This week’s episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Captain Peralta” is another example of why I wish this show could add maybe five minutes to its overall running time. It was a good episode–an exceptional one for Jake’s characterization–but as it ended, I was left wanting more. This may also be due to the fact that I realized that tonight’s episode was the 18th episode and I’m alarmed at how quickly one of my favorite shows on television is going by.
The episode is smart by breaking it up into only two storylines this week to help pack a bit of an emotional punch while also supplying the viewers with a B plot with a lot of laughs. Jake’s dad (Bradley Whitford) is in town to spend time with his son, much to Boyle’s annoyance. When Boyle is the voice of reason, you know the character in question is being delusional and Jake acts up to that for much of the episode. He’s so excited that his absentee father is here to see him that he ignores all logical impulses about his dad’s true intentions. It could become frustrating to watch Jake delude himself to such an extent if we hadn’t seen his tunnel vision before. He’s a great cop but he’s enthusiastic and obsessive and from what we’ve heard about him before, his dad’s a sore spot so of course he’d jump at this opportunity.
However, that doesn’t make Boyle’s exasperation any less amusing. I love it when the character with the greatest eccentricities is the one who’s making the most sense. Gina got to play this part in last week’s episode so it’s only suitable for Boyle to take up the mantle this week.
The B plot is essentially an excuse to distract and team up certain characters for an episode. Captain Holt task his team with solving a brain teaser puzzle and it Amy is convinced she and Terry will figure it out before Rosa and Gina, even with Beyoncé tickets as an incentive. The high strung Terry and Amy make for an entertaining pair and Rosa and Gina should have but I’m getting sick of Marcus…and he’s never even onscreen. I don’t know what Nick Cannon is doing these days but surely nothing so lucrative that they couldn’t have snagged him for a few more appearances. Every time Rosa mentions him or something he likes I’m pulled out of the scene because the idea that he’s even a character is ludicrous. Maybe there’s some pay off coming up soon because otherwise it will just seem like a great big waste of time for a character that could be given more interesting stories.
In the end though they find out that Holt had given them the puzzle for his own gain and he ends up giving the tickets to Gina who uses her particular brand of scathing skills to help Holt get over the impending ridicule for still having failed to solve the problem. Gina and Chelsea Peretti are having a stellar few episodes.
Meanwhile we’re getting the chance to see Jake mature a little bit right before us. He soon learns that Roger is only in town to have Jake help him get off a drug charge. This smarts but still Jake, Boyle and Scully end up in Canada to help his dad. It turns out it was one of Roger’s mistresses that planted the drugs and Roger is let off the hook.
He’s still a dick though so him cancelling on Jake later that night for celebratory drinks isn’t surprising but we still feel for the character.
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Jake, in a surprising move, refuses to let his dad off on this offense and goes to hotel where he proceeds to tell him off for being such a terrible father. It isn’t an overtly dramatic scene and it doesn’t sacrifice the shows fun tone but its frank and to the point. Jake tells Roger that he’s a bad father and he has no need for that and then he walks away. Jake is an adult who got swept away for a moment by childish naiveté.
All of this leads up to a special little moment where Captain Holt, a father figure to Jake, tells him he’s proud of him. Jake’s small smile at those words is so sweet and so well played by Andy Samberg who did some fine work in this week’s episode.
I still can’t believe we’re so close to the seasons end!
8/10
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