S07.E10: Admiral Peralta

[formerlyfreedom]

Jake and his father deal with unsettled family business. Amy and Rosa work a high-profile case. Terry wants to join the NYPD band.

Airing Thursday, April 2, 2020.

[Spartan Girl]

Holt going Whiplash on poor Terry was hilarious.

I loved Jake faking out Charles with the twins reveal at the beginning.

Wow, the Peraltas have a long history of bad dads. Somebody should have told them that having a crappy dad doesn't excuse BEING a crappy dad -- good thing Jake understands that much.

The biggest laugh of the night had to be the Peraltas botched Birdbox cleaning smearing the cake all over. Sadly smashing a came isn't the worst mishap to come out of a gender reveal party.

 Of course Charles comes to save the day by baking a new cake -- and of course he needs a moment first to melt down over Jake and Amy having a boy.

Hithcock and Scully protecting an undocumented witness?! Who would have thought! But then I keep forgetting that they were once pretty good cops.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Spartan Girl

[Irlandesa]

20 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Holt going Whiplash on poor Terry was hilarious.

I had to laugh at that.  I guess the writers were really in a J.K. Simmons mood for these two episodes.  First he was the guest star and in this episode, Holt emulated his Oscar winning performance.

21 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

The biggest laugh of the night had to be the Peraltas botched Birdbox cleaning smearing the cake all over.

I saw that coming from a mile away but it was still hilarious.

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, the Holt/Terry scenes definitely made me think that someone was reminded how much they loved Whiplash when J.K. Simmons guested last week, so they were determine for Holt to get his Fletcher on!  Definitely a bit of a throwaway C-plot, but it was fun.  Plus, I loved after all of it, Terry simply got the spot since no one else actually auditioned to play flute!

Loved that the squad had already figured out Amy was pregnant and the show even riffing a bit on the whole "hiding the pregnancy" stuff they had to do with Melissa Fumero this season.  At least Jake found some way to still have Boyle faint!

Glad that they had Jake address the issues he has with his father, and how that effects him going forward.  Great seeing Bradley Whitford as Roger again and Martin Mull was perfectly cast as the "Admiral" as well.  It seems that the Peralta men really do have a history of being awful fathers, but I think Roger is right that Jake will no doubt break it.  Jake has already shown himself to be a better man with the way he has grown as a person and opened himself up to new ideas and people, so I know he'll be committed 100% to his son and Amy, and that will hopefully start a new trend where the "curse" is broken.  But I"m glad he and Roger are at least on better terms.  Kind of..

Hitchcock and Scully actually being decent detectives and even men for once, by protecting their witness' identity, due to being an undocumented immigrant.  Nice!  Well, except for Hitchcock naturally almost ruining it by being crass at the end.  Classic Hitchcock!  Amy and Rosa were fun as always in their brief scenes together.

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by thuganomics85

[SHD]

I thought Martin Mull was looking better than he has in awhile. I was such a fan back in the Fernwood 2Nite days. 

Terry Crews putting that flute talent to use!

The green cake and Amy’s “Oh my God, what’s growing in me!?” reaction was great.

[calgirl817]

I had just posted about wanting a pregnancy update and boy did this episode deliver (haha get it). I really did love the Birdbox clean up, as well as the green cake, it was great to see the dynamic of the Peralta men all together. I hope Jake has more confidence in himself that he'll be a better father than his predecessors. He's clearly shown how much he loves Amy and their baby, he's dedicated to being a good person (see: last episode with Doug Judy), and he's surrounded by some great dads (and obviously a ton of other super supporting friends) in Terry and Charles. I'm excited to see how he grows even more as a dad, and Amy as a mom.

 

I also loved the J.K. Simmons Whiplash reference. Too perfect.

 

[Harvey]

I love the occasional lapses in Charles's sycophancy where he can't quite get on board with Jake's ideas but won't actually criticize him.

[PWHCHCH]

Was nice to see Principal Willard Kraft on my screen. I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything since StTW days. 

[EtheltoTillie]

William Wonka!  Bwahaha. 

Seriously, I didn’t catch the Whiplash reference, so thanks, guys. 
All around great episode. 

[Brandi Maxxxx]

3 hours ago, GSManiac said:

Was nice to see Principal Willard Kraft on my screen. I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything since StTW days. 

Are you unfamiliar with private eye Gene Parmesan? Then again, he is a master of disguise...

[Victor the Crab]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around Martin Mull playing Jake's grandfather, or even as a retired Navy admiral. But this show, if nothing, is full of surprises. Got a big laugh over the Peralta men thinking they cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, only to discover everything smeared in blue cake - thus, revealing the gender of Jake and Amy's baby.

Just when you think Hitchcock and Scully are nothing but useless dead weights, they surprise you with their decency and nobility by doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. First it was protecting a witness who testified against a drug lord when their old captain refused to do so, from last season, and now risking their own careers to keep a witness who's an undocumented immigrant from being turned over to ICE. And, in the end, their "punishments" turned out to be rewards for them.

Poor Terry. All that time taking shit from Holt over his flute sessions, and he ended up getting the position because no one else auditioned for it (didn't get the Whiplash reference here - or for that matter the Birdbox one).

[tennisgurl]

"You even remembered my birth month this year!"  Dang, the Peraltas do not have a great legacy of parenting, do they? Even if its too late for the Admiral and the Captain, I am glad that at least Jake and his dad are in a better place, and the end where Roger told Jake that he would be a great dad and was already a thousand times the parent he was before the kid was even born was really sweet. I wondered if they would deal with Jake's own issues with his father now that he is going to be a father, and I thought this was a good way to handle it. 

The Peraltas trying to Birdbox it was an inevitable mess, but it was still hilarious. "But we were so careful!" 

"They did some interesting things with Splinter and Krangs backstories." How is that Jake is basically me? 

Of course Charles is the person you call for any and all cake related emergencies! "Hello fellas...lets get to work."

I didn't catch the Whiplash stuff until I saw it here, but that makes the Holt and Terry plot even more hilarious. And of course Terry gets in, because he was the only one to audition! 

Aww Jake and Amy will love their little Shrek! The riff on Melissa hiding her pregnancy previously in increasingly obvious ways (including getting her into a "fake" baby bump!) was hilarious. Jake and Amy having a baby is giving me such happy feels. 

Always nice to  be reminded that that Hitchcock and Scully are actually decent people (like when they were hiding their witness last season and now them helping to keep an undocumented witness safe) and can be good cops when they want to be...its just that being lazy is so much more their style! 

[Danny Franks]

The cold open was cute - acknowledging the various half-arsed ways that the show attempted to hide Melissa's pregnancies. Heh.

I guess they also decided to half-arse keeping job roles straight as well, because I don't think a uniformed sergeant would be assigning cases to detectives. But they have Amy up on their floor all the time anyway, and now Terry's a lieutenant, they should just put Amy back in civvies and have her take Terry's old job. 

Bradley Whitford was looking very distinguished. That's a good look for him.

I can't believe we've now met Jake's estranged grandfather and his weird, criminal half-sister, but *still* only met one of Amy's brothers. But at least Amy wasn't relegated to 'supportive spouse' while Jake dealt with his family issues.

Gender reveal parties are terrible, but at least this was just a cake and not people littering or putting themselves in danger just to be the centre of attention. But storylines like this really highlight the limitations of a TV show - where was Jake's mother? Where were all of Amy's family? None of them would miss this, I'd assume. But because they're played by guest actors who may not be available, they're just not present. I kind of wish shows would avoid falling into the trap of exposing the artificiality of their world.

Holt asking Terry if he thinks he's "William Wonka" was very funny. Because of course, the frivolity of playing the flute at work is akin to all that nonsense. They have JK Simmons on the show one episode, then riff on his Whiplash character the next.

The reference to ICE and Hitchcock and Scully being enlightened enough to side with an undocumented immigrant was surprising, and really nice. Amy and Rosa 'punishing' them was a sweet moment.

Also, the baby should have been a girl.

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Danny Franks

[AncientNewbie]

43 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I guess they also decided to half-arse keeping job roles straight as well, because I don't think a uniformed sergeant would be assigning cases to detectives. But they have Amy up on their floor all the time anyway, and now Terry's a lieutenant, they should just put Amy back in civvies and have her take Terry's old job. 

 

I just fell down a rabbit hole of trying to understand NYPD ranks and assignments and only confused myself further. (ie, per what I read, detectives aren't authorized to boss around uniforms just because of job title and they have no real supervisory authority, which is different than every tv show ever, so...?)

From the ep, though...as a lawyer in the field, I liked the jokes about the miserable ADA.

I also have to think that, intended as a statement about politics or not, Scully and Hitchcock's move wasn't unrealistic in the world of law enforcement. A witness with no reason to show up, and active reasons not to, is not someone that's going to be overly cooperative about court (or even someone an ADA might put on the stand) and the info they obtained was likely all they were ever going to get. I realize the limits of 22 minutes and the nature of the point being made, but it was true to character that they weren't going to list a name and then enter a world of paperwork about detaining and producing a witness who might even be removed from the country prior to court, if the information even panned out to locate a suspect. The unrealistic part is that Amy and Rosa acted like the lack of an identity was the end of the case, as the info obtained was still something to keep looking for a suspect.

Edited April 3, 2020 by AncientNewbie

[Featherhat]

Hah, I loved the cold open with no one being surprised because of obviously pregnant Melissa and Jake pretending twins to make Charles faint anyway. 

"Title of your sex tape!" "Actually the title of my sex tape is..." Gross. But I'm glad Jake and Roger are getting along more and have basically acknowledged that Roger was a crappy Dad and this is basically the best he can do and Jake (for his own sake) is making his peace with that. 

Having heard stories about gender reveal cakes gone wrong that was funny but tame by comparison. And I figured they'd be having a boy as soon as Roger started talking about the curse.

William Wonka, heh. Poor Terry isn't really on a winning streak recently. 

[iMonrey]

It seemed like maybe this episode was aired out of order, because it felt like the last 2 made no mention of Amy's pregnancy so this one should have followed the one where she found out she was pregnant and the last two should have aired before that. 

ANYWAY. Holt going apeshit over Terry playing "Do you know the muffin man" is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen on this show, and that's saying a lot. And I've never seen Whiplash either.

Quote

Are you unfamiliar with private eye Gene Parmesan? Then again, he is a master of disguise...

Mull also recently had a recurring role on The Ranch on Netflix and on I'm Sorry on TruTV and Netflix.

[anna0852]

I'm kinda loving that this was presented as a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. And that Jake even explained that it was to find out the *biological sex* of the baby.

[ClareWalks]

25 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

I'm kinda loving that this was presented as a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. And that Jake even explained that it was to find out the *biological sex* of the baby.

Agreed! I definitely noticed that detail and was glad for it. 

I'm glad they're having a boy. It seems like every show that has pregnant women, they end up having girls. Although maybe I'm projecting a bit because I was the ONLY one of my friends to have a boy, when several of us got knocked up or adopted within a few years.

[meep.meep]

I spent the whole episode wondering if Martin Mull was really older than Bradley Whitford.

That was some seriously green cake that Charles made.

We got to see Scully in blue face this time!

[iMonrey]

Quote

I spent the whole episode wondering if Martin Mull was really older than Bradley Whitford.

Same! He is . . . but only by 16 years. And I have to say I hope I look half as good when I'm Martin Mull's age (he's 77).

I suppose it's not out of character that "the admiral" might have had Jake's father when he was 16, LOL.

[EtheltoTillie]

Yep, I had the same reaaction.  Was about to post that data too, but you beat me, @iMonrey

[meep.meep]

I think half of our confusion is that Whitford has such white hair now and Mull's is still vaguely blonde.

[thuganomics85]

Honestly, I had wonder the age difference myself, but admittedly for me, any nitpicking went out the window after I discovered Len Cariou is only six years older than Tom Selleck, and yet he's suppose to be his father on Blue Bloods.  I don't think anything could top that (although, the industry is always full of surprises!)

[MisterGlass]

This was a fun!  I'm ambivalent to reveal parties but they made the most of it.  (I have to overlook them not noticing the cake was green before they put on the white frosting.)

I couldn't believe they capped the green cake with Captain Peralta cutting off his other thumb.

I did get a snicker out of Hitchcock and Scully's time share in Figi.

I'd enjoy seeing Terry play in the band in the future.

[Utpe]

Terry:  "I'm so glad you're helping me.  Maybe I won't blow it after all."

Capt. Holt:  "Oh, you'll do plenty of blowing...of that flute."

[peeayebee]

On 4/2/2020 at 6:07 PM, Spartan Girl said:

The biggest laugh of the night had to be the Peraltas botched Birdbox cleaning smearing the cake all over. 

I think that was the biggest laugh for me, too. I laughed when we first see the blue everywhere, and then I laughed harder when we cut back to when they were blindfolded and doing the worst job ever, esp Jake hitting his grandfather in the head with the mop.

Quote

 Of course Charles comes to save the day by baking a new cake -- and of course he needs a moment first to melt down over Jake and Amy having a boy.

That was the second biggest laugh for me, the quick cut to Charles all wet-faced.

17 hours ago, GussieK said:

William Wonka!  Bwahaha. 

I missed this. When was it said and why?

11 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

From the ep, though...as a lawyer in the field, I liked the jokes about the miserable ADA.

Loved when he said he was 25 yrs old.

[Danny Franks]

11 hours ago, anna0852 said:

I'm kinda loving that this was presented as a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. And that Jake even explained that it was to find out the *biological sex* of the baby.

Yeah, that plus the ICE reference has some people online very upset. Predictably. I even saw someone say 'when did the show start doing this virtue signalling stuff? They never used to.' Talk about oblivious. This show has been socially aware and openly progressive from the outset, and has never shied away from topics like this.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Danny Franks

[EtheltoTillie]

9 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I think that was the biggest laugh for me, too. I laughed when we first see the blue everywhere, and then I laughed harder when we cut back to when they were blindfolded and doing the worst job ever, esp Jake hitting his grandfather in the head with the mop.

That was the second biggest laugh for me, the quick cut to Charles all wet-faced.

I missed this. When was it said and why?

Loved when he said he was 25 yrs old.

About 4 minutes in, when Holt and Charles come upon Terry practicing the flute.  Love how Holt always avoids abbreviations and nicknames. 

[peeayebee]

Was that a reference to Gene Wilder playing his little flute (or whatever it was) to signal the Oompa Loompahs? (IIRC) If so, then that means Holt has seen that movie.

[EtheltoTillie]

15 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Was that a reference to Gene Wilder playing his little flute (or whatever it was) to signal the Oompa Loompahs? (IIRC) If so, then that means Holt has seen that movie.

I do not even know enough about the Willy Wonka universe to answer.  I tried looking this up earlier and couldn't figure it out.  But I still found it funny!

[iMonrey]

Quote

Was that a reference to Gene Wilder playing his little flute (or whatever it was) to signal the Oompa Loompahs? (IIRC) If so, then that means Holt has seen that movie.

Maybe, but it's kind of a stretch. William Wonka isn't actually known for flute-playing. I'm not sure why Holt made that connection. 

[Sarah 103]

 

15 hours ago, MisterGlass said:

I'd enjoy seeing Terry play in the band in the future.

I'd love a subplot involving Terry and the other members of the band. 

[Brandi Maxxxx]

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Was that a reference to Gene Wilder playing his little flute (or whatever it was) to signal the Oompa Loompahs? (IIRC) If so, then that means Holt has seen that movie.

Holt quoted William Wonka's "You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!" in season 4's Halloween episode.

[peeayebee]

I guess he's a Wonka fan!

[Sarah 103]

On 4/3/2020 at 11:55 AM, tennisgurl said:

Always nice to  be reminded that that Hitchcock and Scully are actually decent people (like when they were hiding their witness last season and now them helping to keep an undocumented witness safe) and can be good cops when they want to be...its just that being lazy is so much more their style! 

I agree. Hitchcock are Scully are lazy, but they aren't horrible people. They rarely set out to hurt someone. Any harm they cause tends to be accidental or the result of their laziness. They are incredibly lazy and undisciplined, but at heart they are good people. On the surface, they don't seem as dedicated to the job as the others, but they do care about protecting people. 

[Danny Franks]

16 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Maybe, but it's kind of a stretch. William Wonka isn't actually known for flute-playing. I'm not sure why Holt made that connection. 

I think Holt was just disapproving of such outlandish frivolity in the workplace. 'A flute in the office? Why, that's so insane that it would surely only happen in the Wonka factory.'

[Dewey Decimate]

My goodness - I feel like a dinosaur by verifying this, but hell yeah, William Wonka (original film Gene Wilder version) played a flute! Or a mini version (not sure of the instrument's name). He would tootle a little riff on it every time he needed an Oompa Loompa clean up on aisle 3 for the demise of a bratty kid.

And I love that Captain Holt is also a big fan of that movie.

[calgirl817]

On 4/3/2020 at 12:14 PM, anna0852 said:

I'm kinda loving that this was presented as a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. And that Jake even explained that it was to find out the *biological sex* of the baby.

I think this is what Brooklyn 99 excels at: taking normal human events and changing the language of it to be more accurate without necessarily emphasizing that change. Obviously the show is great at dealing with rough subjects (see: Moo Moo episode) and seeing the light in them wherever possible. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Cockpit Larry. Why not Pilot Larry? Or Co-Pilot Larry? Oh, wait...

Teenage mutant karate lizards.

Great casting with Dad and Granddad Peralta.

First rule to playing the flute: never give anyone your flute.

This episode was fire! So many great zingers.

Quote

This show has been socially aware and openly progressive from the outset, and has never shied away from topics like this.

Even moreso I think since Fox dumped it and NBC scooped it up. It's like the writers feel freed.

[Ilovepie]

Favorite Line: "I'm not the garbage man! I'm the muffin man!" Ha Ha Ha! Fun story: That was my grandma's go to jam for putting any fussy baby to sleep. She would drape the kid over an arm and shuffle one foot back and forth while rhythmically humming "Muffin Man". Worked every time.......

The blue frosting kitchen was everything. "We were so careful!" I loved the cuts to the bigger mess being made.....

[Captain Carrot]

On 4/5/2020 at 10:06 PM, Dewey Decimate said:

And I love that Captain Holt is also a big fan of that movie.

A movie about horrible kids that are punished for not following the rules? Of course he's a fan.

[RoadFullOfPromise]

On 4/3/2020 at 3:14 PM, anna0852 said:

I'm kinda loving that this was presented as a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. And that Jake even explained that it was to find out the *biological sex* of the baby.

SAME! I think the whole idea of reveal parties is abjectly terrible and I truly do not get the point (though we waited until our kid was born to find out anyway, so what the hell do I know!) but whenever I hear the phrase “gender reveal” I always pointedly say “SEX reveal.” It is a hill I will die on, and I am not ashamed to admit it.

[John Potts]

On 4/4/2020 at 1:02 AM, thuganomics85 said:

I discovered Len Cariou is only six years older than Tom Selleck, and yet he's suppose to be his father on Blue Bloods.  I don't think anything could top that (although, the industry is always full of surprises!)

That's nothing - Estelle Getty (Sofia) was born the year after her daughter Bea Artthur (Dorothy) on The Golden Girls!

[Kel Varnsen]

So I rewatched this episode and it made me wonder why not having the name of the witness blew the case? Confidential informants and anonymous tips are both things that cops use.