Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: Greg and Larry
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ended its third season on a high note last night, delivering a finale that gave every character a chance to shine, while also setting up a surprising premise for the first couple episodes of next season.
I say the first couple because, as with Jake’s undercover op in season one and Holt’s promotion in season two, the duo’s return to the Nine-Nine is inevitable, though I do hope we get to see some of their time in Florida first. The comedic potential there is too good to pass up, with Holt’s likely hatred of the place (I’m assuming; he doesn’t seem like a sun and surf kind of guy) and Jake’s excitement over a one-on-one adventure with his mentor.
I also don’t mind mild cliffhangers on this show because they’re never used to fabricate tension or as an excuse for character regression. For example, I’m pretty sure that Jake isn’t going to come home and discover that Amy no longer wants to move in with him. When a show is as confident in its characters as this one is, it doesn’t need to rely on unnecessary obstacles. Rather, it can let the characters be and allow natural humor and realism to take center stage.
That’s exactly what the writers have done with Jake and Amy’s relationship this season. I think we can definitely add them to the list of TV couples who seamlessly moved from friends to “romantic stylez”, and the mature move in talk, coupled with both expressing how much they love each other, was a lovely way to end their first season of dating.
As I said, every character had a chance to shine in this one, with Boyle and Amy, typically the two nicest characters, treating the flight attendant horrendously to distract themselves from what was happening in New York, Scully and Hitchcock driving insanely and taste testing every sign in the hospital, Gina delving into her Serena Williams alter ego, Terry expressing utter confusion over Rosa’s apartment, and Rosa herself casually mentioning that neither her neighbors nor her co-workers know her real name. We also got those hilarious interrogations, with each person’s attempt to crack Bob extremely in-character. I think Terry gets the win there with his yelling that it was all hypothetical and eventually becoming too emotional to carry on. Other standouts from the ensemble: the reveal that Amy became a sort of prison queen, Jake and Terry’s extended Grey’s Anatomy riff, and Rosa’s super calling her “a bit chatty,” to Amy’s complete bewilderment.
And that’s to say nothing of Holt and Jake (or Greg and Larry, as it were), who had hilarious moments both individually and together. Jake started things off with a bang, engaging in a little Bob/Holt conversation role play and getting sidetracked by “Holt” talking about considering Jake a son. That moment was the perfect example of this show maintaining its goofy, comedic tone even while characters are in dangerous situations. When a bit is that entertaining, it’s easy to ignore that Jake left Holt in danger for longer than necessary. It also nicely foreshadowed the real Holt calling Jake “son” later on, as well as that epic “Funky Cold Medina” teamup.
In addition to his great moments with Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher’s interplay with Dennis Haysbert continued to be fantastic; their random back and forth over various foods was especially good. We also had Holt’s anger at himself for carrying mirco binoculars (“like a fool!”), being outraged by Bob’s use of sarcasm more than his betrayal, and his request that Bob give Kevin his regards. This has been a season full of spectacular Holt moments, so it felt appropriate that we ended with some instant classics.
As you can probably tell from my detailing of pretty much every comedic bit, a great finale, and the perfect conclusion to an excellent third season. Already looking forward to checking in with Greg and Larry in the fall!
