Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for NBC’s T.V Show, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine.’
With its familiar upbeat intro music and lovable characters, I was absolutely excited for the season premiere of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine.’ I’ve watched this T.V. show from the very beginning and after the cliffhanger at the end of last season, I was just not ready to let it go. Thankfully, NBC picked it up just in time, so we won’t be saying good-bye to our favorite cop show anytime soon.
Last season’s finale left off after Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) wedding (a beautiful moment worth waiting literally five entire seasons for) and when Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) just received an email detailing the results of his promotion offer. Season 6 picks up right at that moment. The entire crew holds their breaths as Holt reads the email.
He got the promotion– wait no, he misread the email, he doesn’t get the promotion. The scene itself was funny, watching the other characters’ reactions. Especially Jake, who ran off in search of celebratory music only to find that the situation wasn’t celebratory. The plot jumps to a few weeks later: Jake and Amy were just awarded enough money in wedding insurance to afford a luxury honeymoon. Honestly, it’s so cute to see Jake refer to Amy as ‘my wife’ (I’m serious, I have been waiting five seasons for this).
The episode then follows the characters in a few separate plotlines. Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) confronts Gina (Chelsea Peretti) about why their parents are getting divorced. Towards the end, Charles finds out that Gina told her mom to divorce his dad. I feel like this conflict will be drawn out into later episodes, but, as of this episode, it was downplayed. I also believe this conflict may have a negative impact on Charles and Gina’s dynamics. Hopefully it will be resolved soon because I don’t want the two characters to end their friendship on a bad note, especially since Chelsea Peretti will be leaving the cast partway through the season.
Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) comes to Terry, the interim captain since Holt has taken time off, with a problem: the sanitation department is trying to steal her case. This conflict allows Terry to explore his leadership skills without Captain Holt’s presence. I think it was a good bit of character development on Terry’s part. I have a feeling Terry’s leadership will be developed throughout the season and maybe, just maybe, he gets a promotion by the end (hopefully).
A luxurious destination honeymoon filled with coconuts! (Image credit to DenofGeek).
The major plotline of this episode was Jake and Amy’s honeymoon: a luxury resort in which they find Captain Holt wallowing in his depression. Eager to get their Captain’s spirits up so he’ll leave and go back to work, they invite him on a day of intimate activities. This pulls Holt out of depression, but he decides to resign from his position and leave the 99. This is a move completely unlike Holt’s character, who (previously) doesn’t back down from challenges or setbacks.
When Jake tries to convince Holt to keep his position with a heartfelt speech, Holt lashes out at Jake, calling him ‘selfish.’ This causes Amy to yell at Holt for calling Jake selfish. I feel like this is a major point of development for Amy since she hasn’t really lashed out at Holt before.
As Holt takes in Amy’s harsh words, he realizes that it’s his duty to come back to the 99 if he wants progress. He apologizes to Jake and Amy and takes his leave. I think this was an important moment because it showcases how even the most mature and powerful person can make mistakes. It shows that Holt isn’t the perfect leader; he has his moments when he feels like giving up. But, he struggles through them and eventually succeeds. This is how I hope the season will end, with Holt finally getting his desired promotion, leaving the time from now until the end open for a load of healthy Holt development.
As for the episode’s final scene, the only important thing to remember is a possible feud between the 99 and the commissioner’s office since Holt spoke out against the new commissioner’s first directives.
This episode seems like any other. It’s got the same humor and character dynamics. In my opinion, the episode felt a little like a filler episode, as if it wasn’t going to play into the overarching plot of the season. In the end, I could pick up on some strands of multi-episode plot arcs. Even so, this episode was honestly just a fresh start to the season. Nothing major really happened. It was as if life just picked up and moved on from last season.
I think the episode’s humor was a little dry. There wasn’t anything too spectacular which stood out to me, except the first bleeped out swear words of the season. This is a new addition to the writing since there hasn’t been any bleeped out words in the show before. I believe this is one of the major changes the network switch brought on and we will be seeing more of these naughty bleeps.
The episode itself was very exposition-y. I personally felt like nothing much happened, but it was still satisfying to watch after the long wait since last season. Nevertheless, I have high hopes for the season and I’m excited to see what comes next.
The next episode, “Hitchcock & Scully”, will be released on 1/17 on NBC at 9/8c.
