Photo Source: FOX // Brooklyn Nine Nine
The Bank Job
It’s the penultimate episode of the season, which means some crazy stuff is about to go down on B99! “The Bank Job” led us straight into the action.
Last week, Rosa & Jake realized that their hero, Lieutenant Hawkins, is actually a dirty cop heading up The Golden Boys crime organization–that she’s pretending to track down. With Holt’s (secret) help, the two try to prove that they are dirty enough to be trusted. They started by beating up Adrian (Hi Jason Mantzoukas!) and then brought cocaine from the evidence room to their bar party. Apparently, that was enough to gain Hawkins’ trust, because she invited them to rob a bank with her. While on the way, Jake informed Holt and he gathered the team and headed their way. Little did we know, Hawkins never trusted Jake & Rosa. She sent Holt to the wrong bank and set Jake & Rosa up as the real Golden Boys. Now, they’re in REAL trouble because it’s their word against Hawkins and her gang. And she seems almost too smart to overpower. How will they get out of this?!
On a lighter note, Terry, Amy, and Charles discovered that Gina is pregnant (art imitates life)! When they try to figure out who the father is, Gina tells them it’s a celebrity and she signed a non-disclosure agreement. Soon they find that was a lie, because she didn’t want Charles to know that the father is her new boyfriend, Milton Boyle (Ryan Phillipe)…Charles’ least favorite cousin! Milton and Gina are perfect for each other, though. So similar…they both want to name their kid “The Enigma”. Oy.
Crime & Punishment
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is *secretly* a pretty dark comedy, if you think about it. While we get a lot of silly humor, almost every single cliffhanger delivered has been dark, life-threatening, and potentially life-changing to any and all characters. I gotta be honest…sometimes this show stresses me out more than a comedy should. “Crime & Punishment” was a prime example of that.
Hawkins and her gang have framed Jake & Rosa for the bank robberies, and while, at first, it seems like they have enough evidence to prove their innocence, Hawkins is too good. She makes Jake & Rosa look like criminal masterminds that just took one wrong step (getting caught).
With an extra day to gather evidence, Jake & Amy headed to PA to find another witness and Charles & Terry got some help from some hackers. None of them were successful, though. And the episode ended with the head juror reading out a guilty plea.
That’s 15 years in prison for both of them.
This is how B99 has always been, I guess, but I think I’m just getting a little sick of this formula: high stakes scenario, season ends with Jake (and sometimes others) in trouble, then we have to deal with it for a few more episodes next season before it’s resolved. It feels stale to me, and unnecessarily stressful. I don’t think comedies need crazy cliffhangers. They’re comedies. They don’t depend on twisty drama.
It’ll all work out in the end, but part of me hopes Goor and Schur shake it up a little bit next season.
