Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 2 Episode 18 Review: Captain Peralta
Robin Harry
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As a proud Canadian, I was a little worried when I realized that Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 2 Episode 18 was going to involve treading Canadian soil.
I wondered how on earth Americans would make fun of us this time. However, they went to Quebec. No worries there. It’s always okay to make fun of Quebec.
In any case, this was a good episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that became great with the last two scenes. Jake deals with his father’s visit in a surprising way, and Holt has everyone chomping at the bit for Beyoncé tickets.
JAKE AND HIS FATHER FIGURES
The show has made mention several times of Jake’s estranged relationship with his father. We know that his father cheated on his mother and left them when was only a child. Jake’s “daddy issues” are a running theme.
However, I was completely unaware that Jake still kept in contact with his father; I had gotten the impression that they were completely estranged. So when Jake mentioned that his pilot captain father was coming to town to spend time with him, I was completely surprised.
Charles, as he so often is with Jake, was the voice of reason, and the voice of all of us expecting the inevitable disappointment that was to ensue. Jake was happy to keep making excuses for his dad, but Boyle did not trust Roger Peralta as far as he could throw him, and was sincerely worried about his friend’s expectations and perspective.
Jake has always had a problem with hero worship. We saw that last season with the reporter he idolized (who was a terrible person), and we see this again with his father. While Charles tried to warn him about being too excited, and about deserving more from him as a father, Jake was quick to brush all that off.
Unfortunately for Jake, Charles was right all along. His father only came to town to take advantage of Jake’s position as a detective, and had no interest in spending time with Jake after he had served his usefulness in getting him off the drug smuggling charges. He blew him off without so much as a thank you or an “I’m proud of you.”
Jake’s confrontation of his father at the end is one of the single most gratifying scenes of the show. It’s a pivotal moment in that character’s growth; he’s finally gotten a handle of some of those daddy issues, and he knows what he deserves. Plus he got a super cool pilot captain’s hat.
The show has often played with the idea of Captain Holt being a father figure to Jake. This was supremely obvious in this episode. Both Holt and Roger are captains of some kind, and even Jake admitted to it being weird when Roger and Holt crossed paths.
However, while Roger takes advantage of Jake, breaks promises to him and deserts him, Holt continues to guide Jake on the path to becoming the best person he is. Holt even made good on the promise of buying drinks that Roger was supposed to have done. Best of all, he gave Jake the validation that he’s needed his whole life. Jake finally had a father figure that was proud of him.
THE ISLAND ESCAPE PUZZLE
While Jake, Scully and Charles were off solving mysteries in Canada, Captain Holt had the rest of the precinct going nuts with an island escape puzzle. He posited the problem to his crew, dangling a prize of Beyonce tickets to the first person to solve it.
This side story wasn’t quite as engaging as usual. We’ve seen Amy’s competitive side before, and this was a more subdued version of it. Though it was interesting to see the pairing of Rosa and Gina. These two have the strongest personalities of the whole precinct, and I marveled at the fact that they were actually able to work together.
This was a solid episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and I’m incredibly glad that Jake got some of the closure that he deserved.
OTHER NOTES:
- Anyone else starting to believe that Scully was actually a prodigy? Not only can he sing opera, and he learned French by being forgotten in Paris for a couple days! I really want to know more of his story now!
- Is it just me, or was Jake Peralta incredibly, unbelievable attractive in that pilot’s uniform?
- By contrast, I agree with the precinct. Boyle's goatee had to go.
- Soundtrack notes: nice use of Spirit In The Sky.
- Another Canadian note: by the way, our cops are awesome. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fight crime on horseback – effectively!
If you have missed any of Peralta's misadventures, you can always watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine online via TV Fanatic!
