Brooklyn Nine-Nine, "The Chopper," (2.22) - TV Review

May 10th, 2015, 8:30 PM, FOX

Wuntch reappears to give Jake permission to work his dream case – the murder of Carl Mathers, one of the Fulton Street Four, which leaves Holt worried she’s setting Jake up to fail. This is the second gang member to fall dead, and Jake and Holt’s hunch that someone’s after the twenty one million the gang had stashed away it’s a race against the clock for Jake, Holt and Charles to solve the murders and retrieve the cash before the last two members of the gang end up dead. They close in on an abandoned farmhouse but when their Meanwhile, Amy, Rosa and Gina help Terry host a field trip’s worth of kids to the station when the Brooklyn Park Magnate School descends on the precinct. Terry wants to make a good impression because his twins are on the school’s waiting list, but Gina’s absorption with the class’ social hierarchy and Rosa’s yen to show them the grittier side of life as a cop leaves Amy’s stuck playing literal good cop while Terry courts the group leader to better get his kids a good spot on the waiting list. But Amy’s desire to curry favor with the kids results in her showing the group of twelve year olds gruesome crime scene photos, jeopardizing Cagney and Lacey’s chances to end up among the school’s elite. It’s up to the gang to prove that the kids’ trip to the station was worthwhile.

As with all good Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes, “The Chopper” takes the show’s best elements and blends them into twenty-two solid minutes of humor and action. After nearly two full seasons, we know how the character beats will play out – Holt will be protective while pretending he doesn’t care, Jake will be dogged and determined to bring in the crooks and Charles will be massively unlucky. But character camaraderie carries the episode, with full-blooded action enhancing the brew of character humor and connection as always. At the core of the episode’s strength is the surefootedness with which the actors embody their characters - where is Andre Braugher’s Emmy, and who do we need to butter up to get him one? One would figure that the action element wouldn’t blend successfully with the comedic, but week after week the show keeps us invested in both, plus the characters themselves, who’re eminently rootable.

None more than Terry and Raymond, both of whom just want the best for those around them – and for justice to be served with a modicum of blood lost. The last ten minutes of the show will make you feel awful for Holt; the rest, inspired by his ever-forthright badassness.

Terry’s bond with the women on the squad is put to the test this week, and they all come through for him – with some difficulty. The plot’s incredibly entertaining because nobody BUT Terry knows how to take care of children, and the difference makes for quite the entertaining storyline.

“The Chopper” leaves us waiting for what the season finale will bring, and I have a feeling that once it’s all said and done it’s going to be a long, long summer.

The Roundup

The pre-credit scene is one of my favorite of the season thus far.

Low points in Charles’ life: is hit in the gut by a distracted Gina while trying to win a bet.
Kyra Sedgwick makes another appearance as Wuntch, Holt’s longtime rival, and former Mad TV Star Mo Gaffney appears as the trip leader for the magnate school.

“Who wants to see a picture of a dead body?”

According to Terry, Cagney is more of an “intellectual” and Lacey is more “traditional.”

Call signs during the mission: Holt is Wet Blanket, Jake is Deathblade, Charles is Sidewinder

”Your career will really take off – chopper pun!”

Before Holt came to the 99 he was stuck behind a desk pushing papers.

The solution to the mystery is actually pretty satisfying.

“What did I always tell you guys? I’m royalty.”

Do not taunt the Velvet Thunder…

“Smile for the camera, that’s your new job now…”

Next Week: Jake and Amy get closer while working an undercover case and the precinct says an unexpected goodbye to one of its own due to a disciplinary matter in “Johnny and Dora.”