S02.E14: Defense Rests

[formerlyfreedom]

When Sophia's job gets in the way of her relationship with Jake, Jake tries to smooth things over with her boss. Meanwhile, Wuntch needs Holt's help for a job recommendation.

 

 

[Galileo908]

"So you choose your dad over me, your coworker who hates you." Sums Gina up quite well.

 

"They're in my yogurt, now it's personal." I hate the feeling of ants crawling everywhere, so I shared the squad's pain here.

 

I loved Holt's idea of a parting gift to Wuntch: tickets to see Wicked. In Boston. And then changed her autocorrect so "Wuntch" becomes "butt."

[ZootSuitWyatt]

Jake: I know it'll be a lot of effort, but I'm willing to put in the work.

Sophia: I'm not.

And she walks away without Jake trying to harass her about it. I hope they don't go back on that because I found that so refreshing.

Holt's autocorrect comments were just icing on the cake.

[Expat]

This was my least favorite episode of the show. I mean, I found Parnell's character funny and I liked the little bet thing between him and Jake, and Amy was cute in her scenes, but the rest of it honestly bored me quite a bit.

[Kanner]

Wuntch v Holt will never get old for me.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Kanner

[thuganomics85]

I must have missed the announcement that Chris Parnell was going to be appearing this season.  As someone who watched "Lazy Sunday" probably too many times, it was awesome seeing Parnell and Andy Samberg together again.  Of course, besides SNL, he will always either be: a) Cyril from Archer or b) Dr. Spaceman from 30 Rock to me.

 

I don't care how silly it is: Wuntch reducing Holt into a juvenile never gets old for me.  As long as they don't do it too many times, I'm fine with it.  I just like seeing that Holt can be so, so petty, when it comes her.  I totally knew she had another angle, and Holt playing nice for once was going to backfire.  But, I did like the brief Holt/Rosa stuff, because those two together are always made of win.

 

I hope this is it for Jake/Sophia.  Not because I disliked it or anything, but I think it's refreshing that it's a case of her finding Jake fun but not interested in a serious relationship with him, while his feelings are stronger for her.  I hope he doesn't keep trying to pursue it, or she doesn't suddenly change her mind.  Of course, I suspect that since he's now single again and Amy is too, they might be beginning to dip their toes into that relationship again.

 

Not a fan of the Gina/Boyle stuff.  I know they gave a reason for it at the end, but I still found Gina annoying, and was actually rooting for Boyle's dad to just say "I love your mother and want to marry her.  We're adults, and  I don't need your blessing!"  Still good to see Stephen Root again, at least.

 

Terry's fake smile was the best.  I loved how supportive he was of Jake, and both Jake and Holt at the end.

 

Amy didn't do much, but I did love how happy she was to finally use that big-ass binder of hers.

 

I see that the Cold Opening was actually literally a Cold Opening this time.

[teebax]

Was Jake not supposed to arrest someone doing coke right freaking in front of him? That was a lame way to end the Jake /Sophia relationship which, for me, had started really strong.

Thank goodness for Terry. I love me some Terry. That's good since Terry loves love. Thank goodness for Wuntch versus Holt - that'll never get old for me. I didn't mind the Boyle story line either. But the A plot did little for me, except that I laughed at Terry and Jake doing their fake smiles.

[camussie]

Holt dead panning all the children was the funniest line of the night

[peeayebee]

I loved their slo-mo fake-smiles entrance. 

 

I also agree about the strangeness that Sophia could object to Jake arresting her boss who was doing cocaine right in front of him as well as right in front of her (when it was on his jacket). I understand attorneys defending clients whether they're guilty or innocent, but this didn't come across that way. She was obviously irritated that he came to the party uninvited to confront her boss, so her anger about the arrest was probably really anger about how Jake was behaving, but I don't think the connection was highlighted enough.

 

But I loved the whole betting thing, and Chris Parnell's character was very funny.

 

I didn't suspect Wuntch was tricking Holt. I thought this was just a way for the show to write Kyra out. I think my favorite part of the ep was after she kissed Holt, and he said, "What? The."

 

I also liked at the bar when Jake said, "My lady left me," and Holt said, "My lady stayed." And it was funny that he changed the autocorrect for her name to Butt, and even better was that 'Butt' was his suggestion for Jake to do with Sophia's name.

 

In the Cold Open, I cracked up when they yelled, "They're in our coats!"

 

Oh and one little bit I really liked was when Boyle referred to his father as Papa, prompting Gina to say, "Who says 'Papa?' Are you a little French boy?" then Boyle, in a French accent, says, "Uh uh uh!"

 

I didn't think this was the strongest ep, but I still enjoyed it.

[Amethyst]

I liked Sophia and Jake together, so I'm sad that they ended it.  I agree that there was something off in the way it was done, because it looked like Sophia wanted two different things: for Jake to back off so her boss would give her better cases, then she was upset because Jake rightly arrested her boss and suddenly things got too real?  It wasn't done very well.  Jake saying "I love you" probably scared Sophia and that was ultimately why she broke up with him.  I doubt things have been good with them since Sophia found out about Jake's crush on Amy.

 

Terry was right; Jake is a cop and if he sees someone breaking the law, especially in such an egregious way, he has to do something about it.  I thought Sophia came off really stupid there.  What did she expect him to do?  Ignore that the guy was doing coke right out in the open where anyone could see him?

 

Vindictive Holt gives me so much life.  I love his rapport with Wuntch.  

 

Not a fan of the Gina/Boyle stuff.  I know they gave a reason for it at the end, but I still found Gina annoying, and was actually rooting for Boyle's dad to just say "I love your mother and want to marry her.  We're adults, and  I don't need your blessing!"  Still good to see Stephen Root again, at least.

 

ITA.  Even though Gina ultimately has her mother's best interests at heart, she can't dictate her mother's life or anyone else's.  I know he's not the type, but Boyle could have easily flipped the script and said that he felt Gina's mom wasn't good enough for his dad.  Either way, someone needed to tell Gina to have a seat.

[possibilities]

Moreover, if Gina is worried about her mother, dumping a milkshake on Boyle and generally acting like a brat is not the way to make things better. Gina is just juvenile, and not in a funny way.

[thuganomics85]

I guess it's possible that Jake arguably could have found a quieter way to get the boss out of there, but even that is a stretch, since the boss clearly wasn't going to just go away quietly.  As I said before, even though I like that Sophia ultimately ended it because she doesn't consider their relationship serious, I do agree that they could have found a better way to get there, or be more obvious that her anger wasn't over the arrest, but Jake showing up in the first place.  I don't know; maybe instead of going with the cocaine, they could just kept it with the bet getting sillier and sillier, and then Jake does something that just annoys her to point, that she ends it.  But, in the end, I do think Jake made the right call.

 

On a brighter note: I liked the recurring gag, where Holt sarcastically added "mother" to Terry and Rosa's names since they wanted him to be mature about Wuntch, and when he did, Rosa threw it back in his face.  Which then ended with him saying something like "Well played, Diaz."  I really, really want to see Holt and Rosa on a stakeout.

[Texasmom1970]

Not very interested or invested in Jake and Sophia so doesn't bother me she's gone. Maybe it's just because I got my fill of Eva Longoria on "Desperate Housewives."

I still wonder how many takes Andre Braugher uses to get out his deadpan, sarcastic lines without cracking up. His delivery of each line is hilarious.

Loved Terry getting angry at the ants in his yogurt. Terry needs his nutrition!

[jah1986]

There were some laugh out loud moments for me, specifically Jake and Terry's fake smiles going to that dinner, that was hilarious.

 

And I did love AB's delivery of "all the children". But I really don't love the Wuntch/Holt rivalry at all. I don't find any of it funny. I am seriously disappointed because I thought this was the end of  Kyra Sedgwick. I don't understand why I don't find her funny because I like her as an actress but this character doesn't do it for me.

 

"Let's get soused".

[Primetimer]

It's a good thing for Peralta that Terry loves love, and is willing to fake friendliness harder than anyone has ever faked before.

Read the story

[Traveller519]

Holt reduced to his Wuntch induced juvenile state is great when it occurs every once in a while. I'd tire of it if it reoccurred too frequently, but it's nice to stick it up against his normal persona. And then Drunk Holt at the end was icing on the cake.

 

I really felt for Jake in this, he wanted to pursue a mature relationship with someone he really liked, but there just wasn't the reciprocity. That always stings.

[JTMacc99]

Sometimes the little things about characters are all I need to be happy.  A good example of what I'm talking about came at the end when Gina spelled out her plans for overriding the Boyle Boys ideas with her own for the wedding.  Rosa chiming in with, "Sounds super weird. I'm in." made me laugh.  But even more than making me laugh, a day later it sticks with me as something special about the character.  She's got the hard edge and a low patience for stupid, but she can draw a line between intolerable-stupid and awesome-stupid, and she wants to be part of awesome stupid.

[Loandbehold]

I was pretty meh about the episode. The Boyle-Gina plot didn't do it for me, although "The Boyle Boys planning on a wedding!" was good. As was Boyle's being OK with taking one for the team when Pa said that Gina's mom was the most important person to him.

 

I did love the Holt-Wuntch (Huntch?) plot, especially Holt and Rosa. Those two are always great together.

 

The best part of the Jake plot was him and Terry walking into the party wearing tuxes and fake smiles. So help me, I thought they could have been playing The Gentlemen from Hush if they had just been floating. Still, the slo-mo was close enough.

 

I do agree that Jake had no choice but to arrest the boss. Still, I think that they did make clear why Sophia left. She was upset at Jake coming to the party and, while she said that she was acting as Parnell's attorney, she walked out and left her client with the cops while he's hopped up on cocaine (is that what kids today say?). Outside, she made it clear that she didn't have the same feelings towards Jake, which explained why she was upset that he even showed up at the party.

 

Edited to add: I wrote this before seeing the pics and gif. It brings out even more that they, especially Terry, would have made great Gentlemen.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Loandbehold

[Danny Franks]

Significant Gina presence = bad episode. This is no coincidence. She fucking sucks. Seriously just a nasty person, and I don't understand why she exists.

 

I'm glad Sophia has gone, because this episode did a pretty good job of ruining her as a character. She blames Jake for arresting her coke-fiend boss? Jake is so much better off without her. I think there was a much better way they could have put an end to that relationship with both characters still seeming like decent people. Sophia really looked bad at the end, letting whatever better instincts she has fall by the wayside as she defended her clearly guilty and unrepentant boss, trying to suggest Jake shouldn't have done as he did.

 

I liked Jake's scenes with Terry, and really enjoy their friendship. They seem so much more real as buddies than Jake and Charles, and watching Terry make pained faces as he listens to Jake screw things up will never not be funny. I liked Holt too, finally overcoming his petty urges with Wuntch... sorry, Butt. This is how to get the most out of Andre Braugher. All that dignity and poise and gravitas, and there's just that one person who can make him behave like a nine year old boy.

 

Nowhere near enough Rosa or Amy, but the moments they had were good. Loved Amy's conflict resolution binder, complete with new binder smell! She's such an adorable little dork.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Danny Franks

[prican58]

the episode itself wasn't great but the pieces were fantastic.

 

There should be an Emmy category for MVP of  a series because Terry would always win. He and Michael Strahan have taken to acting and hosting like a duck to water. 

 

Love this show.

[amensisterfriend]

There should be an Emmy category for MVP of  a series because Terry would always win

 

But...but...Amy! And Holt! But, yeah, Terry is awesome :) 

 

I agree with those who liked that Sophia apparently just didn't have strong enough feelings for Jake to want to go further, though the specifics of that storyline re the cocaine were kind of ridiculous. So often on TV a character's real reason for not pursuing/staying in a relationship turns out to be that they're secretly just scared of how much they care about someone, afraid of getting hurt, carrying on some sort of affair, harboring some sort of deep dark secret, worried about the lack of approval from family and friends etc., and all that is fine, but one person simply not having strong enough feelings for the other to want to work things out was oddly refreshing. 

 

I wrote earlier this season that I was actually liking Gina more this season, or at least disliking her less. I feel like I somehow jinxed it, because in recent episodes I'm back to wanting to hit the fast forward button whenever she comes on screen. 

 

I really love most of the (non-Gina!) characters and the overall tone and feel of this show, which shares Parks and Rec's sweet optimism and heart, but I wish I found it more consistently funny.  

Edited January 26, 2015 by amensisterfriend

[Agent Dark]

Eh, I found Gina's lines funny.  I'm totally using the "The only reason I didn't [tell you guys] is because I don't value you as people, so why bother?" at work lol

[Dancingjaneway]

This episode was just ok. I hate how the Sopia/Jake breakup went down. If they had made it that she just broke up with him in the park then I could deal with the possibility of her coming back but because she was so damn immature I don't want to see her come back and make the show hard to watch. The show didn't do a great job with that story unfortunately. Terry and Jakes fake smiles were hilarious! Holt and Rosa's conversations were hilarious and those two should be paired up more. Amy's conflict resolution binder was freaking hilarious! I loved the interrogation scene with Boyles dad. I'm not a huge Gina fan but she had some funny moments in this episode. Holt vs Wuntch is still funny and I loved him mentioning how her autocorrect changes Wuntch to Butt. I also loved how he suggested that Jake do the same to Sophia. 

[April Bloodgate]

This was one of my least favorite episode. I found most of the storylines weak (I did like the betting scene though), I hate the Wunch arc, and I thought Gina was at the height of her unfunniness. That being said, there were still things to enjoy. Jake thinks if the problem with Sophia involves someone else, and NOT him, he can fix it. Terry's line "Damn it, Jake. You know Terry loves love. I'm in." Also, have they already established that Boyle has 3 balls? Because Gina definitely said "snip snip snip" when talking about removing his testicles.

[iMonrey]

 

I thought Sophia came off really stupid there.  What did she expect him to do?  Ignore that the guy was doing coke right out in the open where anyone could see him?

 

I don't know how the law works but I'd be interested to know, if Jake is not actually on duty, if he's technically "required" to arrest someone he finds doing coke. Over on Mike and Molly, Mike constantly looks the other way as his sister in law smokes weed in the same house where he lives.

 

 

There should be an Emmy category for MVP of  a series because Terry would always win. He and Michael Strahan have taken to acting and hosting like a duck to water.

 

Agree about Terry Crewes. Not so much about Strahan.

[Kel Varnsen]

The Boyle plot wasn't really working for me until the end where he and his dad started chanting "Boyle Boys!" with their arms in the air. Then I really laughed.

[NoWillToResist]

Eh, I found Gina's lines funny.  I'm totally using the "The only reason I didn't [tell you guys] is because I don't value you as people, so why bother?" at work lol

 

I normally despise Gina but I have to confess that I did laugh at that line.

 

Amy's obsession with her binder made me think of Leslie Knope on Parks and Rec. Fuck, those two would get along so well.

 

The cold open with the ants was amusing and my favourite bit was when Amy freaked out about how they were using her and Jake's shared computer cords to trespass onto her desk.

 

If TPTB wanted to break up Jake and Sophia, why not just have her get a promotion out of town? Why did they have to make her an amoral ass? That said, I did appreciate her shooting down the romanticized notion of Romeo and Juliet and calling it for the fucked up, stupid shit it actually is.

 

Terry and Holt. Ahhh. my babies. Is there anything they can't do? Holt disingenuously expressing concern for Wunsch's safety living so close to Salem was fucking priceless. Such a burn.

 

But WTF was up with Wunsch kissing Holt?

[Ailianna]

I don't know how the law works but I'd be interested to know, if Jake is not actually on duty, if he's technically "required" to arrest someone he finds doing coke. Over on Mike and Molly, Mike constantly looks the other way as his sister in law smokes weed in the same house where he lives.

In my experience, it depends on the circumstances and the seriousness of the crime. For example, I don't think any cop, on duty or not, would look the other way if a child was involved, or someone's safety was at risk. But I can also imagine a lot of cops would love to get a high ranking public defender on a felony possession charge. Plus there was a high chance he would drive home after mixing coke and alcohol--a very dangerous combination.

[ratgirlagogo]

I've lived all over NYC for the last 30 plus years and I have never lived in ONE place here where ants were a problem. As opposed to Los Angeles, where I grew up and where I believe this is filmed - growing up we knew to NEVER leave any kind of food out on a table or counter, otherwise by morning it would be covered with ants. For a long time in NYC we also expected to be overrun with cockroaches, but honestly this like many other old-school NYC tropes is a thing of the past. . But in any case ants are, how to put this - not an urban thing.

[hoodooznoodooz]

NoWillToResist: Holt disingenuously expressing concern for Wuntch's safety living so close to Salem was fucking priceless. Such a burn.

Hahahaha. That was hilarious.

Edited January 29, 2015 by hoodooznoodooz

[possibilities]

I think they chose to have Sophia not be interested in a serious relationship (rather than havng her transfer to a job far away), for two reasons. First, they just had Boyle's fiancee move out of town. But more than the problem of a recycled device, I think they wanted to show Jake is ready for something more serious, but they don't want to permanently hook him up with a guest star like Eva Longoria. They are probably ramping up for him and Santiago.

[jhlipton]

I do agree that they could have found a better way to get there

 

I was sure that the boss had a gambling addiction and Jake "feeding" it was what was going to bite him.  I think it would have worked better that way.

[Danny Franks]

I think they chose to have Sophia not be interested in a serious relationship (rather than havng her transfer to a job far away), for two reasons. First, they just had Boyle's fiancee move out of town. But more than the problem of a recycled device, I think they wanted to show Jake is ready for something more serious, but they don't want to permanently hook him up with a guest star like Eva Longoria. They are probably ramping up for him and Santiago.

 

If they'd just had Sophia flat out tell Jake she wasn't interested in a serious relationship, that would have been fine. Making it seem like she was taking the side of the douchebag boss who was off his face on cocaine was the issue I had. She seemed smart and funny in her previous episodes, but in this one she just seemed written to plot, That's something I always hate, in characters that have been previously established.

 

They're definitely ramping up towards Jake/Amy, and I look forward to it because if it's written well, it could be a lot of fun. As things stand, I still have faith in these writers to be able to do it without it taking over the show. They usually manage to balance characters and plots pretty well, and they've shown that they are prepared to let any character fade into the background a little. Well, they've not shown that with Jake yet, but I think they could relegate him to a B-plot without hurting the show.

[HyeChaps]

IMO, in anticipation of Jake/Amy, they wanted to show that Jake was doing the grown-up thing by not dumping Sophia when he found out that Amy was unattached and interested in him. 

[DXD526]

I'm in the minority, I don't ship Amy and Jake. Besides, don't most police departments have a policy about co-workers dating? Maybe that's going to be the plot if they get together, hiding their relationship from everyone at work. Meh. I'd rather they stay friends. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

I liked Gina announcing that the bridesmaids would all be dressed as Roseanne from "Roseanne," since Sandra Bernhard was a guest star on that show in several episodes.

[dusang]

I liked Gina announcing that the bridesmaids would all be dressed as Roseanne from "Roseanne," since Sandra Bernhard was a guest star on that show in several episodes.

 

She was a semi-regular for a least a couple of seasons -- she was a partner in the LunchBox with Jackie & Rosanne.

 

I just watched the episode and really enjoyed it.  As much of a moronic man-child as Jake sometimes appears to be, he seems like he might be a really sweet boyfriend, and he was willing to put in the work.  Actually, as I think about it, the gender reversals of the break-up were kind of awesome.  I think she was pretty ready to walk away from Jake from the beginning of the episode, that him charming her boss wouldn't have helped the situation, but that his arresting her boss (who then made a big thing of it in front of all her colleagues) made it much much worse.  But I can totally see her side of it and respect that -- even the not really being invested in the relationship and just having a breezy good time.

 

And even if I hadn't enjoyed the whole episode (which I did), the ends justify the means when the ends are Holt, Terry, and Jake sitting at a bar getting soused.

[hks]

Re Jake arrested Sophia's boss: I think she was so pissed because Jake wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Yes, if he sees someone doing something illegal it is likely he'd have to arrest him (although I know a few cops who really don't care when off duty). But if he hadn't crashed the party in the first place, there would be no arrest. I could see why she was so bothered. (Plus, I could see a PD getting annoyed for any arrest for a nonviolent crime. I'm not a PD, and I find it frustrating).

 

But as stated above, her reason for the breakup is likely that she's just not THAT into Jake (or as into him as he is into her), and all the work issues made it easier to just end it. I mean, she basically ended it at the park when she asked for the break - he just didn't accept it.

 

Re all the other storylines: I love every character in the show, including Gina, so everything worked for me.

[Jack Kerouac]

I do agree that Jake had no choice but to arrest the boss. Still, I think that they did make clear why Sophia left. She was upset at Jake coming to the party and, while she said that she was acting as Parnell's attorney, she walked out and left her client with the cops while he's hopped up on cocaine (is that what kids today say?). Outside, she made it clear that she didn't have the same feelings towards Jake, which explained why she was upset that he even showed up at the party.

 

If Parnell had just left the coke in the bathroom alone, Jake could have pretended the coke was there when Parnell arrived. That's what the defense would have argued, anyway. Once Parnell actually snorted the cocaine off the counter, he pretty much had to arrest him.

Edited January 30, 2015 by Jack Kerouac

[dusang]

If Parnell had just left the coke in the bathroom alone, Jake could have pretended the coke was there when Parnell arrived. That's what the defense would have argued, anyway. Once Parnell actually snorted the cocaine off the counter, he pretty much had to arrest him.

 

It's actually rather odd that they used that specific situation, as the only measure of whether he did or did not have to arrest was Jake's personal moral compass -- he could very easily have backed out of the room and allowed them to both pretend it never happened. He was even willing for it to not go on Parnell's permanent record, so really, what's the point of the arrest?  Not to mention all the politics around low-level drug offences.  I actually wish that either a) it was a totally different crime he was arrested for or that b) Jake had stood his ground to have this guy punished for his offence, rather than arresting him as a matter of form and getting him off the charge before he was even fully booked.