Truly Appreciating Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers so if you haven't finished watching the first five seasons of the show yet, steer clear.
If Brooklyn Nine-Nine were a person, it would be an awfully introverted one at first who'd need few getting-to-know sessions until it unmasks to become this completely awesome human being who you'd grow so attached to that you'd not know how to let go. At least that's what I experienced – initially taking time to get used to it until eventually I fell in love because it was oh-so-noice.
When asked about why it is so adored, the characters themselves give us reasons why. Jake Peralta, the amazing detective/genius, is seen to prefer being a one-man-show in his quest for the perfect Die Hard moment but is reminded throughout the show how it's okay to have people back you up. Amy Santiago is the know-it-all perfectionist, starting off the show with her struggles to attain validation from her one true mentor, Captain Raymond Holt, and can be seen growing into a mentor herself when she gets promoted. Captain Holt is the ultimate father figure to the entire unit with his dislike towards acronyms due to their apparent uselessness, act of signing all his texts by ending them with "Sincerely, Raymond Holt", his loyalty towards his team, loving husband and his dog Cheddar being some of the things on the long list of reasons why we love him.
Rosa Diaz is the zero-nonsense badass who doesn't tolerate sexism in the workplace, lives by the phrase "actions speak louder than words" and keeps emotional expressions to a minimum. Detective Charles Boyle is so much more than Jake's best friend and the show amazingly portrays his dorkiness in a lovable manner with immense character developments in his part minus his inability to stop correcting people. Hitchcock and Scully are the ultimate duo and it doesn't even matter what their full names are because they have been inevitably combined to become one. Terry Jeffords is a fine combination of macho heavy-built NYPD sergeant and an ultimate softy as a father who loves yogurt more than his dear life. And lastly, the human form of the 100 emoji, Miss Gina Linetti – no description shall do her justice so let's just leave it at that.
As the show progresses so does its ability to make its variegated range of characters gel perfectly with each other, reflected time and time again through the different friendship dynamics in the show. Starting off with the manly yet ever so loveable friendship that is the Holt-Terry dynamic, it portrays how it's okay for even the manliest of the lot to show emotions. The Rosa-Amy friendship portrays the story of how two very different people could end up becoming the best of friends, with the time when Rosa helps Amy shop for her wedding dress all the while reminding her about what a badass she is, showing us exactly what a perfect friendship should be like. Then there are the clear meant-to-be dynamics like Hitchcock-Scully and Jake-Doug Judy aka the Pontiac Bandit, even though Jake keeps denying it time and time again.
Other than that, there's the ultimate father-son relationship that is Holt and Jake with Holt's "I'm proud of you son" making us tear up even to this day. There's Amy-Holt's student-mentor relationship, where Holt later in the series admits to devising a 9-year-long mentoring plan for her, which makes the dynamic even more endearing.
Another exemplary quality of the show lies in its humour and the way it is not offensive rather downright funny. It has the ability to make you laugh hysterically for hours with adored narcissism from Gina, Holt's ever-so-hilarious attempts to act like a human being and Jake's mischievous pranks on the unit. And not to mention the ridiculous yet catchy Brooklyn Nine-Nine lingo.
It is also important to mention how the show subtly deals with important issues relating to race, sexual orientations, etc. and incorporates it into the show effortlessly all the while spreading a powerful message throughout. Moreover, the show also has its fair share of emotional moments most of which consist of Jake and Amy being adorable, not to mention their "toit nups". Last but not the least, there are thematic episodes with the heists being sure to entertain us every time.
All in all, the show has provided us with nothing short of pure entertainment with an astounding perfectly imperfect cast who has this effortless way of getting the fans attached with their ability to be relatable. Its innocent yet hilarious sense of humour is quite rare to find and the catchphrases, although annoying at first, tend to stick. Keeping all that in mind, it is truly exciting to see what the show has in store for us despite the recent ever-so-tense cancellation-then-revival rollercoaster of emotions the fans had to go through. One thing's for sure, there's a lot more this amazing show has to offer and we can't wait to see what they have in store for us.
Veronica Gomes is a socially awkward sophomore. Feel free to trigger awkward encounters by reaching out to her at gomesveronica1997@gmail.com