Hey Nine-Niners, I can’t chat for long (unfortunately this finale coincides with moving house and a hiking trip for me), but can I just say -- I
KNEW IT. Well, of course, we all knew it was coming. But it finally happened, and now everyone is free to descend into detailed conversations
about it in the comment section. Yes, that’s right -- Jake and Amy’s romance finally took a step forward after some impromptu undercover work
during a case. The detectives are forced to assume the roles of an engaged couple (the titular Johnny and Dora) while tailing a perp at a restaurant, and end up engaging in some
unexpected lip locking in order to defer suspicion. Of course, this is after Jake admits to Amy that he still has feelings about her and they both try to
act like totally platonic professionals, which ends up just being really awkward. Which makes the kiss more awkward, and the second kiss more
awkward. There’s nothing like television timing to throw two people into a faux relationship right when they’re dealing with real relationship
things -- that’s why we love it. After the heartbreaking news that Captain Holt is leaving the Nine-Nine, his son-figure and teacher’s pet/disciple find
each other in the evidence locker -- and neither one seems particularly surprised to find the other one there. And guys, THEN THEY KISS. LIKE FOR REAL THIS
TIME. Boom goes the dynamite.
I like that Jake doesn’t dance around the issue when Amy presses him about why he tried to get out of working with her on the case initially. This feels
like a more adult move than playing coy, and also a very Jake move, as he seems to be pretty open by nature. It was a good decision to let Jake air his
feelings at the start of the episode this time (compared with Jake’s reveal last year), which allows the story regarding those feelings to build
throughout the episode, leading to another season-ending bold move: the Jake/Amy kiss in the evidence locker. (Which, by the way, they both totally go for
at the same time).
Since the Jake and Amy stories have felt a little few and far between this season, I forgot how much fun they can be together. As a duo they always seem to
soften each other out as characters -- Amy’s neuroses mellow out a tad, and Jake seems more like an immature adult than a child. Just in that last evidence
locker sense alone, the two characters feel a little more grounded in reality than they can be in the heightened world of B99. Of course, this is
only helped by the surrounding scenes, dealing with…
…Captain Holt leaving the Nine-Nine! After that goat Wuntch sprung her evil plan to promote Holt out of the Nine-Nine and into a desk job, Holt got to
work. In this episode he recruits Sarge and Gina, his right hands, to help him blackmail Wuntch to stay in his post. Ever loyal, Sarge steals an entire
filing cabinet while Gina talks to a security guard about bird watching. But their efforts prove to be in vain when Wuntch threatens to make some personnel
changes in the Nine-Nine before the NYPD can authenticate whether the offending comment (blackmail material) was written by her or not. Holt takes one for
his team and decides to go, and Gina, in an odd moment of caring, goes with him.
Holt’s final scene in the precinct as he says goodbye to the team and gets all choked up was some fantastic work by Mr. Andre Braugher. This is where
the power of Holt’s normal robotic stoicism pays off -- whenever the façade does crack and the emotion gets through, it hits that much
harder. It is a beautiful scene, and I sure hope to see Captain Holt back in the precinct where he belongs before long. That being said, I can’t wait to
see who they bring in as the (interim?) captain.
A few last thoughts:
- Boyle is once again so supportive and just a fantastic friend to everyone. Not only is he Jake and Amy’s biggest cheerleader, but he helps Marcus to
arrange the perfect surprise party for Rosa’a birthday -- a completely empty bar, excepting Marcus. Happy birthday Ro-Ro!
- There were a lot of great moments this episode, but when Hitchcock thinks that perhaps he’s going to be the new captain who is about to waltz
out of the elevator? That one may have won the gold.
What did you think of the episode? Where do you think Jake and Amy will go from here? How long is Holt going to be gone? And who’s going to be the next
captain of the Nine-Nine? What do you hope to see next season? Let us know below!
