Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

S04.E21: The Bank Job / S04.E22: Crime & Punishment


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Quote

In the Season 4 finale, Jake and Rosa continue their search for a bank-robbing operation with Lt. Hawkins and discover a dangerous secret, leading them to call for back-up from Holt and Pimento; and Boyle objects to Gina's new boyfriend. Then, Jake and Rosa are framed for a crime they didn't commit, and it's up to the squad to find a way to bust them out.

Link to comment
26 minutes ago, TheOtherOne said:

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

I hate it. Last Man on Earth ends every mid season finale and season finale this way and I don't like it at all. Have to put it out of my mind entirely and remind myself to rewatch the season when new episodes start so I remember where we left off.

  • Love 3
Link to comment
20 minutes ago, TheOtherOne said:

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

This just made me realize that I really, really don't. This didn't leave me eager to see how they get out of it (and I can't believe they actually pulled this without an early guarantee there would be a next season. The writers were right--if the show hadn't been renewed, people would have been pissed). It just left me bummed out. Not what I'm looking for in a comedy. But that's me.

Good point. I'm a wimp and that's why I watch comedies. The only reason I'm not more freaked out is they always get out of these situations. At least this show got picked up so we'll actually get to see them get out of there. I also kind of expect this to be used to move Jake and Amy further.

Another thing I saw coming a mile away was the 99 being at the wrong bank. Also another good guy turned out to be bad. Of course.

Why write Gina's pregnancy into the show this late in the game? Such great detectives but they missed that bump? Gina mating with a Boyle is also icky, even if he is Ryan Philippe. 

I had been wondering where Rosa's fiancé was. So he's still around, or at least he was until he went to prepare Rosa's getaway. Rosa's beat with Holt was sweet. As sappy as it is, I love that the characters care about each other so much.

  • Love 8
Link to comment
(edited)
31 minutes ago, TheOtherOne said:

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

Since you ask: it depends on the show, but in this case, yes, I enjoy it. Those who make this show have proven themselves inventive and comedically fertile enough that they'll provide a fun way back. And I don't spend any time thinking about it over the summer, because A they're fictional and B I have other things to do. But obviously mileage varies on this.

Edited by Rinaldo
  • Love 13
Link to comment

I don't particularly enjoy cliffhangers that end with our characters in horrible positions, but with B99 it doesn't really bother me much because I know that they will be completely fine in the end and I'm more interested in how they get out of the situation. 

I liked this cliffhanger a lot better than the witness protection one with Jake and Holt last season, because by season three I felt that the Jake/Holt have to leave the 99 cliffhanger had become repetitive.,  This cliffhanger though  gives Rosa more storyline focus and her scenes with Holt were my favorite part of this episode.  Also, I want/hope to see the remaining members of the  99 get spotlight next season as they try and get Rosa and Jake out of prison.

Gina's pregnancy/baby, at least at the start of the next season, will be used as a reason for why Gina's character is absent (during Chelsea Peretti's  maternity leave).  Dan Goor talks about it in this  Post-finale Interview . I really can't picture Gina with a baby and how it will fit into the show. I trust these writers though, and I doubt it will take up a lot of storyline anyways, so we'll see.

Overall I thought the finale was really good. I do think Seaon 5 will most likely be the show's last (unless there is some significant ratings rebound/ gain next season), so I hope they are realistic about the show's situation next year and don't do some crazy cliffhanger. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
42 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Such great detectives but they missed that bump?

So I think she wasn't supposed to be showing, and then the 2 month time jump between episodes is when her character was visibly pregnant. Obviously Chelsea was pretty far along (looks 6-7 months), but I think Gina was supposed to be 4 months, and then 6 months pregnant in the two episodes. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
19 minutes ago, BoogieBurns said:

So I think she wasn't supposed to be showing, and then the 2 month time jump between episodes is when her character was visibly pregnant. Obviously Chelsea was pretty far along (looks 6-7 months), but I think Gina was supposed to be 4 months, and then 6 months pregnant in the two episodes. 

That's probably what they were going for. Still, they haven't really hid Gina all that well, at least compared to other sitcoms. She was sitting a lot but I kind of feel like they mostly wanted us to pretend it wasn't there. When everyone figured out Gina was pregnant I thought it was going to be a ruse because the show has been ignoring the bump for weeks. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment

"This is a weird concept for a restaurant" Never truer words spoken, Terry, but it was a great running gag, along with the hacking Terry elements. 

Stephanie Beatriz has really hit it out of the park this season. I think she's going to be the break out star of the series.

  • Love 4
Link to comment

I want to mention that while I normally find Pimento, and his actor, unendurable, I actually felt that he was well used this episode, and didn't outstay his welcome, and was sometimes genuinely funny. So that's a nice shift.

  • Love 13
Link to comment
(edited)
9 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

That's probably what they were going for. Still, they haven't really hid Gina all that well, at least compared to other sitcoms. She was sitting a lot but I kind of feel like they mostly wanted us to pretend it wasn't there. When everyone figured out Gina was pregnant I thought it was going to be a ruse because the show has been ignoring the bump for weeks. 

This makes getting hit by the bus even more random. Why did that even happen, if it wasn't a way to hide the pregnancy? 

Oh and that entire plot with the hot Boyle cousin is ridiculous. 

Edited by Maya
  • Love 2
Link to comment
11 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

I don't like it either! I mean, I know this is only a sitcom, but I actually care about these characters and I don't want to have to wait months to find out how they get out of this mess. And it would have been truly awful if the show hadn't been renewed and this had turned out to be the series finale.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

Rosa in a pink suit. 

I agree: why did they decide a bus needed to hit Gina? Odd.

Wouldn't most people set their phones to lock if idle for more than 2 minutes or so? Although I did enjoy Rosa's valley girl and Rachel Weinstein (I think that's what she said) impressions.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
6 minutes ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Although I did enjoy Rosa's valley girl and Rachel Weinstein (I think that's what she said) impressions.

I squeed when she used her undercover/real voice.

12 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

The writers were right--if the show hadn't been renewed, people would have been pissed).

Guaranteed the trending tweet would have been #TerryNeedsClosure.

In a weird way, tonight's episodes answered an oddball question I had: If Brooklyn 99 is the Barney Miller of a new Millenium, who would emerge to be on the  Firefly of 2040? Now I have my answer. With his white hair, I can see Joe Lo Truglio talking about ".....the special hell".

  • Love 3
Link to comment
(edited)
1 hour ago, Maya said:

This makes getting hit by the bus even more random. Why did that even happen, if it wasn't a way to hide the pregnancy?

The head writer discusses it in this interview:

Quote

So the thinking behind the Gina thing, was from the start this year we really wanted to give Chelsea more to do. So we pitched a tremendous number of ideas for her, and among them were “Gina gets hit by a bus” and also “Gina wears a medical halo,” and obviously those two go very well together. We had broken “The Fugitive” and “The Fugitive Pt. 2” because we knew they wanted us to do a big two part episode to go after football on New Year’s Day. Then they said, “Oh, can you add a cliffhanger of some sort?” I was like, “Ah, this is the perfect time to use this.” So it was a little bit constructed out of network demands, but it ended up really cracking me up. When I was in the edit bay I was a little surprised by how violently she was thrown over. It was shocking.

Edited by TheOtherOne
  • Useful 1
Link to comment
(edited)

Yeah it's upsetting.. Oh no they were found guilty!!!! :(  How are they going to get out of this!?!?! :'(  Maybe when this experience is over and Rosa, and Jake are free.  Jake and Amy will get married! :) Boyle being all stressed out and turned gray and in a wheelchair, was hysterical!!! ROFL!  Ryan Phillippe WOW! I didn't know he was going to be there!  He is so handsome! Boyle is jealous of his cousin hahahaha!

Edited by sonyab
  • Love 1
Link to comment
1 hour ago, NutmegsDad said:

I squeed when she used her undercover/real voice.

Wait what?! That was the actress's real voice when she used it on the bus? :) I didn't know that.

Link to comment

I donno about these 2 episodes i didnt think they were very interesting since they whole thing was are they gonna catch her and then are they going to jail. The answer to both for me is who cares its a sitcom everything gets reset "back to normal" anyway. This week the first episode was better than the second as they were not so serious.Gina was annoying first with the pregnancy storyline and then reading faces (but at least she picked up on holt and rosas faces that she was being a buzzkill).

There were a bunch of funny parts dont get me wrong its just so much wack stuff too. Pimento was jokes how he kept snorting and how he wanted jake to beat him up to feel something so bored with his life haha!

Rosa stole the show these episodes. My favourite parts were when she was like "lets beat the crap out of my boyfriend" and then "I just want him to be happy" "aww" ha!. Also the handsome guy with the weird energy line too. Only thing i cringed at was the "family" part but all the jokes in that storyline were funny. Im remembering more things i laughed at now but still took themselves way to seriously with the are they going to jail story. I just said cool when it happened and not jakes longest freakout cool (kind of a funny way to end it).

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Well...that took a dark turn. I know, intellectually, that Rosa and Jake are going to be fine and they aren't going to stay in prison for long, but this is still a really depressing ending to the season! If this really had been the end of the show, hell yes I would have been pissed off. Jake and Amy are separated! Again! Its such a sad way to end the season. The show makes me actually care about these characters, so I cant say I'm thrilled that we are leaving them in such a terrible spot.

There were still laughs though, especially everything with the hackers finding increasingly embarrassing things about Terry (Terry needed the yen!) and Jakes attempts at courtroom antics, but I'm mostly just really depressed now. Also, Corrupt Cop Gersh had a guy on her payroll just sitting around in the middle of nowhere off the grid, just in case she framed some cops and they found him and decided to use his testimony against her? That is CRAZY amounts of preparedness.

Don't get me wrong, I do trust this show and I know they'll get out of this in a funny and creative way, but its a real downer to end the season on, especially with a long ass hiatus in front of us.    

  • Love 7
Link to comment

I really don't like stories about people being wrongly imprisoned. I especially don't like those stories in comedies because I don't find any part of being wrongly imprisoned to be funny. I'm not "worried" about the characters because they're fictional and because I know the show won't leave them in prison, but this episode left a really bad taste in my mouth. I couldn't enjoy any of the hijinks with Terry and the Hackers because I kept getting annoyed with the Hackers for goofing around instead of looking for proof that Jake and Rosa were innocent. About the only thing I did like was finding out Gina's boyfriend was the only hot Boyle. Good for her.

  • Love 14
Link to comment
16 minutes ago, Rockstar99435 said:

I really don't like stories about people being wrongly imprisoned. I especially don't like those stories in comedies because I don't find any part of being wrongly imprisoned to be funny. I'm not "worried" about the characters because they're fictional and because I know the show won't leave them in prison, but this episode left a really bad taste in my mouth.

This. So much this.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
Quote

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

This just made me realize that I really, really don't. This didn't leave me eager to see how they get out of it (and I can't believe they actually pulled this without an early guarantee there would be a next season. The writers were right--if the show hadn't been renewed, people would have been pissed). It just left me bummed out. Not what I'm looking for in a comedy. But that's me.

This is the second show I watch that had - at best - a 50/50 chance of getting cancelled and yet decided to end on a big cliffhanger anyway. That pisses me off. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad it was renewed, and from a business standpoint, I understand why they do it. They think ending on a big cliffhanger will increase their chances of getting renewed if they're on the bubble. BUT - if the show had been cancelled, I would have been really mad at the show, more than the network. It's a business and the network cares more about advertising dollars than complaints from viewers, especially when ratings aren't very good. They're not running a charity, the show has to make money.

I don't mind cliffhangers if the show already has a guaranteed renewal.  That's a pretty common hook to keep you coming back. But when it's potentially a series finale, it feels very disrespectful to the loyal audience that stuck with the show even as ratings declined.

  • Love 7
Link to comment
(edited)
16 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Honest question--Does anyone enjoy cliffhangers where terrible things happen to characters we like, so the season ends on a massive downer and we get to spend the summer thinking about the hell they're going to go through before the inevitable turnaround?

This just made me realize that I really, really don't. This didn't leave me eager to see how they get out of it (and I can't believe they actually pulled this without an early guarantee there would be a next season. The writers were right--if the show hadn't been renewed, people would have been pissed). It just left me bummed out. Not what I'm looking for in a comedy. But that's me.

I don't mind cliffhanger season finales in dramas but I didn't expect a half hour sitcom to have my stomach in knots just as much any cable prestige show. The B99 cliffhangers have been killing me, especially the latest one!

Lt Hawkins is the most devious villain on the show. She's always a dozen steps ahead.

I'm so glad we didn't have to go through a scene Jake trying to convince Rosa their idol was dirty. He told her offscreen and she believed him.

Boyle's cousin being Gina's babydaddy, Boyle thinking he's ugly and that he's played by Ryan Phillipe was all perfect.

"Women can be drug dealers too! #I'm With Her."

"I always talk like this down in Kokomo!"

Whether in workout clothes or "stupid court clothes" Stephanie Beatriz/Rosa Diaz  is SPECTACULAR. Also love that she got to use her real voice both episodes.

The cold open to the second one had me laughing with Jake's mugshot and him yelling "HE'S A MIND FREAK!!"

LOLed so much at the hackers continually bringing up embarrassing stuff about Terry.

Damn it JJ, we all trusted you! I'll never eat waffles at your diner again!

I want Jake and Amy to go to Paris someday.

Edited by VCRTracking
  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)

The humor on this show is too silly, goofy and just not funny for me, but everyone's taste in comedy is different. I spend almost every Wednesday with someone who loves it, so I end up watching a lot of the episodes. And with nearly every other character I feel like, okay, they don't click for me but I can see why others enjoy them, but I wanted to ask you all: what is the appeal of Gina? I'm asking with total respect, just genuine curiosity. She's just unbearable to me, conceited with so little reason to be, rude and obnoxious in ways that aren't even the slightest bit funny. She constantly "wins" without trying, caring or even acting like a halfway decent person. She talks like she just swallowed a whole bottle of quaaludes. And now she's reproducing? And of course the guy is sweet, handsome, affectionate and madly in love with her despite the fact that she's gross both inside and out. Even people I know who love this show think Gina is the worst and wish she had died or at least magically acquired a whole new personality when hit by that bus, so I told my boyfriend I'd come to this site full of the smartest, most insightful TV fans on the internet to find out what people love about her.  Thank you to anyone who replies! 

Edited by stillsearching74
  • Love 9
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Rockstar99435 said:

I really don't like stories about people being wrongly imprisoned. I especially don't like those stories in comedies because I don't find any part of being wrongly imprisoned to be funny. I'm not "worried" about the characters because they're fictional and because I know the show won't leave them in prison, but this episode left a really bad taste in my mouth.

I agree with this. I'm not so invested that I'm emotionally worried, but it's not a funny situation in general and especially not for cops. The reality of the situation is both Jake and Rosa would be in very real danger in prison and I don't see the humour in that at all. Also, after the premiere (or maybe a few episodes like the way this season opened) I don't expect this will matter all that much. I don't mind when comedies are serialized but I think cliffhangers are dumb.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)
48 minutes ago, vibeology said:

The reality of the situation is both Jake and Rosa would be in very real danger in prison and I don't see the humour in that at all.

Yeah, exactly. I'm sure there are some jokes that can be made with Jake and Rosa in jail, but its all clouded by the very real fact that in any real world situation, they would be in serious danger as cops in prison, and since this show does at least TRY to stay in the general area of realism, its hard to find a lot of wacky comedy in this very dark situation. This isn't going to be the first season of Orange is the New Black. Hell, it wont even be the second season of Orange is the New Black.

You know, between this show and the last episode of Sense8

Spoiler

I'm convinced that "lets go to Paris" is the "I've only got one day left until retirement" of couples in angsty situations. Don't say your going to Paris people, your NOT going to Paris. Your only going to Sad Town.

Edited by tennisgurl
  • Love 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, stillsearching74 said:

 And with nearly every other character I feel like, okay, they don't click for me but I can see why others enjoy them, but I wanted to ask you all: what is the appeal of Gina? I'm asking with total respect, just genuine curiosity. She's just unbearable to me, conceited with so little reason to be, rude and obnoxious in ways that aren't even the slightest bit funny. She constantly "wins" without trying, caring or even acting like a halfway decent person. She talks like she just swallowed a whole bottle of quaaludes. And now she's reproducing? And of course the guy is sweet, handsome, affectionate and madly in love with her despite the fact that she's gross both inside and out. Even people I know who love this show think Gina is the worst and wish she had died or at least magically acquired a whole new personality when hit by that bus, so I told my boyfriend I'd come to this site full of the smartest, most insightful TV fans on the internet to find out what people love about her.  Thank you to anyone who replies! 

I don't think that the actress' looks should be brought into this, plus its subjective, but personality wise I agree with a lot of the stuff you said about Gina.. It's why she's one of my least favorite characters on this show and I only like her about half of the time.

That being said, Gina's extreme amount of confidence and her eccentric personality are why I think a lot of people, outside this forum, like the character. I appreciate those characteristics of Gina, during the times where she's not treating the other characters horribly without consequences and pretty much always coming out on top. I thought the final two episodes utilized her pretty well. 

Plus a lot of people find the actress really funny. I think she can be both funny and grating, so I understand both opinions about that.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
Quote

I'm not so invested that I'm emotionally worried, but it's not a funny situation in general and especially not for cops.

It's not the storyline I mind. Whether it's Jake and Rosa wrongfully imprisoned after being framed or Jake and Holt being in Witness Protection - it's the fact that they left us hanging when they didn't know whether or not they were getting renewed. That just pisses me off. They knew if they got cancelled that the fans would be angry and write to Fox and demand that they bring the show back. And that's why they did it that way, to engage us to help them make sure Fox renewed the show. Imagine if it was cancelled and this was they last episode you ever saw. 

Now, I could let it go if they had filmed an alternate ending they could swap in after finding out they weren't coming back, but apparently that wasn't the case since the writers brashly admitted viewers would be mad if they got cancelled. They did this deliberately and it's a real (potential) slap in the face to the people who've loyally stuck with this show despite somewhat weak ratings.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
19 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Another thing I saw coming a mile away was the 99 being at the wrong bank.

I didn't. It surprised me and also reminded me of that same bit in Silence of the Lambs. I hated that scene and the blatant trickery. I recalled reading a book that praised that particular scene, and I was flabbergasted. For some reason I didn't hate it here.

 

3 hours ago, vibeology said:

The reality of the situation is both Jake and Rosa would be in very real danger in prison and I don't see the humour in that at all. 

I do. Obviously with a comedy there is not going to be gang-rapes or stabbings in the shower. Hard to tell how much time the show will spend in the prison. In the Sepinwall interview, Dan Goor said they don't know what's going to happen yet. Anyway, I'm confident it'll be funny.

So I liked this ep. The beginning with Rosa and Jake joining Holt at his Razzmatazz class was outstanding. It couldn't have been any better. "I AM wagging, Brenda!"

I was surprised the show decided to have Gina actually be pregnant. Then when Amy, Terry, and Charles thought they figured it out, I thought that Gina was setting them up (for some reason), like maybe to show out they need to stay out of her business. I can't say I'm happy with Ryan Phillipe as the baby-daddy. I don't think he has much of a personality. I'm afraid he'll be as much as a dud as Nick Cannon.

"We don't know no secret! You be crazy! I always talk this way down in Kokomo."

I loved the flashback with Charles making an arrest and saying, "Put your hands up... and start clapping for me, 'cause I'm gonna be a daddy."

Jake/Andy Samberg is always hilarious. "I stepped on my omelette this morning." "Vitamin B. The second best vitamin." "I'm a nice boy."

Boyle being so scared for Jake that his hair turns white was great. "It's like an Eagles concert down there. Nothing but whites."

All the hacking on Terry was great. A catalog model in Japan and Sir Dance-a-Lot. Poor guy. I recognized the third actor as the guy from Comedy Bang Bang, but who were the other two?

  • Love 2
Link to comment
2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

It's not the storyline I mind. Whether it's Jake and Rosa wrongfully imprisoned after being framed or Jake and Holt being in Witness Protection - it's the fact that they left us hanging when they didn't know whether or not they were getting renewed. That just pisses me off. They knew if they got cancelled that the fans would be angry and write to Fox and demand that they bring the show back. And that's why they did it that way, to engage us to help them make sure Fox renewed the show. Imagine if it was cancelled and this was they last episode you ever saw. 

Yeah, that is my take too.  I mean B99 is silly.  Jake working undercover for the Mafia could be considered scary.  But this is B99, there are no serious stakes and the Mafia criminals were B99 level criminals.  Again, silly.  I have zero concerns about Jake and Rosa in jail.  Even if they end up actually going to jail you know their stay is going to be as about serious as their court case was or about as serious as when Jake and Holt were in jail in Florida. 

No, it was the fact that they left us hanging.  I dislike cliff hangers on principle.  And I especially hate cliffhangers on shows that might not have come back.

  • Love 4
Link to comment
Quote

Gina's extreme amount of confidence and her eccentric personality are why I think a lot of people, outside this forum, like the character. I appreciate those characteristics of Gina, during the times where she's not treating the other characters horribly without consequences and pretty much always coming out on top. 

I think that this worked better for me at the beginning of the show than now. At the beginning, there was a strange juxtaposition of Gina as a crappy, uninvested, self-obsessed secretary surrounded by really good cops (this is one of my favorite things about this show - the comedy and drama aren't generally rooted in the 99 being populated with idiots) and Gina as a highly observant and capable woman. Now, she's miraculously good at everything and comes out on top whenever she's up against another member of the 99. I think Chelsea as Gina is hilarious, but it would be great to see her totally misread a situation or be wrong. At this point, I feel like Gina being really wrong about something would have to be a three episode arc, since she's been practically faultless for so long. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I've rewatched the whole series recently (hooray for pregnancy fatigue!) and she's pretty spot-on. 

A great juxtaposition can be so beneficial for a character, and a lot of the 99 characters are like that. Terry is enormous and stunningly handsome, but he's sensitive and sweet and in touch with his feminine side. Jake looks and sometimes acts like an idiot frat boy, but the dorky Boyle is his best friend, he's highly protective of his friends, and he hates racism, sexism, and people doing the wrong thing. Holt is stoic and by-the-book, but he also loves the finer things in life and has a gloriously catty side. Hitchcock and Scully are grotesque cartoons, but they're often sharper than anyone gives them credit for and can get work done if they have to. Rosa is aggressive and private and harsh, but she lets her guard done for those she truly loves and I love it every time the mask slips and her love of romantic comedies or interior design comes out. Boyle is dorky, but he is a highly capable and brave cop with a voracious sexual appetite. I LOVE all of these characters because they win some and lose some. I still like Gina, but she lacks depth. 

  • Applause 1
  • Love 21
Link to comment

Am I the only one who sat there at the end thinking that if the hackers hadn't been so busy digging up Terry's past that they would have cracked the off-shore bank accounts earlier and it would have potentially cleared Rosa and Jake?

It was funny, but time was running out damn it!

  • Love 10
Link to comment

I'm not crazy about them writing in Gina's pregnancy. If only because I feel like they're going to use her having a baby as another way for Gina to fluke her way through life. (Can't you just see it? Gina and Cousin Boyle's babe is having a screaming fit and Terry, going through the same thing with his little one, tries to offer some sound parenting advice. But no! Gina is adamant that the best way to soothe a child is through the magic of dance! Her and Cousin Boyle perform the flamenco for their spawn. And it works! Because it's Gina and of course it does.)

I'm also not crazy about yet another cliffhanger that we know will be resolved in the first few eps of the next season, but oh well. I'm not going to really complain about a consistently funny show on network TV. A how that made me like Andy Samberg no less. 

12 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Real voice (and just because it's a fun watch).

(This is fun too.)

No joke. THAT. BLEW. MY. FUCKING. MIND.

No, seriously. The only other thing that I had seen Stephanie Beatriz in was Modern Family where she does an whole 'nother voice and I would have never guessed that she was straight up Valley Girl. She sounds like a Kardashian. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Because: a) I somewhat unironically love the Kardashians (or Kourtney at the very least); b) chick has some serious vocal fry going on; and c) it's completely adorable!

  • Love 5
Link to comment
22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Also, Corrupt Cop Gersh had a guy on her payroll just sitting around in the middle of nowhere off the grid, just in case she framed some cops and they found him and decided to use his testimony against her? That is CRAZY amounts of preparedness.

He seemed to be the one who was in charge of laundering the money, so she may not have necessarily anticipated that they would find him. They could have setup what he was going to say on the stand while Jake and Amy were in the car waiting for him to get his stuff.

Also, what the hell kind of restaurant is closed on the weekends? Sundays I can kind of understand, but Saturday too? I'm with Terry "Such a strange theme for a restaurant."

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Going to spoiler tag this, even though it's just my personal ramblings on where next season could pick up grounded in absolutely nothing other than my imagination.

Spoiler

The Dallas-style "it was all a dream!" plot has been done to varying degrees of effectiveness, but when I think about where the 99 has gone since Gina was hit by the bus I wonder if it might not be a good option here. It would answer for the somewhat bizarre and where-do-we-go-from-here developments related to Gina's pregnancy, Jake & Rosa's conviction, and Ryan Philippe. I have enough faith in the 99 team that they could pull it off really well, whereas it's harder for me to figure out how to make some of these other pieces work in the long term. Regardless, I'll stick around unless something really goes off the rails since this show is so much better than just about everything else on TV. 

Link to comment
(edited)

Ugh. Pimento. Fuck off.

Also, really don't care about whether Gina is pregnant or not. She's still annoying. Ryan Phillippe as a guest star is utterly wasted on her.

Holt doing 'jazzmatazz' or whatever it was called was a beautiful image. I'm not sure if I find it unlikely that he'd pick a form of exercise with unnecessary music, dancing and instructor encouragement, or if it's likely that he found it's the most efficient form of exercise.

"Teenage romance, dying chick, oxygen mask? Checks all my boxes." Man, they're really going there with Hitchcock's skeeviness, aren't they? Wearing that wig, he looked like the villain from Kindergarten Cop. Creepy.

I don't really get why Hawkins would want to add two unknown cops to her team, if she's crooked. Kind of undermines this whole storyline, which is a bit daft anyway. Cops on the take? Sure. Cops actually involved in dealing drugs? Okay. Cops robbing banks but actually only doing it to set up the new cops who they pretended to trust but didn't really? I think whoever came up with this idea was snorting the same cocaine as Pimento.

Amy being "somehow embarrassed and proud at the same time" that Jake has no money, stolen or otherwise, was a nice little moment. And her being supportive and helpful too. Their scene in the car was really sweet.

Don't get why Holt didn't testify. Even if the investigation was off the books, he's still a police captain who can state under oath that Peralta and Diaz were undercover. The whole courtroom section felt lazy, and Hawkins being prepared for everything felt contrived. In fact, I was really disappointed in these two episodes as a season finale. It's not a cliffhanger that means anything, because we know it will be undone in season 5. And a Jake and/or Rosa in prison storyline is a big fucking turn off for me. I hate 'person thrown in jail unjustly' plots.

Honestly, the cliffhangers that the show has done have been worse, season by season. Hopefully they'll abandon the concept for season 5, and just go for something more low key.

Edited by Danny Franks
  • Love 3
Link to comment
Quote

No, seriously. The only other thing that I had seen Stephanie Beatriz in was Modern Family where she does an whole 'nother voice and I would have never guessed that she was straight up Valley Girl. She sounds like a Kardashian. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Because: a) I somewhat unironically love the Kardashians (or Kourtney at the very least); b) chick has some serious vocal fry going on; and c) it's completely adorable!

The first time I ever heard her real voice on a talk show I thought she was doing helium. I couldn't believe how different she sounds in "real life."

Quote

Ugh. Pimento. Fuck off.

I'm not really a fan either but I did think coked-up Pimento was kind of funny. But . . . in what universe would Holt hand over a giant baggie of cocaine from the evidence locker? No way.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
(edited)
52 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Holt doing 'jazzmatazz' or whatever it was called was a beautiful image. I'm not sure if I find it unlikely that he'd pick a form of exercise with unnecessary music, dancing and instructor encouragement, or if it's likely that he found it's the most efficient form of exercise.

He and Kevin hula hoop for "fitness and fun". So it's not completely out of character that he would get some enjoyment out of exercise.

52 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

I don't really get why Hawkins would want to add two unknown cops to her team, if she's crooked. Kind of undermines this whole storyline, which is a bit daft anyway. Cops on the take? Sure. Cops actually involved in dealing drugs? Okay. Cops robbing banks but actually only doing it to set up the new cops who they pretended to trust but didn't really?

I'm guessing she was always planning on setting them up to take the fall for the robberies. The fact that they were trying to bring her down just made it easier.

Edited by ZoqFotPik
  • Love 3
Link to comment

I'm assuming the guy that got away when Jake and Rosa busted the scheme was supplying Hawkins' team with drugs or helping plan a robbery. Jake and Rosa were likely extremely close to busting Hawkins. Especially after Hawkins looked through the files at the 99. Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer sort of thing.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)
On 5/24/2017 at 9:47 AM, TheOtherOne said:

Real voice (and just because it's a fun watch).

(This is fun too.)

16 hours ago, Brinny said:

No joke. THAT. BLEW. MY. FUCKING. MIND.

No, seriously. The only other thing that I had seen Stephanie Beatriz in was Modern Family where she does an whole 'nother voice and I would have never guessed that she was straight up Valley Girl. She sounds like a Kardashian. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. Because: a) I somewhat unironically love the Kardashians (or Kourtney at the very least); b) chick has some serious vocal fry going on; and c) it's completely adorable!

Another sign of my stupidity--the second clip wasn't even the one I meant to post (Stephanie saying nice things about Andy is nice and all, but "fun?" Eh.) This is the fun one. Real voice + dancing.

Edited by TheOtherOne
  • Love 1
Link to comment
22 hours ago, Allie56 said:

I think that this worked better for me at the beginning of the show than now. At the beginning, there was a strange juxtaposition of Gina as a crappy, uninvested, self-obsessed secretary surrounded by really good cops (this is one of my favorite things about this show - the comedy and drama aren't generally rooted in the 99 being populated with idiots) and Gina as a highly observant and capable woman. Now, she's miraculously good at everything and comes out on top whenever she's up against another member of the 99. I think Chelsea as Gina is hilarious, but it would be great to see her totally misread a situation or be wrong. At this point, I feel like Gina being really wrong about something would have to be a three episode arc, since she's been practically faultless for so long. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I've rewatched the whole series recently (hooray for pregnancy fatigue!) and she's pretty spot-on. 

A great juxtaposition can be so beneficial for a character, and a lot of the 99 characters are like that. Terry is enormous and stunningly handsome, but he's sensitive and sweet and in touch with his feminine side. Jake looks and sometimes acts like an idiot frat boy, but the dorky Boyle is his best friend, he's highly protective of his friends, and he hates racism, sexism, and people doing the wrong thing. Holt is stoic and by-the-book, but he also loves the finer things in life and has a gloriously catty side. Hitchcock and Scully are grotesque cartoons, but they're often sharper than anyone gives them credit for and can get work done if they have to. Rosa is aggressive and private and harsh, but she lets her guard done for those she truly loves and I love it every time the mask slips and her love of romantic comedies or interior design comes out. Boyle is dorky, but he is a highly capable and brave cop with a voracious sexual appetite. I LOVE all of these characters because they win some and lose some. I still like Gina, but she lacks depth. 

Great post! I disliked Gina during the 1st part of Season 1, but I think the 2nd half of that season  was probably the most consistently well written the character has ever been. I plan to rewatch the whole show sometime before Season 5 and I'm interested to figure out exactly when they decided that Gina's character pretty much needs to always win/be right. Also, like I've said before Gina is really polarizing for me depending on the episode. When I rewatch, I might try and see which episodes she bothers me the most in and if there is any correlation between that and who writes the episode. I still feel like there are some episodes, these last two for example, that Gina is just written as a character that buys into her own hype that she's the best thing around (extreme confidence)  but the writers treat her as an equal part of the gang. On the other hand, there are other episodes where I fully believe that the writers believe that Gina is the best character that ever existed and they try and write her plotline in those episodes to validate that (i.e. Gina's always right, Gina can be a horrible person and face no consequences, etc.)

To add a little to what you said about character juxtaposition, I would say that its a great quality of Amy's that while she is generally a strong believer in the rules/teacher's pet type of character there have also been a lot of examples of her fully participating in the 99 hijinks, without hesitation. She has very rarely been depicted as a killjoy throughout the series, even if some might assume when being introduced to her character that that aspect would be included in her personality.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

What I find disturbing about this episode's cliffhanger is that they seem to be upping the ante for cliffhangers every season, putting the characters in more and more dire situations. Eventually this will stop being amusing, because if it's already polarizing, it can only get worse. Next season's cliffhanger: whose child might have cancer? Gina's Twitter account may hold the answer!

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...