Well, it’s the last Brooklyn Nine-Nine until January, and it’s naturally a Christmas episode; smartly, though, it forgoes the festivities in favor of a narrower character focus. I think the idea of younger Holt=present Jake is really interesting, and it helps explain why Holt feels the need to mentor him and why it’s working. It’s not just Holt teaching Peralta how to be a better cop, but also how to avoid the mistakes he made during his own youth. This is why the character work worked for me here; although we see some of Peralta’s more annoying tendencies, there’s a subtle aspect to their relationship that keeps it grounded. Jake is impulsive, but he’s persistent and he genuinely cares about Holt/wants his respect, and it’s nice to see Holt’s lessons taking effect.
This relationship is like a contrast to Amy-Holt; both Amy and Peralta want to please him, but Amy tweaks her personality a bit around the captain, and Peralta doesn’t change much. In fact, Jake salivates at the thought of what to do with his power over Holt, while Amy would probably immediately acquiesce to all his demands and give up the power. There are some great dynamics going on here, and they haven’t gotten stale yet because the show is able to inject growth and humor throughout.
Speaking of humor, although the episode isn’t quite the ensemble showcase last week’s was, it still provides some hilarious moments: Terry’s psych evaluation (“Kittens. Cute. Calm. False sense of security. Gun, die.”), the “tush vs. touché” discussion, and Holt popping and locking, to name a few. The case itself is fairly entertaining, but although I do think Boyle getting shot in the butt is funny, it feels a bit easy for an ending. Still, that final scene is nice and sappy; the show’s earned sap, and it’s a great way to send these characters out for now.
GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-“…I smell like Sandalwood.” “THAT’S what that is!”
-The Rosa subplot is sweet.
-“A Safe House-watching safe house is a safe, safe house.”
-“The next time someone threatens to kill me, I’ll come straight to you.” “Thank you, sir, I can’t wait.”
-More flashbacks, please.
-“That’s right. Boom. Just kicked Santa in the testicles.”
-“It’s me, Charles, from work!”
-“Psychologists are just people who weren’t smart enough to be psychics.”
Credit to FOX and Brooklyn Nine-Nine for all pictures. I own nothing.
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