Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 2)

By: Robert Murphy

Most shows take a little time to snap back into things when they leave their first season and the way things were left at the end of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's first season you would expect the same. However, Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) wastes no time in returning to his old ways and his old precinct after leaving to go on an undercover assignment at the conclusion of the last season. New cases and perps come crawling out of the woodwork but not only that the relationships within the precinct get much more complicated.  

One of the things that I loved most about the first season for Brooklyn Nine-Nine was how well that all the characters fit into their roles and the on screen chemistry that each of them had with one another. Andy Samberg, Terry Crews and Joe Lo Truglio of course are veterans of on screen work whether it is movies or TV so it is hard not to see good things from them but the rest of the cast were virtually unknown to me but all became fast favorites. The relationships they all share only prove to be strengthened further in this season as well. Jake Peralta may be the shows center but things do not focus entirely around him and that is a good thing, plenty of the stories for this season delved into the lesser known actors and actresses stories as I mentioned. I was particularly fond of Rosa Diaz's (Stephanie Beatriz) storyline this time around, her character was already the tough bad girl with quite the serious edge to her but things get more complicated when she begins to date Captain Holt's (Andre Braugher) nephew. It lends to a more lighter side to her character and some interesting episodes as Captain Holt and Rosa are the most stoic characters in the show and now they must interact on a personal level. 

There are also some shake ups in the dynamic for some of the characters. Jake and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) have always been the precincts bromance and no matter what Charles backs Jake up with his most idiotic decisions and problems. The "Stakeout" episode proves to shake this relationship to it's core as the two decide that they can pull off a two week long stakeout together without a single problem. This time together would prove a little too much as even Boyle begins to see fault with his best buddy Jake. 

The same classic comedy also makes it's return this season. Jake is perhaps one of the most hilarious aspects to a show like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and of course he should be since he is the main character. But, what makes much of what he does so hilarious is because he is playing a role that I think the real life Andy Samberg would actually take part in. Jake acts like a kid in a candy store most of the time and has a very romanticized idea of what it is like to be a cop. In the show he is an excellent detective but at the same time he relishes the car chases, the idea of possibly dressing up and staking out mob guys at the local docks and other Hollywood cop movie gimmicks. What is even more wonderful is the show gives Jake the opportunities to live out many of these fantasies, the first episode of this new season, "Undercover", Jake was disguised in full track suit style clothing as he worked undercover to try and take down a mob network. We then have the episode where he got to run along the rooftops of cars to try and chase down a suspect and the episode simply entitled "The Chopper" where Jake, Boyle and Captain Holt lived out Jake's dream of riding in a helicopter to catch an escaped bad guy. 

I may give plenty of praise to Samberg but one of the funnier characters to blossom even more this season would have to be Captain Holt. Andre Braugher plays the stoic captain that often appears quite robotic but this plays perfectly into his serious brand of comedy for the show. His rivalry with Deputy Chief Wuntch (Keyra Sedgwick) is what particularly makes him so hilarious this season, she has an obvious attraction for him despite knowing he is married and gay, she will take the opportunity to frisk him for wires or even still an intimate kiss. Captain Holt however takes it all in stride and tries to do his best to thwart her with his brand of humor by making jokes such as "Wuntch time is over" as he receives and on stage reward from her and proudly says "no regrets." 

All the cast continue to present their own unique brands of humor to the show. Charles and Gina (Chelsea Peretti) end up spending a lot of on screen time together despite Gina's obvious disgust for Boyle. At the end of the first season we see the two hook up after a heavy night of drinking and Charles ending his relationship with his fiance. The two end up entwined for a few episodes but what gets worse is when their parents get involved together. Joe Lo Truglio is complete ridiculous and has no shame or filter for what comes out of his mouth and states things like "our sex led to this" and other gems that would make normal people uncomfortable. We then have Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) who brings his large buckling humor to the show. The very first episode he put Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) through a training exercise where he acts like a seven year old boy and you can probably guess how good it gets from there.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues to be sharp and funny well into it's second season. I am a little worried where the show may be headed as the final episode set up for an odd cliffhanger. However, as long as the group dynamic continues to work as well as it always has, I can see no reason why I won't enjoy going into a third season. 

Good:

- The second season continues to be smart and funny

- Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher are hilarious in their roles

- Plays into the cop cliches but for humor and not effect

Bad:

- Cautiously entering the third season, no spoilers, but I do wonder what lays in store

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10