Brooklyn Nine-Nine: The Takeback (7x08)

I love Doug Judy enough that I'd forgive this episode any myriad of sins. And it's definitely not sin-less.

Cons:

I'm glad that Holt is back to being the Captain, but I will freely admit my frustration that his demotion wasn't more of a plot point this season. It didn't lead to any meaningful character growth, and because Terry just took over for him, we didn't even get the excitement of a new character to shift the group dynamics. Also, given what a big deal it's supposed to be that Holt is finally back, why was this moment relegated to a subplot, where nobody but Terry and Rosa seemed to care?

The other subplot was honestly one they could have deleted entirely from the episode and I wouldn't care. Amy is in charge of picking out a new vending machine now that a broken outlet has been fixed. Predictably, Scully and Hitchcock have lots of opinions about this, and equally predictably, Boyle tries to go for some fancy weird one that only serves fish balls. In the end, the machine Scully and Hitchcock choose is installed, but it shorts out the lights because the voltage is too high, so everything returns to normal by the end of the episode. My prevailing emotion watching all of this was just kind of a general... shrug.

Okay, as I said, I love Doug Judy and so I really liked the main part of this episode. There is one dicey sort of thing going on here, though. Doug is no longer a criminal - he seems to have legitimately reformed. But his friends are still criminals, and they commit a crime in this episode. My issue is that this show is one where all of the main characters are cops, and the focus is on apprehending criminals. Sure, it's a comedy, and sure this is a show I trust to be socially aware in most respects, but it's always just a little uncomfortable to see them rub up against the realities of people in the world being scared/distrustful of the police. These guys are actual criminals, yes, but they're really just a bunch of straight-forward thieves lacking in any nuance whatsoever. I don't know that I have a coherent complaint here, it's just something I wanted to point out.

Pros:

The subplots each had their moments of humor, though. I did like Hitchcock and Scully's stilted, awkward sales pitch to Amy, who nevertheless had to pick them because the alternative was Charles and his fish balls. And Holt's reaction to his office being put back the way he left it, by minutely adjusting the angles of all of his belongings, was really great. Rosa basically comes along for the ride in this fight between Holt and Terry, and she skillfully jumps ship when Holt gets mad, then hops back on board to accept his praise in the end. I thought that was great, especially Terry getting more and more frustrated.

Something about a Doug Judy episode just ups the energy of the whole show for me. I think it's the way Jake gets so excited about everything. If you think about it, in the earlier days of this show Charles was always chasing Jake around for his approval. In the Judy/Peralta relationship, Jake is very much the Charles to Judy's Jake. That makes for a fun, high-energy dynamic!

Some of my favorite moments include Jake's angry tirade at the start when he realizes he's not invited to the wedding (and Rosa knowing this would upset him), and the conversation between Doug, Trudy, and Jake about who he looks like: Jason Mraz, Andy Garcia, Seth Green, or... Tom Green?! Go back to Jason Mraz! Trudy's obsession with butts was quite fun and the whole reverse heist made me smile. But then obviously, Jake is a cop and he takes his job seriously, so he ends up turning in Judy's friends.

However, it wouldn't be a Doug Judy episode without an additional twist! Turns out, Judy didn't want his criminal friends at his wedding, because his bride-to-be is a judge. Jake actually helped him out by getting his friends out of the way. And he wants Jake to be his best man! Their friendship is so delightful and silly and... wrong in a way that makes it so, so much fun to watch.

I think I'll leave it there! As I said at the start, Doug Judy makes for a good time, even in an episode with plenty of issues.

8/10