S04.E10: Captain Latvia

[formerlyfreedom]

Charles enlists Jake’s help in tracking down his son’s favorite toy for Christmas, and the pair finds themselves accidentally facing off against a Latvian criminal ring as a result. Back at the precinct, the team gears up for their annual Christmas carol competition against their sworn enemy: the MTA.

[Loandbehold]

I thought their sworn enemy was the Fire Department.

[possibilities]

They seem to have a lot of enemies.

[Primetimer]

At least the man left behind is the one best able to take care of himself.

View the full article

[swimmyfish]

I think this is the first episode of B99 where I didn't laugh at all. That was really bad.

[Matt K]

20 minutes ago, swimmyfish said:

I think this is the first episode of B99 where I didn't laugh at all. That was really bad.

I laughed when Boyle was breaking the mugs and when Jake tried to as well.  But that said, not one of their better episodes.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Matt K

[Mockingbird]

The best thing about this episode is absolutely the gif of the entire squad cheering in the cold open. Every time I look at it, it puts a big goofy smile on my face.

Subpar episode. Amazing gif.

[ClareWalks]

Usually the continuity is great but this was weird. I spent the first 20 minutes of the episode saying out loud "Scully can sing! SCULLY, you idiots! Just have Scully do it! Was Scully singing a fever dream I had?!" It was like everyone forgot. Then he sang a bit and I was like "so he CAN sing, WTF show?"

[peeayebee]

I was thinking the same thing. If the show was set on the bit with the drunk arrestee, then Scully should have had laryngitis.

There were a couple of parts I liked about this. I laughed a lot when Terry jumped thru the window. I liked Boyle shimmying out of his pants. And I liked this:

Terry: I hate that we lose to those pasty-assed mole people every year.
Holt: There's no point in mincing your words. They're KNAVES!

[thuganomics85]

I still laughed and enjoyed parts of it, but it was probably one of the weaker episodes of the show; likely the weakest of the season at least.  There was something about the B-story that kept bugging me, and then it clicked that, yes, the whole plot could have been avoided if they just let Scully sing.  For all of his flaws, he is great at that.  And all they need to do was find a way to take him out of contention, like laryngitis mentioned above, or have him being the one that suddenly had stage fright.  Still, I enjoyed it leading to Holt going into petty, competitive mode as always, and I found it amusing for some reason that Amy was the worst singer out of the lot.

I always get a kick out of Jake and Boyle on a case together.  Not their strongest one, but I still love how strong their friendship is, and Jake truly wanted to help Boyle, and make sure he didn't endanger himself on the quest to get back Captain Latvia.  And I always get a kick out of Boyle saying something that comes off gross, even when he doesn't mean it.

Gina just disappearing to watch Hamilton felt like it was because Chelsea Peretti was busy for this episode's filming.

The Mass Transit group was entertaining, but I do hope they revisit the feud between the firefighters and Boone/Patton Oswalt.

So, yeah, not my favorite, but then again, I never really was wild about the show's Christmas episodes.  For some reason, there Thanksgiving ones always tend to be better.

ETA: I did love how even Jake isn't a fan of Die Hard 5.

Edited December 14, 2016 by thuganomics85

[EtheltoTillie]

I liked when Boyle used his minimal Latvian: potty training!

[Mama No Life]

I laughed at a lot of the Charles/Jake parts.    "Plume of Boyle", "put the mommy into daddy", "give me your body heat Jake" "ok now he's nestling (or whatever he said)", "Not everything was inside us all along Charles" (before the Christmas tree was inflated"... I could keep going, they crack me up.

The other plot was not so awesome.  Not funny really and like others have noted, I didn't get why Scully wasn't singing. 

[NutmegsDad]

Drunk guy who can only sing like an angel if drunk? Simpsons did it.

I did like Holt calling the MTA folks knaves and then asked if he kisses Kevin with that. And Boyle talking Latvian worked well.

Other than the opening, I want my Unit of Entertainment back.

[Danny Franks]

Oh boy, I was wary of this episode as soon as they started with the 'haha, Latvia is some craaazy foreign country where things are backwards and weird' jokes. Not the right fit for this show, and nowhere near as funny as the 'Nikolaj' pronunciation gag. I'm just not really interested in the whole 'Charles as a father' storyline.

The Transit Authority rivalry felt like a less funny version of the stuff with the Firefighters in season 1. Back then, it was amusing that these two dignified, respected organisations were so childish. Especially firefighters, who are usually held in almost reverence (and rightly so, a lot of the time). I never really get on board with storylines where people who are really bad at something still want to win because reasons. That whole plotline was interminable.

Very sub-par episode, redeemed only by the lack of Gina for most of it. Oh, and no Pimento again, which is always a blessing.

I did laugh at "turns out it wasn't a bomb, it what a clock made by an overachieving minority student... what a world we live in." So inappropriate. Also inappropriate, Charles telling Jake to make sure Amy holds her knees to her chest after sex to ensure she gets pregnant. Yeesh.

[Mama No Life]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Oh boy, I was wary of this episode as soon as they started with the 'haha, Latvia is some craaazy foreign country where things are backwards and weird' jokes. Not the right fit for this show, and nowhere near as funny as the 'Nikolaj' pronunciation gag. I'm just not really interested in the whole 'Charles as a father' storyline.

The Transit Authority rivalry felt like a less funny version of the stuff with the Firefighters in season 1. Back then, it was amusing that these two dignified, respected organisations were so childish. Especially firefighters, who are usually held in almost reverence (and rightly so, a lot of the time). I never really get on board with storylines where people who are really bad at something still want to win because reasons. That whole plotline was interminable.

Very sub-par episode, redeemed only by the lack of Gina for most of it. Oh, and no Pimento again, which is always a blessing.

I did laugh at "turns out it wasn't a bomb, it what a clock made by an overachieving minority student... what a world we live in." So inappropriate. Also inappropriate, Charles telling Jake to make sure Amy holds her knees to her chest after sex to ensure she gets pregnant. Yeesh.

What? I missed that! lol

[Danny Franks]

11 minutes ago, Mama No Life said:

What? I missed that! lol

During the scene where Jake and Charles are talking while Marv the SWAT guy keeps interrupting. Charles says "I'm sorry I said you'd never be a dad, you will be. And you could make it happen tonight. Just go to Amy, and make sure that afterwards she holds her knees up to her chest to..." and he is blissfully interrupted by Jake.

[theatremouse]

10 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Holt: There's no point in mincing your words. They're KNAVES!

I laughed outloud for about 2 minutes at that one.

1 hour ago, NutmegsDad said:

Drunk guy who can only sing like an angel if drunk? Simpsons did it.

Not really the same thing. Simpsons was can only sing when drunk, otherwise sounded like shit. This dude could sing when not drunk but was too nervous to do so. Both weak plots, but the latter was more grounded in reality.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I'm just not really interested in the whole 'Charles as a father' storyline.

Me neither, although it's mostly because I can't remember for the life of me where he met that girl, if they are married, and under what circumstances she/they adopted that kid. 

[Traveller519]

37 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Me neither, although it's mostly because I can't remember for the life of me where he met that girl, if they are married, and under what circumstances she/they adopted that kid. 

I'm a Mary-Lynn Rajskub fan (a Rice-Cub? We saw her one-woman show at Edinburgh Fringe this summer), so I was happy to see her back on the show. Charles met her in court last season when she was being accused of stealing art from her ex-boyfriend, and Charles set out to prove that wasn't the case.

[tennisgurl]

Well, I guess their run of perfect episodes had to hit a snag at some point. Not a horrible episode, just pretty meh, and not up to B99 standards. 

I do like Charles as a dad, and I love seeing Genevieve (are they married? Am I forgetting an episode?) and Charles being weird and cute. Really, the Jake/Charles stuff was decent (I especially enjoyed Jake trying to figure out is his shirt was offensive), but the singing contest was pretty lame. The 99 should be worried about the fact that they have so many enemies in so many NYC departments. And, as other people have said, I spent the whole episode yelling "Scully can sing!" and then he did, so...why all the stuff with drunk guy? Just rather boring. 

I do wish when they dealt with anyone from another country that they wouldn't just make jokes about how weird their country is. Its not really funny, and its below this shows standards. 

I do agree with Jake and Charles about Die Hard 5. Terrible movie. 

Edited December 14, 2016 by tennisgurl

[vibeology]

I really enjoyed the Jake/Boyle plot and laughed so much during it. There were all these small character moments that really worked and I loved the scenes at the club (especially as Charles undid more buttons every time we saw him), the scene where they were trapped at the car, Jake actually using the karate chop, and the ending where Jake had the perfect Christmas present. Such a lovely sweet ending.

The caroling plot was weak. "Knaves" was beautiful but besides that it was pretty laugh-free. Scully can sing! That ruined the logic of it. The MTA were weak opponents and nothing they did or said was particularly funny. I don't think it was a disaster episode but the B-plot did drag this down.

[Thog]

I really liked this episode, but then I'm pretty easy when it comes to B99. I love how well they blend the preposterous with the heartwarming, and they don't create overwrought misunderstandings for cheap laughs. And as others have pointed out above, the characters are so well fleshed-out that the smallest moments are both meaningful and funny. The toy Jake gave Boyle for Nikolaj was disarmingly sweet, as was Scully deciding to go spread joy on his own. Holt never fails to make me laugh when he breaks his formal and proper persona, but I hope they don't start to overuse that.

It pains me to say this, but I do think the "speaks only enough of a foreign language to get a toddler to bed and/or on the potty, and uses those phrases to take down thugs" plot was done better this week on Modern Family. It's not that Sofia Vergara's performance was better than Joe Lo Truglio's, but the writers did a better job of integrating phrases like "it's nighty-night time" in a way that made them sound bizarrely sinister.

[Princess Sparkle]

53 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Well, I guess their run of perfect episodes had to hit a snag at some point. Not a horrible episode, just pretty meh, and not up to B99 standards. 

I do like Charles as a dad, and I love seeing Genevieve (are they married? Am I forgetting an episode?) and Charles being weird and cute. Really, the Jake/Charles stuff was decent (I especially enjoyed Jake trying to figure out is his shirt was offensive), but the singing contest was pretty lame. The 99 should be worried about the fact that they have so many enemies in so many NYC departments. And, as other people have said, I spent the whole episode yelling "Scully can sing!" and then he did, so...why all the stuff with drunk guy? Just rather boring. 

 

Boyle and Genevieve aren't married; there was a throwaway line last season (that's fresh in my mind because I've been rewatching episodes) that Boyle wants to get married, but Genevieve's divorce was so bad that she doesn't want to get married again. 

As others have said, not my most favorite episode, but honestly, a so-so episode of B99 is still better than most comedies on tv. 

Holt using such proper language as a burn will never not make me laugh, so "KNAVES!" cracked me up.  And Jake and Boyle are always a good combo to me, just because I love their friendship so much. On almost any other show, Jake would probably be either contemptuous or annoyed by Boyle, but I love that they truly are good friends and have a strong friendship. 

[wknt3]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

And, as other people have said, I spent the whole episode yelling "Scully can sing!" and then he did, so...why all the stuff with drunk guy? Just rather boring. 

Actually I wasn't yelling. I was more mumbling quietly to myself "Wait isn't Scully a really good singer? Or was that Hitchcock?" and then trying to figure out what sort of elaborate scheme was going on...

[swimmyfish]

20 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

Usually the continuity is great but this was weird. I spent the first 20 minutes of the episode saying out loud "Scully can sing! SCULLY, you idiots! Just have Scully do it! Was Scully singing a fever dream I had?!" It was like everyone forgot. Then he sang a bit and I was like "so he CAN sing, WTF show?"

I felt like everyone was acting out of character in that plot - Scully can sing, hyper-competent Amy would have had them practicing for weeks to have something figured out, Holt - as captain - typically tries to stay above the petty resentments between departments, and Gina would have somehow managed to incorporate her dancing into the performance. I'm also torn between thinking that Gina would not have given up the opportunity to perform and be the center of attention to see a play she'd never heard of, and that it's extremely unlikely that someone as involved in Twitter as Gina has been would never have heard of Hamilton.

Also, between their problems with the fire department, the Vulture, the precinct they had to share desks with temporarily,  the postal officer played by Ed Helms, and now the MTA, I'm starting to think the problem might just be the 99. Which I don't want to be the case, because I love the 99.

Finally, and most importantly, when did Jake learn how to pronounce Nikolaj? No one corrected him once last night, which is a shame because his bewilderment at being corrected has been a real highlight of the season. Has that been abandoned?

[theatremouse]

They seemed to be sort of aknowledging Scully could sing since they gave him that little bit at the beginning, and yet then they went to just drunk dude by himself, which made no sense. It also made no sense that they were originally rehearsing harmonies, and competing against a team doing harmonies, but the end result was just one dude so it totally didn't fit the tone. They should've had Scully and dude harmonize while the others percussed (save Amy).

[iMonrey]

Quote

Boyle and Genevieve aren't married; there was a throwaway line last season (that's fresh in my mind because I've been rewatching episodes) that Boyle wants to get married, but Genevieve's divorce was so bad that she doesn't want to get married again. 

Then where does Nicolaj come from? Had Genevieve already adopted him before she met Charles? I seem to recall something about both of them adopting him together but how is that possible if they're not even married? Is he even the kid's legal father or is he just a father figure because he's dating the kid's mother?

[ClareWalks]

Apparently they tried to get pregnant, then went through fertility treatments, then applied to be adoptive parents, then were chosen and got Nikolaj all in the span of a few months (without any marriage or engagement of any sort). It was by far the least realistic this show has ever been.

Edited December 15, 2016 by ClareWalks

[theatremouse]

You don't necessarily need to be married to adopt jointly (depending on the state and/or country in which/from which you're adopting), although there is usually a much longer wait for those than for married couples. With an older child that could make it shorter, but very unlikely to be as short as presented if only because it usually takes at least that long just to schedule and get the home study done, let alone be matched. So yeah the timeline was super sketch.

Edited December 16, 2016 by theatremouse

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 12/14/2016 at 2:18 PM, Princess Sparkle said:

Boyle and Genevieve aren't married; there was a throwaway line last season (that's fresh in my mind because I've been rewatching episodes) that Boyle wants to get married, but Genevieve's divorce was so bad that she doesn't want to get married again. 

If Genevieve is too unsure of her relationship with Boyle to commit to marrying him, or at least isn't convinced that he would treat her fairly in a divorce, what does she think will happen with regard to Nikolaj if they break up?  Why is she willing to risk having him split in two directions?  It's very selfish to adopt a child with a man she doesn't trust.

[theatremouse]

I don't think it was "unsure of the relationship"<>married. I thought it was "divorced and therefore turned off the concept of being married but still very open to long term committed relationships", which is a thing plenty of people do.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

11 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I don't think it was "unsure of the relationship"<>married. I thought it was "divorced and therefore turned off the concept of being married but still very open to long term committed relationships", which is a thing plenty of people do.

It had better be more than "open to long term committed relationships" since they adopted a child with a difficult background.

Edited December 16, 2016 by ItCouldBeWorse

[ClareWalks]

I know a lot of folks are turned off by the idea of marriage, and there are some good reasons to not get married (government or widow benefits, for example). But I do find it odd when people say "I was married before and it didn't work, so now I don't believe in marriage at all." Every marriage is different, and depends on what the people involved put into it. It's odd to disparage an entire institution because of a bad personal experience. I feel bad for Boyle because he really wants it and Genevieve is like "no." It's great when both partners agree, but when one doesn't it's rough.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

Boyle's "I feel like a super hero! The Hulk's mom!"  (and Jake's WTF face reaction) was the only time I laughed out loud. 

[DXD526]

I love a super-confident Boyle, and being on a mission for his son, Boyle was a steamroller this week, and very enjoyable. It's nice that Jake knows him so well, he knows to basically just step aside and let Boyle do his thing when he gets into this frame of mind. A determined Boyle is a thing of beauty, even when he's spraying pheromones all over the dance floor (it was gross just typing that).

One of my favorite episodes of this (or any) show, "The Party", ended with Scully singing like a little angel, so the B plot was a head-scratcher from the start. At least we got to see Holt over-enunciate 'knaves'.

[Princess Sparkle]

1 hour ago, Mrs OldManBalls said:

Boyle's "I feel like a super hero! The Hulk's mom!"  (and Jake's WTF face reaction) was the only time I laughed out loud. 

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but until I read your post, I thought Boyle said "I feel like a super hero! Like Holt's Mom!"  Which made complete sense to me. 

[iMonrey]

I think my problem is that most of the relationship between Boyle and Genevieve took place off-screen after they initially met, including the adoption of their son, so the whole thing feels very disconnected from the rest of the show. Thanks to all who helped me fill in the gaps because I only vaguely remember the episode where he met her.

I have a strong sense of Holt's relationship with Kevin, and of Terry's relationship with his wife and daughters, but Boyle's personal life feels like it was tacked-on as an afterthought.

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 tacked-on as an afterthought.

Or as a "nevermind whatever you saw before, we're going to establish this as what his life is and just run with it as if it always had been that way". By which I mean it changed pretty significantly, but they're not really plausibly filling in the hows and whys and whens, and without that context (and given the totally impossible timeline) it feels like they're not explaining it in the same way they wouldn't have to explain it if they just started with that character having that relationship and having adopted a son together. If that'd been his homelife from the first episode it'd be easier to not have explanations for it. But if it's happening while the events of the show are happening it's weird to after the fact sort of just "taadaa" it into place.

Edited December 16, 2016 by theatremouse

[jhlipton]

On 12/13/2016 at 9:13 PM, Mockingbird said:

The best thing about this episode is absolutely the gif of the entire squad cheering in the cold open. Every time I look at it, it puts a big goofy smile on my face.

Holt is so excited, he's throwing his chest out and his hands to heaven.  And Rosa is, "Eh, whatever, let me know when we're done."  They got the personality so dead-on in just that one little bit.

On 12/14/2016 at 1:20 PM, tennisgurl said:

I especially enjoyed Jake trying to figure out is his shirt was offensive

I tried pausing to look at it but my TV doesn't do single-frame advance, so I couldn't see it too well.  It looked like a mask of some sort.

On 12/14/2016 at 2:17 PM, Thog said:

It pains me to say this, but I do think the "speaks only enough of a foreign language to get a toddler to bed and/or on the potty, and uses those phrases to take down thugs" plot was done better this week on Modern Family. It's not that Sofia Vergara's performance was better than Joe Lo Truglio's, but the writers did a better job of integrating phrases like "it's nighty-night time" in a way that made them sound bizarrely sinister.

Vergara really nailed that bit.  It's odd when a train-wreck like Modern Family's become beats a gold-min like B99, but stopped clocks and all that...

[Featherhat]

I wonder if MLR wasn't available enough for a wedding or adoption storyline and they just decided to have the adoption happen off screen when Jake was undercover for that reason? Because the last one she was in was the one with Boyle's ex wife, over a year ago. Vivian was in more episodes and that started at the over half season mark (The Party, which is indeed one of the best episodes). I think this may be the least fleshed out relationship on the show and when you show some of it and then make it fairly rush and add a random 5 year told to it, it makes it seem very disjointed.

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, Featherhat said:

I wonder if MLR wasn't available enough for a wedding or adoption storyline and they just decided to have the adoption happen off screen when Jake was undercover for that reason? 

Boyle found out that hewas getting Nikolaj when he and Amy were in Texas so given the significant time jump it makes since but I imagine it didn't have anything to do with her availability just that the writers never planned to spend time with them when they first got him.

[Beezella]

I hope it is ok to say this here, but my DVR is telling me there are two new episodes Sunday January 1. Obviously not the regular night, unless they are changing that.

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, Beezella said:

I hope it is ok to say this here, but my DVR is telling me there are two new episodes Sunday January 1. Obviously not the regular night, unless they are changing that.

It's one hour long ep. Though if you are on the East Coast it could be delayed do to football. There are two special guest stars 

Spoiler

The Pontiac Bandit and Marshall Lynch.

Edited December 27, 2016 by biakbiak

[AnnaRose]

Thanks for posting that!  I would have missed it otherwise.

[Miss Dee]

Well, not only did I like this episode more than most did at first airing (binge-watching four seasons will do that to you), I have to confess that I found Joe Lo Truglio in momma/pappa bear mode kind of...sexy. Yeah.

Edited July 10, 2017 by Miss Dee