Brooklyn Nine-Nine - The Fugitive (Winter Finale) - Review + POLL

Well, how was that for a mid-season finale, eh? I compared last year's "Yippie Kayak" to this year's "Captain Latvia", but this episode featured elements of many old episodes, most prominently "The Bet" and anything Doug Judy was ever in. I thought both parts were balanced and paced extremely well, and I had a great time with this hour-long treat of an episode. Let's talk specifics:

The addition of Marshawn Lynch plays directly into the outing's cold open, which was, once again, hilarious. A truck of escaped convicts crashes and they all scatter. Lynch's character could not care less about this and is more concerned that his quesadilla didn't contain Pico de gallo. He was somewhat of a hero to Rosa, which was adorable to see, and his acting was hilarious. If he showed up again down the line I would love it. I laughed at his never-ending speeches, and how tired Rosa and Holt were after this made it even better.

Back to the case at hand, these escaped convicts are very dangerous, and this reminded me of Limitless's two-part finale (Leave it to me to compare anything to Limitless). But before we're even really privy to that ordeal we have insight on Jake and Amy's living situation. They were supposed to be moving in together after last season's finale, but the Wit Sec stuff kinda put that whole thing on hold. But they came up with a clever solution: a bet to see who should move into the other's apartment. And it tied into the escaped convicts! Just like "The Bet"! Only back then, Amy wasn't allowed to fall in love with Jake, which she so obviously is in this episode (that was cheesy). I thought the way that they did this was really sweet and it gave a great way for Jake to prove once again how amazing he is, as a boyfriend and generally as a person. It was Terry who gave Jake the pause to think in the grand scheme of things about this scenario, but that didn't take anything away from the big moment. If anything, it showed you how incredible every single relationship is on this show.

After using the cool van and gadgets, Jake secured a win but ultimately relented later on and said he would move into Amy's apartment, which is better in every conceivable way. Maybe it was predictable, seeing as how he did a similar thing in "The Jimmy Jab Games", but it was still kind nonetheless. More interesting to me was what went on with Rosa and Holt after Lynch, when they talked to the other witness but couldn't understand what she was saying. No translator ever showed up, and trying to watch Holt decipher what she was saying is probably my pick for scene of the week. Andre Braugher just can't do any wrong. Also interesting was Gina's reaction to Rosa getting this chore, grabbing her face in some kind of romantic way (in my eyes, anyway). After trying to kiss Amy, now she does this. Honestly Gina, if you want a girlfriend you should just get one. Gina talking to the possibly delusional man was comical, and the standoff with Terry and later everyone else got me quite nervous. I'd like to think I can predict how far this show will go in terms of drama and emotion but you can never really tell. Excellent comedies (and shows in general) will do that to you. And how about those Harry Potter references, right?

And there was more to mention but I want to get into the latter half of the episode. One of the convicts they didn't catch just happens to be the foster brother of Doug Judy. I was so curious to find out why Jake and Holt were in such formal attire, and though unfortunately it wasn't someone's wedding, it was funny to see more Judy antics. I haven't watched the trilogy of Judy in a while but I can remember a few key details. Jake's passion to catch Judy pretty much triumphs everything else in his life at that given time. But seeing him be so trusting of Judy and being willing to offer up immunity just so he can get to his brother was puzzling. It did remind me of the first Pontiac Bandit episode, but at that point in time he didn't know Judy was the man he was really after. I had to side with Holt on this one because I didn't think I could trust him at all. But he did pull through in the end, which was nice, and he still gets to live on. I always love when Holt and Jake are a duo and I loved their dynamic here. Even if Holt was chastising Jake the whole time about his trusting, one could say this episode really felt like old times. And Holt's love (and the roller coaster ride over) his car, Gurdy, was fantastic. All of this proved that Jake is a real sucker for a theme song.

And then there was the side plot with Amy, Gina, and Boyle, probably the weakest story of them all but still entertaining at the very least. Is it horrible of me that I actually called the big cliffhanger ending? We know 4B will contain a Gina-centric arc and when I heard this episode would end in a cliffhanger, I put two and two together when Gina said she would rather get hit by a bus than get another text from Boyle. It's a risky and scary move on the show's part but I have faith they'll come up with something great. As long as Rosa gets to comfort her in the hospital I am completely there for this plot. Speaking of Rosa, her time with Terry was also illuminating and pretty nuanced. Terry is worried about getting older, and although they played it for laughs, I actually found a lot of emotion to be had. She reassures him that it's okay to get older and you can/should always look back on the incredible feats that you were able to do with pride, not anger. Rosa's flashback to being a gymnast? Well, this whole episode was worth it just for that. They embraced and further proved that their dynamic is certainly one of the best on the show, and one of the most underrated. I was happy with both halves of this episode, and they combined to make one hell of whole (Phrasing!).

What did YOU think of "The Fugitive"? Did you enjoy seeing Doug Judy's glorious return? What did you think about Jake and Amy's resolution to their bet? How did you enjoy both high-stakes episodes? And how about that crazy cliffhanger? Please leave a comment & vote in the poll down below! And I'll see you in a few months when Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns!