There's nothing stronger than the love between a man and his dog.

On Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7 Episode 12, Holt and Kevin stopped at nothing to get their precious Cheddar back from his captor.

They wouldn't rest until Cheddar was back safe with them.

It's always great to see Marc Evan Jackson reprise his role as Holt's husband. There's no one better at deadpan humor.

However, we got something different from him this time around.

Someone took our fluffy boy!
Holt

Permalink: Someone took our fluffy boy!

Holt and Kevin have always been a great match because of their emotional compatibility. They are both rarely shown angry or upset, but once Cheddar's safety got involved, there was no controlling them.

Kevin nearly cried after seeing leaves just because they reminded him of Cheddar. If they weren't able to rescue Cheddar, he would've never recovered.

He loves that dog. He would've felt responsible for being the one to lose control of Cheddar, allowing him to get kidnapped. Holt and Kevin's relationship would've fallen apart.

If this wasn't Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and a happy ending wasn't almost guaranteed, this would've been a much darker half-hour of television.

But luckily, in the Nine-Nine, a rescue mission is always successful, even if it involves Jake doing a terrible impression of Kevin.

It's sweet that Holt refused to put Kevin in harm's way, but no one was ever going to fall for it.

You both look upset. Did they stop funding the arts?
Jake

Permalink: You both look upset. Did they stop funding the arts?

Jake might've been able to feign the right amount of excitement when seeing a yellow warbler, but he would never have been able to fool a skilled criminal into believing he's the type of man to attend a Shakespeare festival.

We've never seen a more passionate Captain Holt before. He would never have given up on Cheddar and would have gone to the ends of the earth to find him.

He was ready to use grenades on anyone who got in his way. It's nice to see Holt show so much emotion, even if it is a bit jarring compared to his usual demeanor.

But who can blame him for losing control? His fluffy boy got taken!

I'm surprised the whole precinct wasn't working on this case.

He made Jake clear his schedule, but surely the whole squad getting involved would've led to an even quicker rescue.

Sure, New York needs its police force, but this is Cheddar we're talking about here!

The whole Nine-Nine should've been working on getting him to safety.

But instead, Terry and Charles were busy planning a new business venture. It was very clearly a filler storyline and not an entertaining one.

I wish Brooklyn Nine-Nine would realize they don't have to have three plots going on at once to keep the audience interested.

It's nice to get all your characters involved, but if there's one major compelling plotline centering around just a few characters, it's okay to focus on that.

Cutting back and forth between a dog rescue mission and a bone broth infomercial took away from the urgency of getting Cheddar back.

Nothing is as important to me in the world as this dog.
Holt

Permalink: Nothing is as important to me in the world as this dog.

If the purpose of including all the characters in every episode is to satisfy actors' contract agreements, it would be better to involve them in the main story than to give them their own.

Can you imagine how much better the episode could've been with more time centered around Holt and Kevin's fight to save Cheddar?

Cheddar is the single most important thing in the world to Holt, much to Jake's dismay. Anything else is completely irrelevant.

Out of the two unnecessary side plots of the episode, Amy and Rosa's was much more enjoyable. It still felt out of place in such a high-stakes situation, but on another episode, it would've been a highlight.

Amy's ex-boyfriend Teddy made a reappearance. He's married now, but that sadly doesn't stop him from proposing to Amy a fifth time.

There has never been a man with less dignity.

Whoever married him must somehow have even worse self-esteem than he does.

Rosa has continued to shine throughout Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7.

Her dedication to trying to win Amy the stroller of her dreams was admirable. She's always been a great friend to her and the rest of the squad.

Sadly, even Rosa can't withstand Teddy's tedious nature for over twenty hours, so Amy is stuck with the stroller Rosa had originally gotten her for her baby shower.

She'll probably be making use of that gift receipt.

Other Brooklyn Nine-Nine Musings:

I didn't realize how much I had gotten used to Hitchcock and Scully's presence in every episode until this one. We only got to see them in the cold open. They always have the best one-liners, and it would've been funny to see them help search for Cheddar. It was a missed opportunity.

Holt's fight scene with Kingston at the end was fantastic. It was one of the longer action sequences we've seen on the show, and it was well-earned. You don't mess with Holt's fluffy boy!

Holt: That's weird, it's sunny outside.
Jake: Why is that weird?
Holt: Because a shit-storm is about to rain down.

Permalink: Because a shit-storm is about to rain down.