Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Cinco de Mayo (6x16)

When I saw that this was another heist episode, for a second I was worried that they'd run out of good ways of doing this. Happy to report, I was wrong - this was a lot of fun!

Cons:

The only thing I didn't love was the pregnancy fake-out thing, because I felt like that subject wasn't handled with all that much delicacy when it first came up a few weeks ago. To have Amy lie about that now, and to show Jake overflowing with excitement at the prospect of fatherhood, was a little bit disingenuous to the characters, in my opinion.

Pros:

This season has had a lot of episodes that paired off various characters for side quests. That's been fun, but seeing the whole gang together on this one made me remember how much I love the full ensemble cast feel of this show. We get lots of little scenes of various pairings, as Terry and Jake work together, Holt and Amy, Rosa and Charles, but secretly Rosa and Holt, but secretly Terry was playing everyone all along... there were so many moments where alliances were shifting, and I genuinely loved the comedy of errors as it was unfolding.

Kevin getting roped in to the quest was absolutely great. I genuinely wasn't expecting him to turn on Holt like that, but I love how he framed it as being for Holt's own good. Of course, in the end we learn that he was being manipulated by Terry along with everyone else, which added an extra fun element to the game.

Scully having a secret twin this whole time is just exactly the sort of silliness that this show can pull off so well. This episode was a lot more over-the-top than usual with this kind of joke - a secret twin, Rosa climbing out of the couch cushion, Boyle's doppelganger being dead but then apparently alive all along, Terry painted gold to be disguised as a statue... it was all very cartoonish in a way that I genuinely enjoyed. I think my favorite reveal of all was when we found out that the explosion that apparently happened on the previous Halloween was faked all along, but not by Jake or Holt.

I also love how the heist brings out the competitive side of Jake and Amy's relationship, taking us back in some ways to their Season One selves. The tasers were great, but I especially loved Amy mocking Jake's proposal during the last heist, in the heat of her competitive spirit.

It's about time Terry gets the respect he deserves! Sure, he's cheerful and open, but that doesn't mean he's stupid! These heist episodes are always so contrived in how convoluted the plans are, but I don't even care. It's fun that different people win every year, and that there's always some added element that keeps it fresh.

This is kind of a short review, but there's honestly not a lot to say - this was a super fun, super creative episode!

9/10