The main story of “Pontiac Bandit” paired up two detectives that rarely work together: the newly renamed “Jack” Peralta/Mangy Carl and the target of all
the criminals’ affection, Rosa. The pair apparently went to the Police Academy together, and as a result have a trust between the two, centered in a phrase
that reflects their hatred for drills - “1000 Push-ups.” While Rosa takes the phrase to mean “trust me,” Jake’s understanding is as more of a wager; he’ll
bet 1000 push-ups that he’s right. When Jake ignores Rosa’s “1000 Push-ups” and counters with 2000 of his own, not only does she feel betrayed, but their
whole operation falls apart. The considerable-more-subtle “lesson of the week”: it’s important to trust and listen to those around you. This lesson hits
home for Jake when Doug Judy, a fantastically named car thief, fools him with false info and makes a break for it during Jake’s operation. Craig Robinson
takes on this role of thief, as well as a short turn as Fievel’s dad, making for a delightfully pleasant bad guy (and Jewish mouse). Jake really feels the
importance of trust after Doug Judy gets away and he has to do 2000 redemption push-ups.
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Seeing Rosa and Jake together, it almost seems to make more sense for the two of them to be partners, as their temper and goofiness, respectively, don’t
appear to bother one another. Their history at the Academy felt very realistic, and established rings true in a world with often heightened interactions
between characters..
The story of the precinct’s annoyance with Boyle was also a little annoying. Similar to Boyle, it was okay in small doses, though not particularly
interesting. It was nice to see a little continuity though from the previous episode, continuing the story of Boyle’s shooting injury to his butt - though,
as he frequently points out, if the bullet had hit him in a different place, he could have died.
Captain Holt and the puppies may not have had much of a story in this episode, but Braugher sure does know how to play off of his canine co-stars. I’ve got
to imagine that the writers just thought it would be amusing to see the robotic and stern captain carrying around two little puppies for a whole episode,
and thus this story (of sorts) was born. It may not have been particularly fascinating, but it was most certainly cute, and Holt’s angry lecture while
holding the little pups was pretty great. Also a high point of the story? Holt’s attempted manipulation of Sergeant Jeffords while nuzzling the bitty dogs.
With an as-of-now episodic format,
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a lighter, goofier overall feel than another show of which Mike Schur is a creator -
Parks and Recreation. While it is working for the show so far, it would be nice to start to learn more about the characters, as those moments and
reveals, such as Rosa and Jake's relationship, help ground the show and make the characters worth investing in.
Bits from the Police Scanner
- “Why not tell her that you’re an astronaut?” “Because space is scary. You saw what it did to Sandy Bullock!” - Doug Judy/Rosa
- Gina live-tweets everything and ruined
Downton Abbey for Captain Holt.
- “Hitchcock called himself Scully by accident.” - Jeffords
- “You look like a Boyz 2 Men Easter Album.” “Burn.” “That’s not a burn, it’s cool.” - Jake enjoying his new, large, white suit.
- “Sarge, I’d like you to meet Richard and Dan. They are puppies.” - Holt introducing puppies as though they were investment bankers.
- “I just need an epi-pen because my happiness is making my throat close up.” - Amy, re: her allergy to dogs.
What did you think of the episode? Was it a good start to the new year? Or lacking a little spunk? Tell us below!
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