S01.E12: Pontiac Bandit

[nymusix]

One of Rosa's perps has information on a car thief Jake has been after for years; the station struggles to accommodate Charles' needs; Holt tries to find two puppies a home.

[David T. Cole]

I really enjoyed the Rosa and Jake pairing this episode. It's nice to see them shift the cards around a bit.

[mad_typist]

I enjoyed how Holt gave the dogs the lamest, worst names ever. Also, I never get tired of the sight gag of serious-faced Andre Braugher strolling around with two small dogs tucked under his arms.

[swimmyfish]

Holt should carry around two small dogs every episode. And I think a strength of this show is that, even though the gag was totally obvious - very serious guy's seriousness contrasts with adorable puppies - it still landed. Repeatedly. There was nothing about the puppies that wasn't funny.

I really enjoyed the Rosa and Jake pairing this episode. It's nice to see them shift the cards around a bit.

 

Agreed. I didn't realize how novel a pairing it was until you pointed it out, but it was nice to see different characters interact.

[Monty]

My favorite thing about Parks and Recreation is the way they can make unusual pairings make sense, so I'm glad there's some of that going on here, too.

[halgia]

My favorite thing about Parks and Recreation is the way they can make unusual pairings make sense, so I'm glad there's some of that going on here, too.

Mike Schur talked to the AV Club about how that was an explicit goal of theirs (question: "What other new combinations of characters would you like to see in future seasons?"). He got the math way super wrong on how many possible combinations there are (he said there are 3,628,800 combinations of two out of 10 characters, when it's actually 45...), but nevertheless they do definitely do a good job of that.

Also, totally agree that the Jake/Rosa interaction was great and novel.

[thuganomics85]

This entire episode would have been a win, if it was just about Holt and the "small dogs."  The sight of Andre Braugher carrying them around will never get old.  Loved when he tried to guilt-trip Terry into taking them, and Amy's allergic reactions to them.  Oh, Amy.  Impressing Holt isn't worth making yourself deadly sick.

 

The stuff involving the Pontiac Bandit was great though, thanks to Craig Robinson as Doug Judy, and seeing more of the Jake and Rosa partnership.  Good to see those two interacting, and I hope we get more of that in season two.  It was frustrating seeing Jake disrespect Rosa like that, but I'm glad it end up costing him, and he admitted he was wrong.  But I did like that it showed a different side of Rosa, in that, underneath her tough act, she respected Jake, and it hurt her that he would do something like that. 

[Tabbyclaw]

His insistence on calling them 'small dogs' makes the entire thing about 20% funnier. And Santiago asking if he can get the scooter to call an ambulance.

 

Thing I never noticed before: When they're hiding from Boyle, Hitchcock has the entire flat of cake in his lap.