Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s sophomore season came to an end last night, putting a cap on what has overall been a fantastic season. This show continues to get better as the characters grow and develop not only as individuals, but in their relationships with each other. Every episode focuses on these relationships in different way, pairing characters who all work together seamlessly. The focus of the season finale was on Jake and Amy as they finally confronted the feelings that they’ve had for each other but have been too afraid to act on. At the same time, we got to see a further evolution in Boyle and Rosa’s friendship, while the rest of the precinct dealt with the very real possibility of Captain Holt leaving.
Something impressive Brooklyn Nine-Nine has done over its first two seasons is develop the friendship between Boyle and Rosa. At the beginning of the series, the writers played with the idea of Boyle having feelings for Rosa. Instead of trying to force this on us, they realized it wasn’t working and made an adjustment, letting these two form what has become one of the most fun friendships to watch on the show. Last night’s finale showed just how well Boyle knows Rosa as he planned a birthday surprise for her.
Because of Rosa’s belief that no one over the age of six should celebrate their birthday, she was reluctant to go along with Boyle, who was clearly trying to get her to a bar where she thought a surprise party was waiting. This is the last thing that she would want to do on her birthday, and she refuses to go. After proving he knows a lot of useless facts about her, most delightfully her dislike of the Gilmore Girls finale,Boyle finally gets Rosa to agree to go, if only to not upset her boyfriend Marcus. In a move that truly surprised her, it turns out that Marcus had rented out the bar for a night so that it would just be them celebrating, without having to deal with other people. Of course, this was all Boyle’s idea, who despite no longer having romantic feelings for her, still cares about Rosa and wants to see her happy. These two couldn’t be more different, and that’s what makes their friendship so special.
Ever since Amy told Jake that she was no longer interested in dating cops, he has been acting weird around her and avoiding her. At the beginning of the episode, Amy confronts him about this and Jake admits that the reason he’s been so awkward is that he had been planning on asking her out before he found out about her new rule. Once again, we see them shy away from the possibility of a romantic relationship, claiming that they don’t want things to change. Their fears of what a romantic relationship could do to their friendship if it didn’t work out have been holding them back, and it’s a hurdle they haven’t been able to overcome.
When a case forces Jake and Amy to be in close proximity to each other, posing as an engaged couple, they can’t hide from those feelings and fears anymore. In a classic television trope, their undercover work leads to them having to make a choice: either be caught by the person they’re tailing or kiss. Even after their kisses though, Jake and Amy aren’t willing to accept the change that this could bring to their friendship, leading to some hilariously awkward moments. Of course, Boyle ships them and encourages them to pursue their feelings, but it isn’t until they’re both faced with big change at the precinct that they give into the change in their relationship, outside of any case.
The big change at the precinct has to do with Captain Holt, who is being forced out by his life-long enemy, Madeline Wuntch. Showing what we already know, which is that everyone at the precinct genuinely cares about each other, Gina and Terry work together to find evidence that will essentially blackmail Wuntch into changing her mind. Holt has become like a father figure to the precinct, especially to Jake, and seeing him leave is unimaginable to them.
But they’re no match for Wuntch, who turns the tables on Holt and makes it clear that if he doesn’t leave, she is going to separate the whole precinct, sending everyone to different locations. Just like they all care about Holt, he cares about them,to o, and he is unwilling to let that happen. In the end, Holt sacrifices himself to keep everyone else together, doing something we rarely see him do: showing emotion. Gina doesn’t let him exit alone, following him out of the office and leaving us wondering where we’ll see these characters next season. With a new captain on the way and change in the air, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is staying fresh and keeping the audience invested in what will happen next.
[Photo via FOX]
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