Brooklyn 99 is one of the best sit-coms on TV right now, but there isn’t a lot to watch right now as production slows to a stop due to the quarantine. If you’re in the market for a show to rewatch, this show is a great way to get by. Here are a few winners to keep you busy. They’re mostly from the last couple of seasons, so you probably haven’t watched them as often as some from the earlier seasons.
Season 4, Episode 19: Your Honor
We love a backstory episode, especially introducing a parent or sibling. We are blessed with Judge Laverne Holt, Captain Holt’s mother. She is very similar to her son, in an amusing way, and we get some nice emotional catharsis between mother and son about their emotional distance.
Season 5, Episode 12: Safe House
This is one of the best episodes of the show ever- I have a preference for Kevin, and we get to see two characters go a little nuts. It’s well-loved by fans, for good reason, because we get to see Holt and Kevin’s marriage tested, and the story beats and funny and interesting.
Season 5, Episode 14: The Box
Sterling K. Brown is always a delight, and having him as a guest star in this episode really made it. Without a really good actor for the dentist, this episode would just be Holt and Peralta tossing hot water at a wall. Because Brown brings so much to the interrogation room, it makes the whole episode better. Obviously, the episode is special for other reasons, the writing in particular is stellar, and we love to see Holt and Jake team up.
Season 6, Episode 6: The Crime Scene
Watching someone go slowly insane is pretty bleak usually, but in this case it’s just amusing. Plus, there’s the added gag of Rosa’s hairstyles changing with each time jump. Jake experiencing frustration is also refreshing, because that’s a normal part of police work.
Season 7, Episode 6: Trying
This episode manages to squish three excellent plots into one episode: Jake and Amy’s attempts to conceive, Holt’s frustration with his beat as a uniformed officer, and Boyle and Rosa’s guinea pig disaster. This episode is very strong, in that it allows time to pass in a way that seems natural. It’s silly, funny, and entertaining. It’s also a great Peraltiago episode.
Season 7, Episode 12: Ransom
Another excellent couple episode, except this one is a Holt-Kevin episode, featuring Cheddar. It’s mostly just a funny one, including a lot of Angry Holt, and Jake imitating Kevin. “Oh, look. A yellow-crested warbler.” It’s a great reminder of how whimsical the show can be when Holt fully gets unleashed.
As the seasons go, season three is probably the most solid in terms of quality overall. What Brooklyn 99 has been working on the last couple of seasons is understanding what it is- it’s not a season-long romp. The strongpoint of this show is the episodic plot, and the continuity of character development. There is a big bad every season, or some kind of resolution, but the big-picture stuff isn’t its strength. Brooklyn 99 shines when each episode can exist on its own, and as part of the whole.
The Chamber of Spoilers 