Editor’s Note: This Article contains spoilers for NBC’s T.V. show, Brooklyn 99.
What would you do if your sister stole your identity and put you in bad graces with a vicious mob leader? Fake your own death, of course! But your sister would never do that to you or would she?
I loved this episode primarily because the iconic duo — Jake Peralta and the infamous Pontiac Bandit, Doug Judy — are reunited! I love, love, love their dynamic. Arguably, they have the best banter out of any duo or group on the show. I was glad to see him return with a string of unsolved car thefts — Pontiac style! I’ll admit that I was left shocked in the first five minutes of the episode when Terry calls Judy’s mother and learns of his untimely death. However, I had reason to doubt Judy’s death — in all of his appearances throughout the show, he consistently pulls stunts like this.
Out of respect, Terry and Jake decide to go to the funeral. Here they meet, Doug Judy’s sister Trudy Judy. I honestly thought the funeral scene was one of the best scenes in this episode. Since Judy’s family doesn’t know Jake by name, Jake must go by his alias (of whom Judy has said a lot of slightly inaccurate things about). My favorite part was when instead of explaining his alias’ made up backstory (courtesy of Judy himself), Jake goes up to sing about Judy; it was a very out of tune, tone-deaf song and added to the hilarity of the scene.
🎶 DOUG JUDAY! 🎶 pic.twitter.com/8272Z6LMVr
— Brooklyn Nine-Nine (@brooklyn99) February 8, 2019
As Jake’s inappropriate melodies wail on, the camera pans at the back of the hall and we get a glimpse of the Pontiac bandit himself. It turns out that Judy isn’t dead! He just had to fake his own death because a crime boss thought Judy stole his beloved car. However, Judy isn’t the one stealing the cars — it’s a copycat!
The name’s Judy, Trudy Judy. Photo: Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
Teaming up with Jake and reluctant Terry, the crew set up a trap for this copycat. In another twist, we find that the real culprit is Judy’s very-innocent-seeming sister Trudy! She’s been stealing cars to pay for her nursing school degree! (Another Judy?! This is getting groovy!)
But she didn’t know whose car she stole! So, in order to avoid arrest, the Judy siblings make a deal with Terry and Jake: If they can catch the crime boss, Trudy’s sentence gets minimal.
What I really like about this part was how close the Judy siblings are portrayed; Doug would really do just about anything for his sister. However, he underestimates her.
Turns out, the copy cat is Trudy! She’s been dabbling in criminal activity for the past few years with extreme stealth. As much as Judy doesn’t want to believe it, Trudy is just as worthy of the Bandit title as he is. As she drives away, Judy feels gutted, which is usually how Jake felt after Judy pulls the same getaway in past seasons. I like that this episode brought the feeling full circle and gave us a unique Doug Judy plot. Even though he is only a minor character, I like that he is getting the same treatment as any regular on the show — his character is ultimately changing for the better.
“Not in my bar, punks!” Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
Speaking of an event which makes someone change for the better: Captain Holt gets his share of development this episode. While Jake and Terry are going bandit hunting, the rest of the 99 heads to their usual bar, only to find it overrun with…firefighters (gasp!). They are hellbent on getting their bar back, but Captain Holt doesn’t think it’s a worthy fight and opts to leave the rest of the 99 to get their bar back themselves (read: have an all-night drinking competition).
This plot arc was very definitive for Holt because his first response was to leave the bar since regaining it didn’t make sense to him. However, after receiving a drunk phone call from Rosa, who wanted to ask him for help but believed he wouldn’t want to help them, Holt decides to return to the bar. He makes the active decision to put the desires of his colleagues over his own beliefs.
I thought this was a good bit of character development because Holt is beginning to show more and more emotions (than usual). This means that Holt really regards the rest of the 99 as family and the rest of the 99 have faith in him to step in and help them when they are feeling down. I hope to see more of this development in future episodes.
Other than these two minor plots, there was nothing really major going on in terms of setting up a future plot arc for the season. I honestly like the pace that the show is at right now. I like that we get to see little nuggets of character development from each character on the cast and getting to know them a better. I prefer these mini-plots to a major plot arc which overshadows the entire show. However, we shouldn’t rule out an overarching plot arc in the coming episodes (did I hear another Halloween episode?). Perhaps something major will come up in the future — let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Catch the next episode, “The Crime Scene,” on Feb. 14 at 8/7c on NBC.
