Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Episode 1.13 & 1.14 - The Bet & The Ebony Falcon - Review

Double-decker review for you guys here today!

“The Bet”

Jake and Amy go on a date - the first real example of the show setting them up for a potential romance. It’s been hinted at a little in the past, but this was the first real step toward that. The bet mentioned in the start of the season comes to a conclusion as the Jake pulls ahead in the last minute with a bust of a prostitution ring. As punishment Jake takes Amy on a bad date, which he’s planned as a cross between a middle school dance and a Vegas spectacular. Boyle points out the truth of the situation to Jake, saying that the boys on the playground who pull the girls’ pigtails do it because they like like them, and Jake’s just one of those little boys…which isn’t too far off from his behavior most of the time…

Although there’s no obvious chemistry between Jake and Amy, putting the characters together always makes Amy seem a lot more likable, which wins me over to some degree. The complementary pair evens out both characters a little bit, and in that way they’re fun to watch together. Built up over enough time the show could definitely get to the place where Jake and Amy have a romantic relationship, although I wouldn’t anticipate it lasting very long, or being particularly successful. However, it’s always fun to see a schoolboy-type crush, and that playful energy worked well in this episode.

Boyle gets a medal from the police department for his bravery in the line of duty, but is upstaged, and literally pushed upstage, but the horse who also receives the award. Because of this incident, Boyle falls and then takes painkillers to manage the pain. The side affect of which includes the lack of a filler - Boyle’s in truth-telling mode. Rosa is afraid for most of the night that Boyle would confess his love for her, but in reality, he just wants to let her know that he didn’t take the bullets for her, he took them for a fellow police officer without knowing who it was. This makes Boyle’s actions even more honorable, as he was trying to do his duty as a cop, instead of saving his beloved damsel in distress. (see Neville comment below for more thoughts on the archetype of Boyle).

Another truthteller of the night is Captain Holt, who is almost as bad as an uninhibited Boyle when it comes to stating the direct truth. This keeps getting Terry in trouble with his wife who didn’t yet know he had gone back into the field. Luckily he manages to save the awkward moment with a trick he learned from Boyle - he just fakes a text message (“Bloop”).

Overall the episode was fun and a bit more grounded at parts than the show normally is. The Amy/Jake story was the first serious step in a potential romance there for the show, and drug-addled Boyle showed his true colors (admitting his blind valor and the inevitability of him and Rosa eventually dating), are some examples of this. Keeping the lighter tone was the Captain and his inability not to stick his foot in his mouth with Terry’s wife.

“Ebony Falcon”

In a switcheroo move from the start of the season, Terry is finally fully mentally prepared to return to field work, while Jake begins to worry about what would happen to Terry’s children if anything happens to Terry. Jake’s resistance to letting Terry in the field messes up the undercover operation, but the two of them work it out, and Jake loses all fear for Terry when he takes down like six criminals simultaneously. The storyline was fun and showed a different side of Jake, harkening back to his fatherless upbringing, and worrying about that for Terry’s twin daughters (Cagey and Lacey, of course). Boyle reorganized the entire workings of a gym, which would seem to be a much better job for him if not for his valor. He’s like Neville in early Harry Potter books - he seems more like a Hufflepuff, but there’s that hint of something that puts him in Griffindor.

Gina’s apartment is broken into, although for most of the episode the truth of her report seemed to be up in the air. I didn’t totally believe her until Captain Holt told Amy and Rosa that Gina was scared to go home, as it no longer felt like a safe space. With her ridiculous list of stolen items, I just assumed Gina was playing some sort of prank on the officers, though she was being truthful in her odd Gina-way.

This week’s episode was lighter than last week’s, and typically fun. It was mostly focused on the A story, with very little in the B, though the main story did have some nice elements, like Jake’s genuine concern (showing he has real, mature feelings), and getting to see more of Terry’s homelife, explaining why he’s acted the way he has in the past.

What did you think of the two episodes? Did you have a favorite?