Captain Jake Peralta. The thought’s a little terrifying, if only because his automatic email signature is still “From My Butt.” Though I can sympathize,
Jake. Mine used to be “Superstar.” Ah, childhood/arrested development. And yet in “Lockdown,” Captain Holt leaves the precinct for the day and Jake ends up
in charge. No, he wasn’t the first choice, but he was the first choice who didn’t have plans on Thanksgiving, so he certainly was the loneliest choice.
Jake, the eternal people-pleaser, immediately tells everyone to do whatever he or she would like, a strategy that might have worked for the half day, if
not for a mysterious package of powder that throws the precinct into a complete lockdown. Amy, of course, has a reasonable plan of attack for dealing with
the lockdown and keeping the warring factions apart. Those factions include “The Dirty Dozen” (perps), “The Normies” (civilians), “The Doinkmeisters”
(snitches, gang members), and “The Vegetable Medley” (lawyers, of course). It’s simple, but little weird moments like naming lockdown factions is part of
the reason that this show is so funny. Jake’s “keep everyone calm” plan has merits, but it’s front-loaded with appeasement and comes up short when
discomfort starts kicking in.
The moment where Jake admits his defeat to Amy and hands over the reins was inevitable from the start. After all, she detailed a plan that clearly became
the right answer as things continued to go wrong. BUT, in a nice twist, Amy encourages Jake to accept the responsibility he’s been given, and turn the
situation around with the help of his fellow Nine-Niners. Simple Amy and Jake moments can be really sweet, and her belief in Jake’s leadership ability when
he has none is enough to help him become a badass Captain of Holt-like efficiency. Including barking at Holt upon his return
Sarge’s story this week was a throwback to last year, and his brother-in-law Zeke calling him “Tiny Terry,” and other such diminutive nicknames. Sarge
eventually gets some respect from Zeke when he thinks that Holt is a difficult boss. Sarge rolls with it in order to win some points from his “brother,”
which is not particularly compelling. What makes the story worth it in the end, however, is Holt’s willingness to play along, even letting Sarge wipe some
pie crumbs on his face to sell the entire deceit.
There were a lot of random little moments in this episode that are worth discussing, but there’s no broader section in which to discuss them. Introducing,
“Little Moments”:
- The candidates for employment in the Nine-Nine must be pretty abysmal if Scully and Hitchcock are still employed. After all, during a crisis in the
precinct Holt agrees that they “dodged a bullet” when Hitchcock got locked outside. …His boss thinks it’s better for him to be away while the precinct
needs all hands on deck. Does anyone else want to see an episode where Hitchcock and Scully get fired, only to get re-hired when no one else applies? Just
to have a little reasoning behind their presence?
- Boyle knows the dance to “Single Ladies,” -- and performs it with some “Painted Ladies” currently in lock-up.
- Rosa likes
Something’s Got to Give. Jake’s right, we should have a further discussion about this later.
- The grossest thing Jake can think of is a vegetable medley. I’m beginning to get concerned that he’ll die soon of malnutrition.
- Boyle doesn’t seem to understand how a Number 2 operates. Though he does have the whispering down.
- Note to self: do NOT invite Gina to a potential crisis situation -- she will lead everyone to panic, revolt, and die.
What did you think of the episode? Do you think Jake has what it takes to become a leader in the Nine-Nine, maybe even Sergeant or Captain one day? Why do
you think Rosa likes
Something’s Got to Give? Can you picture Amy trying to buy drugs using grammatically correct language? Let us know below!
To all you Americans out there -- I hope your Thanksgiving, I mean,
Turkey Day, involves much less possible anthrax!
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.
