Well, it’s that time of year again -- Halloween! And in the Nine-Nine, that apparently only means one thing: Peralta v. Holt. Like all sequels, this
episode starts with the same premise and then just tweaks it a little. Or rather, just plays the whole scheme from “Halloween” with the roles flipped.
Instead of the precinct all helping
Jake trick
Holt, they all help
Holt trick
Jake. Sure, it may be the same format,
and fairly predictable, but that doesn’t mean “Halloween II” isn’t a fun episode!
One of the things that struck me during this episode was how much Jake’s life revolves around the precinct. Obviously that’s not a particularly surprising
revelation in a show focused around, you guessed it, a police precinct. But seeing him fight his way through Halloween partiers while on an odd personal
mission involving only his work friends, it became clear that Jake leads quite a different life than other people around his age. Sure, he certainly acts
like a child/cartoon character most of the time, but his life is all about the Nine- Nine. The most important thing for him on Halloween is creating a
scheme to steal something valuable from his boss (for whom he has great admiration and also loves to annoy), instead of jumping on a party bus in costume.
Of course, he seemingly has a great time while
on said party bus, but it’s clear that his social priorities are very intimately tied into his
work, which is clearly tied into his identity.
Gina, on the other hand, has quite a lot of outside social engagements, including time spent with her dance troupe Floorgasm. Or rather, not spent, since
she missed the last 8 rehearsals straight. This led to Gina getting danced out of
her own dance troupe! That’s pretty rough. (Though
fairly understandable due to her consistent absence. I’ve found from life experience that it’s hard to just intuit things like choreographed dance routines
-- not that I haven’t tried). She claims the absences were due to her ongoing attempt to finish college, but I assumed that was a lie. However, it was
never refuted during the episode, so maybe she’s actually putting in effort and going to night school? Or this is related to her sleeping with Boyle. Who
knows. But I spent the episode waiting to find out that her night school story was just that, a story, and was actually a little thrown when there was no
reveal that she was lying. If she was telling the truth, congrats Gina! Best of luck with your courses.
Another solid episode of
Brooklyn Nine-Nine, once again playing to the strengths of the show -- using all the players. Sure, some of the middle
sections of Jake and his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Night were a little boring, but for the most part it was great to see the whole team’s
involvement.
B99 always seems to work best when it brings in everyone. Or everyone excepting Scully and Hitchcock. They work much better as
peppered-in supporting players. And apparently make very terrifying bears.
What did you think of “Halloween II”? Was the sequel as good as the original? Did the “twist” surprise you? Who do you think will win the battle of wits
next year? Let us know below!
About the Author - Kimberly
Kimberly is a big TV nerd - willing to talk any show, any time. Her tastes are various and sundry, but she’s got a soft spot for comedy. She currently writes the SpoilerTV reviews for Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and About a Boy.
I like your analysis of Jake's lack of a social life. I'd never really thought about it until you pointed it out, but now I realize that even though he acts like a party boy playa who doesn't give a crap about his job, his job is kind of his life and no matter how he acts, it's his first priority too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think that Gina was lying when she said that she was going to night school. I saw it as an attempt by the writers to soften a character who had proven to be pretty polarizing.
It's good that Jake didn't win this year. It was nice to see him taken down a peg or two and not be the invincible her all the time. I kind of saw it coming, but I'm glad I was right.
Thanks for your insightful review!
Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the college thing does help to round out Gina's character, and I'd love to see that storyline pop up in one or two small stories later in the season. It was just due to the timing, right after all the talk about Gina lying about her "emergencies," so I assumed she was still taking advantage of Terry's kindness.