Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Ransom (7x12)

This episode was great! So much fun on every level.

Cons:

My bleeding heart wanted just a hint of Holt and Kevin being worried about Jake, though. The comedy of them both caring so deeply for their dog works really well, but there was a moment, after Cheddar has been returned to them, that I thought maybe they'd start panicking about Jake, too. When Holt beats up the bad guy, it appears to be entirely for Cheddar's sake, without even a hint that he'd been concerned for his friend and colleague being kidnapped. I could have used just a hint of feelings here, even though I understand that's not really what the episode was about.

The fumigation cold open with Hitchcock and Scully was perfectly fine, but it sort of felt like it was just there to give those two characters something to do in the episode, as it connected with nothing else going on. It felt odd and disjointed, like it could have been plopped down anywhere without consequence.

Pros:

I love Kevin! I was just bemoaning that we hadn't seen him in a while, and here he is in all his glory. I love the way Kevin and Holt are both so frantic about Cheddar, which pushes Jake into being the more rational one. The whole scenario is goofy but it's underpinned by the real affection and love existing between the two husbands. That dog is their baby. And when the kidnapper wants Kevin to come and pay the ransom, Holt refuses to put Kevin in danger. This leads to Jake having to impersonate him, to great comedic effect. "Indeed, indeed, indeed" was a particular highlight, but also just Jake's Kevin impression across the board had me chuckling. They played with the joke of Jake trying the imitation multiple times, with absolutely no discernible difference, and then having Holt declare one version better than the others. I love the idea that Holt can examine micro-expressions and shifts in tone of voice so well that it's undetectable for most people.

This is obviously also an example of Holt losing his cool entirely. With Cheddar in danger, he becomes a bad-ass with cool action movie one-liners and a singular focus on saving his dog. This leads to an obvious John Wick comparison, and Jake is a fanboy as always whenever his captain gets into this mode.

The subplots were both fun too, although neither took up all that much time. First off, Rosa tries to help Amy win a fancy expensive stroller in a contest, but she's competing against Amy's boring ex-boyfriend Teddy. I loved the repeated joke of Teddy being so boring that other people left the competition just to get away from him, even though he doesn't realize he's doing it. The contest doesn't allow pregnant women to participate, but nobody will say why, which creates an ominous and humorous echo as well. Rosa being incredibly sleep-deprived was the funniest part of all, with her saying things out loud because her brain has stopped communicating with her body: "snarl at Amy," for example, had me laughing out loud.

Lastly, we've got Boyle and Terry, partnering up to make an after-workout broth together. These two should be paired up more often, they make for a great comedic duo. This plot thread plays on the running joke that Charles doesn't hear the inappropriateness of his own words, so as he tries to name their new company and mentions "bone bros," he's the only one who doesn't hear how it sounds, not even when Terry points it out to him. I also like that Terry accidentally causes the broth to explode, because it shows that the two of them together are two halves of a whole dumb-ass. That's one of my favorite tropes.

So yeah, this was a strong installment overall! Much like last week, it leaned heavily on the comedy and didn't have much in the way of more meaningful connection to it, but that's fine! This is a sitcom, and sometimes the laughs should rule the day.

9/10