake's lunatic behaviour was surprisingly funny and led to the great scenes with Charles and Amy. I was also consistently amused by Rosa's changing hairstyles, Agent McCoy's hilarious speaking style and the antics of the high delivery man. The Bad: This feels like familiar content for Rosa. The show has really cheapened the character by making her come off as the most emotional of the detectives because they fall back on her emotional side far too often. I appreciate the continuity between her and her mother, but it feels like it was sloppily inserted in the second half of the episode. It didn't feel organic to switch from Jake's unnecessary promise and lunacy to Rosa's personal problems. Best Moment: The delivery man being horrified by the crime scene felt real and was absolutely hilarious. Character of the Episode: Jake. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode, and was exactly what this season needed. The story was flawed but engaging, and the jokes throughout were consistent. It's an excellent episode overall. Score: 77 Summary: Jake and Terry find out that somebody is impersonating Doug Judy and they investigate the case. The rest of the precinct battle with the fire department over who gets to have Shaw's as their bar.
The Good: Doug Judy episodes are always fun. Though they have gotten formulaic and repetitive as time goes on, I still have a good time with the Jake/Doug interactions which are always a blast. This was no exception to that as I greatly enjoyed their interactions. Bringing in Terry and Doug's younger sister as the actual culprit is fun and it shakes things up a little bit for a more engaging storyline. The B story is fine. It's nice to see the fire department come into play again because it has been a long while since they last appeared. There were some nice moments in this storyline too like Rosa's drunken phone calls and Charles vomiting after his speech. The Bad: The episode is formulaic and doesn't do much to surprise, even with the Trudy twist. Like I said before, it's a fun episode. It just never threatens to do anything more. Best Moment: Charles vomiting after his dramatic speech. Character of the Episode: Doug. Conclusion: This was another solid Doug Judy episode. The character is fun and I look forward to his appearances each season, but I have to admit that the episodes haven't been anything too memorable in a long while. This episode continues that trend and does nothing to change that. Score: 66 Summary: Gina announces she is leaving and decides to give "Gina Moments" to everyone in the precinct.
The Good: There are some clever ideas here. The scene between Holt and Gina is really good, the chess match is an interesting idea and leads to several pretty solid jokes, and the story being told here is good. Holt and Gina have always had a pretty good relationship and it was nice to see that explored in this sequence as Holt makes sure that Gina will be okay after she leaves. The Bad: This was a celebration of Gina and unfortunately all of her worst attributes were put on display in this episode. This show has almost never used Gina correctly. Throughout the series she has been completely unlikeable, being selfish, cold and an outright prick in many moments. Yet the show refuses to acknowledge these flaws and likes to pretend that she is perfect and that she knows just about everything, with there being nothing else for her to learn. Gina is a narcissist that thinks she is perfect, but instead of getting Gina to grow past these traits, the show sends the message that there's nothing wrong with it and that she actually is perfect. That is not the correct way to handle a selfish character, and it makes her irritating and frustrating. This episode falls for all of these trappings with the Gina Moments which paint the character as some sort of goddess who blesses everyone else in the precinct with important revelations. What the heck? I don't buy for a second that any of these characters need to get Gina's validation for any of the things that were brought up. Amy's is just a repeat of the exact same story for her that she shouldn't try to be cool and just be herself, only the catch is that this time Gina tells her to do this. We have seen Amy overcome this flaw herself countless times, but apparently she needs Gina to tell her this (a person she should despise by all means by the way). Rosa's moment isn't earned at all and there's no reason to believe she would feel emotions just like that. It's a cheap joke that sells out the character. Jake's moment is perhaps the worst since Gina's actions caused him to be brutally beaten up for no reason, yet Jake acts like it was the best thing ever. It's a consistent stream of frustrating moments, encapsulating everything that I disliked about Gina. What a waste of a farewell episode. Best Moment: The Holt/Gina chess games. Character of the Episode: I want it to be Gina but it really can't be. Terry gets it instead. Conclusion: This episode was downright annoying. The show has tried to justify Gina's horrible actions for too long, and it was a terrible decision to do this in her farewell episode, reminding me of everything I disliked about the character. I should be much sadder that she's leaving, but after this episode I was almost glad to be rid of her. This show really let down the character of Gina by writing her so poorly, and this episode sums up everything I've disliked about Gina with perfect accuracy. It would be impressive if it wasn't so damn irritating. Score: 44 Summary: Jake takes Gina and Amy to a high school reunion but everyone remembers his for tattling when he never did it. Charles helps Rosa choose between love interests. Holt joins Terry, Hitchcock and Scully in a radio sound-guessing game.
The Good: I enjoyed parts of this. There are some solid jokes throughout. I thought Amy's role in the episode was really unique for her and it led to several great jokes. I liked the way that the show set up for Gina's departure which is coming this season. The conversation with her and Jake towards the end of the episode was a good way to set it up. The side stories are harmless fluff with a few good jokes in there. The Bad: But of course harmless fluff is nothing special and does not add to the episode. This episode as a whole was rather bland. The side stories added practically nothing to the episode and the main story was lacking in jokes. Gina was at her worst again as she did something bad to Jake yet the show decides to justify it rather than admit it as a mistake. This show never figured out how to do Gina properly and it's disappointing to see her be as annoying as ever in one of her final episodes. Best Moment: I'll go with Amy being turned on by Jake's perfect attendance record. It was a clever joke. Character of the Episode: Amy. Conclusion: This episode had decent jokes, but flat storylines and Gina being at her worst again made this another rather weak instalment. Season 6 hasn't gotten off to the greatest start outside of the honeymoon episode. Score: 50 Summary: Jake and Charles investigate into Hitchcock and Scully's past. Holt tries to get an interview to slander Commissioner Kelly's plans. Terry and Rosa go up against Amy when the downstairs people coming upstairs causes problems.
The Good: This episode had decent ideas. The Hitchcock and Scully story is fun, and it's nice to see how they were badass cops in the past only for Wing Sluts to completely change them. It's a funny story that manages to show the heart that these two have. The other storylines are passable for comedy. The Bad: I thought this episode did not have good jokes. The storylines weren't a natural fit for jokes and it showed. For an episode titles after Hitchcock and Scully, the jokes surrounding them were simplistic and bland, far from how funny they usually are. The upstairs people vs downstairs people conflict felt phony and unnecessary, and the jokes were too over-the-top to be believable. The story wasn't given enough depth to succeed, and watching the characters argue is hardly compelling comedy. The Jake/Charles story is also quite silly. Dragomir is obviously not who he says he is and Charles looks like a total moron for not noticing that. Charles has always been trusting, but this was definitely a step too far. And, the story doesn't even have any good jokes to make up for its issues. The Holt/Gina/Kelly story is fine but again it is lacking in comedy and didn't really make me laugh at all. Best Moment: The opening scene showing the old Hitchcock and Scully. Character of the Episode: Hitchcock and Scully. Conclusion: This episode really disappointed me. An episode hinging on Hitchcock and Scully's background should be a slam dunk, but the stories in this episode were uninteresting and the laughs did not connect with me at all. This should have been far better than what we got. Score: 52 Summary: Holt doesn't get the commissioner job. Jake and Amy go for their honeymoon in Mexico but are shocked to find a depressed Holt there. Terry is in charge at the precinct but questions his own abilities when Rosa comes to him with a difficult problem. Charles goes to Gina for help when he learns that her mom is divorcing his father.
The Good: The main story was superb. The idea of Jake and Amy running into Holt during their honeymoon is hilarious, and Holt's constant self pity bringing down the mood was a fantastic use of the character. It made perfect sense as well with Holt falling into depression after he failed to achieve his life's goals. I also really liked how Amy managed to bring Holt back to normal with a surprise outburst of frustration at how her mentor was behaving. It's solid storytelling that manages to have a bunch of awesome jokes along the way like Amy's Die Hard costume and Holt's increasingly ridiculous shirts. The side stories weren't as effective but they were decent enough. Terry as top dog had some funny moments as he tried to get into Holt's computer, and the Charles/Gina story is pretty solid for what it is. The Bad: The side stories aren't anything special. It's familiar stuff that really isn't too big of a deal. Best Moment: As awesome as pretty much all of Holt's lines were in this episode, the funniest moment for me was the "this B needs a C in her A" joke which was executed really well and even cleverly broke some of the show's rules with the unexpected censorship. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This was a great season premier. The Holt/Jake/Amy plot was the definite highlight and everything else was solid enough. An excellent way to kick off the new season. Score: 75 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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