by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a show I decided to binge during the summer of 2020 for my Quanstream list. As Aaron Dicer and Andrew Ormsby were diving into their movie lists of shame, I was catching up and starting TV shows that I had missed or never finished. My wife loved it and was a huge fan of Andy Samburg because of The Lonely Island and Hot Rod. It was ultimately put on the back burner for whatever reason and after watching heavier shows like Watchmen, Ozark, and The Americans I needed a change of pace. I was a little worried that Brooklyn Nine-Nine would turn into more of a traditional crime procedural but try to jam humor to lighten the gravity of the crimes being investigated. I was also worried that this would be Grey’s Anatomy, but with cops instead. The pilot put most of my fears to rest mainly because of the chemistry of the cast and sneaky MVP Andre Braugher with his dry delivery and witty humor.
The chemistry of the cast overall kept me invested. I grew more and more fond of the main characters and all the side characters. Their growth as police officers, but more importantly as the family you choose, kept the stakes high when they were in danger. As a viewer, you hurt with them when a case doesn’t break their way or they had a personal issue they were wrestling with. The pop culture humor, a new spin on “that’s what she said” with “title of your sex tape,” and a yearly heist for the title of the Ultimate Detective/Human/Genius were great recurring gags. The cold opens were great hooks that often had nothing to do with episode, but were hilarious in unexpected ways. It reminds me a little of how The Simpsons often have an opening scene, then pivot to the main plot of the episode, even if it had nothing or minimal to do with the opening.
I was disappointed to see that Brooklyn Nine-Nine would only be returning for a very abbreviated final season. Great shows have a lot to wrap up in a final season, and there’s sometimes not enough time to get each character’s arcs across the finish line. Some characters get relegated to the background more than others and some stories you wish had more time to develop. There’s other questions I’m sure the showrunners had to consider as well, like, do you go with a season long arc or case of the week style approach? How will COVID-19 come into play (if at all)? What jokes or gags will make an appearance? And, which past recurring or guest characters will return to send off the Nine-Nine?
Unfortunately, real life has a way of throwing a wrench into plans.
Policing in the United States is at an uncomfortable and necessary crossroads. So many high profile incidents involving cops have made policing an extremely hot topic. Television shows have shown an affinity for tackling real issues and incorporating them into their shows. For instance, COVID-19 has been prevalent in a lot of TV shows in a variety of different ways. Medical shows have showcased the toll COVID-19 has taken on medical professionals, particularly in hospitals, and some shows were forced to do a special Zoom episode. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is unfortunately also in a weird position as well with dealing with real life issues bleeding into the very fabric of the show. How does a show about police officers, a comedy show nonetheless, handle the very real situation of 21st century police work?
The answer is a little all over the place.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has spent seven years tackling a lot of different issues when it comes to police work. From issues of race, to work-life balance, to sexism issues, to the real dangers posed to cops, to relationships with criminals, the show has done a great job of injecting comedy and heart into these tough topics. This felt like a very different topic because police accountability, reform, and the very institution of police work are all up for debate. These are addressed in different ways and a lot of the characters have to take a good look in the mirror in terms of these questions when it comes to their role and their own personal feelings about policing.
On one end of the spectrum is Frank O’Sullivan, played by John C. McGinley. O’Sullivan is the president of the NYPD police union and falls into the camp who believe that police officers “make split second decisions in life-or-death situations and they can’t be expected to get that 100% correct every single time.” This is a complex thought when it comes to policing because he is correct that police officers risk their lives consistently to serve and protect the general population. It’s also a dangerous thought that police officers should face no accountability for their actions and they have a Super Mario Bros. star of invincibility. O’Sullivan also addresses how cops are currently under more duress than ever as of late since every judgement, every call, every decision is now under a microscope of a public wanting change. Everything falls under scrutiny and how can a cop make sound judgements when every decision is analyzed with the potential of ending with an officer getting a Scarlet Letter-style branding of being dirty? This season, O’Sullivan is as close to being a season-long antagonist as the final season can get. However, he’s a complicated character that’s trying to protect police officers while resisting any type of change that could make their jobs even more difficult than it already is.
On one end of the spectrum, is the 99th precinct and how they all wrestle with these issues. Captain Holt and Sgt. Jeffords are dealing with policing as to pertains to their race and being a leader. Jake and Amy are dealing with policing as people who are questioning what difference they can make as well as being brand new parents. Rosa and Boyle have their own issues to deal with in regards to their feelings on policing. It’s a complicated set of circumstances, especially in a shortened (borderline almost too short) and final season. It’s a topic though that needs to be addressed nonetheless.
Season eight’s sixth episode, entitled The Set Up, deals with this issue head on and for me was the stand out episode of the season particularly when it comes to this season long question about where do the police go moving forward. Captain Holt goes “huffy,” his highest level of emotion that he can muster with an impassioned speech about police accountability.
“Do you know what happens when you refuse to punish cops for their mistakes? When police are treated as a separate class of citizen above the law? It breeds a lack of trust in the community and that lack of trust means people won’t help us with our investigations or testify or eventually call us when they’re in danger. It makes them more scared of us than of criminals and gangsters. It makes them run when we approach, even though they’ve done nothing wrong. It makes the people see us as the enemy, which leads to more confrontation, more distrust. You wonder how Peralta can do his job if he is held accountable for his actions? I wonder how many of us can do our job if he’s not.”
Captain Holt
This sums up the conflict of police accountability pretty well. Two sides of the coin: one of accountability and the other about the tough nature of the job and how it takes a toll on people. It’s a question that ultimately is left a little unanswered and in the air, just like it currently is understandably in real life. However, the fact that Brooklyn Nine-Nine addressed it at all, let alone for a good chunk of the season, was a great sight.
Rosa, Boyle, and Terry get the short end of the stick the most this season. Rosa, in the very first episode of the season, decides to leave the Nine-Nine for private investigation after losing her faith in the policing institution. I really wish they would have dove deeper into that and wished we could have had a Magnum PI or Veronica Mars-centric episode where she is up front and center. I also wish Holt, Jake, and Amy had major arcs for the season, particularly Holt, who is wrestling with issues within the NYPD as a whole, but also the stress it takes on his personal life as well. For Jake and Amy, balancing their new lives as parents also takes a toll as they struggle with something that all new parents have to eventually come to peace with balancing everything.
The season finale ends with another heist that was very complicated, filled with great cameos and callbacks, and a wonderful message about how the smaller, more intimate moments sometimes trump the grand gifts and gestures for all. I absolutely love who won. It was so ridiculous that it worked for me. I do like where most of the characters end up. Holt and Amy are heading up police reform for the NYPD, which leads them away from the Nine-Nine; Terry is taking over the precinct in a much deserved promotion; and (spoilers) Jake decides to leave the Nine-Nine to be a full time dad. This was a huge step for Jake considering how much he loves being a detective and for him to love his son more than being a detective was a beautiful sight (and very relatable as a first time parent as well in the last few years). (end of spoilers)
To see where all of these characters end up after eight years shows how much they’ve all grown and how much has happened to them individually and together. There’s a moment between Jake and Holt that functions as a lovely sendoff to a great relationship. Holt saying (spoilers) if he had a son like Jake one day, he’d be exceptionally proud made me cry. (end of spoilers) Andy Samberg’s tears seemed all too real, along with all the tears at the end of the final episode. Jake said it best that big goodbyes and drama would make saying goodbye less sad, especially when you have something great. And Brooklyn Nine-Nine was truly great. This season will be on the lower end in the rankings but still a worthy send off nonetheless.
NINE-NINE!!
Season grade: C+
Season Finale Grade: If ended two minutes earlier, B+ but since it didn’t, C
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