Brooklyn Nine-Nine: He Said, She Said (6x08)

Episodes like this will be overly scrutinized because they seem to be making a statement. People will wonder if it's too "after school special," or they will try to point to any possible missteps that Brooklyn Nine-Nine has made in the past, in order to say that this show doesn't have the right to talk about this subject. People will nitpick, and some might be genuinely upset... but personally? I think this episode stands on its own merits, and I think it was pretty great.

Cons:

The subplot was really funny, and focused on the Disco Strangler. I don't have any problems with it in particular, but I thought Terry and Charles were kind of underutilized. Holt was hilarious, but the other two were just kind of there to react to his silliness. I'm not sure what I would have preferred, but I think there might have been more potential here than we got to see.

Pros:

Keeping to the subplot for now, I've got to admit that it's fun for Holt to be the punchline of the joke every once in a while. His determination to catch the Disco Strangler, and his belief in his nemesis' escape was really funny, especially the recurring bit where he'd start part of the story only to find out that he'd already told it to everyone several times. The comedy here was also underpinned by Holt's insecurities. The Disco Strangler was the case that defined his success as a detective. If his nemesis really is dead, or at least so old that he can't be a threat anymore, that means that Holt is also past his prime and out of touch. The comedy here worked mostly because of the performances. I don't think a less talented actor could have pulled off some of the material that Holt was working with.

Onto the main plot. There are several things I want to praise. I'm going to be talking about sexual assault in a frank way, and I want to be clear that this is just my opinion, that I can only speak from what I've learned, and that I am by no means an expert.

First of all, I think this episode was smart to keep the particulars of the case very... predictable. By that I don't mean that they had no impact, I just mean that they weren't extraordinary cases involving serial rapists, dark alleys,  or anything of the sort. The story of Keri is something pretty extreme, but at least she does avoids being raped by physically attacking her assaulter. The story is familiar - it's in a workplace, and it involves a male co-worker taking advantage of a situation. The assaulter then makes jokes about it with his bros, and lies about what happened to the police. Pretty par for the course, honestly. Amy's story is also very hard to hear, but it's also quite typical - she says that her first mentor helped her through the ranks and got her promoted to detective, but then tried to kiss her as "payment for her career." Male authority figures who try to exchange sex for career advancement? Yeah. That's a big problem, and has been for a long time. The consequence of keeping these stories grounded in reality is that they don't feel like exceptional tragedies, the way a horrific murder would. They're the kinds of things that women experience every day, and while they might seem less significant than the violent crime we often see portrayed on TV, that doesn't mean they aren't awful to endure.

I want to talk about Rosa's role in this episode, which I found really interesting. (Also, kudos to Stephanie Beatriz for directing). She and Amy position themselves slightly differently when it comes to the subject of Keri's assault. Rosa believes that Keri should have taken the hush money and kept quiet about it. Amy, on the other hand, wants to press forward and get Keri to press charges. This is kind of an ideals vs. reality debate, or at least it seems to be at first. Rosa is being practical, while Amy wants to do the right thing and put away a bad man. At first, it seems that Amy should have listened to Rosa, because the results are sort of... mixed. The bad guy gets caught, but Keri's work environment has become so hostile that even though she doesn't get fired, she's forced to quit. Rosa comes forward and tells Amy that another person has come forward to tell her story of sexual assault, inspired by Keri. So... even if it is two steps forward, one step back, that's still one step forward. I loved that message. Amy's quote at the end was hilarious, and also an important part of the message: "We can be different and still have the same cause!"

Jake's role in events was appropriately downplayed. He had a quote that exemplified it: "I have landed on active listening; I will no longer be chiming in." I'm not going to throw a pity party for men who feel like they need to tip-toe around conversations involving rape culture and sexual assault. But, I do want to point out a very real tension between letting women be the voices of a movement, and want to be an ally and show support. This is true in any case where someone who is not part of a minority wants to show their support for a cause. It can sometimes be difficult to know when you're not going to be a part of a conversation, and to learn to listen to the voices of others. I think everyone can understand that to some extent. So is Jake perfect at it? No. He goes to his default when he's uncomfortable and makes jokes to deflect the awkwardness sometimes. His behavior shows how insidious the patriarchy can be. Jake thinks the office where Keri was assaulted is... really cool. The assaulter wants a Batmobile. Everyone has dorky nicknames and they party hard all the time. Jake is amused and drawn to some of this boorish, juvenile behavior. I'm not saying that the episode aligns Jake with the assaulter, exactly, but it shows that there are people out there who are probably very cheerful, and share interests with you, and seem like a "good guy," who are capable of this monstrous behavior. It's not always simple to distinguish these men.

I also want to touch on the characterization of Keri. This goes back to what I was saying before about the stories of sexual assault being familiar. Keri is a very stereotypical corporate woman. She's professional in the extreme, and you get the sense that she has to be, if she is going to be at all competitive in her field. She's the type of woman that will get called a bitch for being too professional and not sexually available, even though men with the same sort of focus and ruthless attitudes will get rewarded. This story feels all too real.

The scene were Amy told Jake about what had happened to her was really powerful. I like that we didn't linger too much on the story, or make it seem like Amy was spinning out of control. But she's clearly upset, and she has every right to be. It's so heartbreaking to think of Amy Santiago, an exemplary detective and employee, questioning her worth because of what a male superior did to her. Because of his actions, she had to question whether she had really earned her promotion. That's what people don't seem to realize - you could look at the situation and say, "oh, a guy tried to kiss you and you didn't want him to. That's not that big of a deal!" But there's just so much more at play. The power dynamics make everything complicated, and there are lasting effects involved.

That's where I'll stop for now. I thought this was a very powerful and well done episode. It didn't try to be a "Very Special Episode," but it undeniably put extra attention towards tackling a very important topic with finesse, compassion, and still a decent amount of humor.

9/10