S05.E02: The Big House (2)

[formerlyfreedom]

When the warden asks Jake to investigate Romero's drug smuggling operation, Jake and Caleb find themselves caught between the loyalty Jake has sworn to both of them. Meanwhile, Amy is offered a deal by a local mobster who claims he can prove that Hawkins is guilty, but Holt and the rest of the gang think they have a safer plan.

[hoodooznoodooz]

"You keep talking about her thigh gap."

"That's my favorite part of a woman. There's nothing more intoxicating than the clear absence of a penis."

[PikaScrewChu]

Leave it to this show to think that the entire situation is resolved and the Nine Nine will go onto more wacky adventures but there's still one last thing to tie up.

[betweenthebanter]

I don't think that I will really know how much I liked this episode until I rewatch it. It had a good amount of quality moments, but also felt too rushed as a whole.  

That being said, some stuff that I loved about this episode was: Amy in the library, Rosa taking Amy's advice and imagining fighting Hawkins, Jake in solitary, Holt pretending to be straight, and the whole talk about Terry being a bad guest on Boyle''s podcast was great. Also, loved the Jake/Amy and Holt reveal at the end.

Edited October 4, 2017 by betweenthebanter

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Amy in the library was hilarious! One of my work study jobs in college was reshelving books in the library so to this day, if I see a book out of place when I'm at the bookstore, I am compelled to put it back in the correct place.

"You ate six people."
"Nine and a half."

[afrocorgi]

Andy Samberg's one-man adaptation of The Lion King killed me. It was so random and hilarious. 

[Gummo]

NOOOO, not Captain Holt! But of course he wouldn't let Amy take the bullet, he took it himself.

Glad Hawkins was finally caught, that was one nasty character.

I hope Caleb the Cannibal returns at some point. (That sounds awful, doesn't it? Just shows how good this show is!)

I'd like to see Romero again, too. Another great new character, too good to lose forever.

A great season opener overall.

[Danny Franks]

And we've got another Raymond Holt maxim to live by: "Imagination is never the solution."

It was predictable that Jake being left alone with his thoughts for five days would be terrible. But fashioning an Amy out of mashed potato? Oh dear. Still perhaps not quite as deranged as reenacting the Lion King, though.

I loved Caleb's specific record of people eaten: Nine and a half. Which half?

"Whenever I'm backed into a corner, I just do what I do best. I drive across country, create a new identity and take a job as a camp counsellor." Jesus, Caleb. Still, the guy is just so likeable, even when pointing out how similar cop work is to "cannibal work".

I hope he shows up again, even if it's only because Jake visits him in prison. Whoever came up with the idea of a pleasant, personable, funny cannibal who will casually talk about eating children for comedic effect? That person deserves an Emmy.

Amy stress-reshelving books in the library was lovely. Of course she would do that, and of course she would judge people who shelve books incorrectly. And she was ready to compromise herself with Murphy if it would get Jake out of prison.

Holt acting straight and talking about how he betrayed his female wife, and how his favourite part of a woman is the clear absence of a penis, had me laughing out loud. The man is such a consummate performer.

It was cool to see the cops actually being good at cop stuff, staking out the locker. But annoying that Hawkins was initially still too smart for them. I get irritated when villains are unrealistically smart and prepared. But the twist, with Holt actually going to Murphy for the info, was pretty great. That he would risk his integrity like that for Jake says so much, and I guess this is something that will direct at least part of how this season goes.

Glad the prison storyline is over, though. They got all they could out of it, and didn't drag it out. I think they learned from going three episodes in Florida last season, which was a bit too much.

[Traveller519]

So many great quotables out of this one:

"I'm Sorry Books"

"Thank you for saving my life." Yeah, well, I would not do it again. That hurt!"

"MORE MASHED POTATOES!!!!!"

And then Caleb observing how police surveillance was a lot like cannibal preparation with the ever so disturbing "...waiting for soccer practice to let out."

 

I'm glad they got the Prison story-line tied up while also setting up the next go around. It's probably a case of where two episodes felt rushed, but 3 episodes would have dragged. Thinking back to last season the three episodes in Coral Gables probably stretched a bit, but we had the benefit of the one episode that was solely Jake and Holt and their dynamic.

Terry, I'd love to have you on my podcast.

[tennisgurl]

Great way to wrap up the prison story! I`m glad that they decided to wrap it up in two episodes, while leaving the Holt thing open to become a problem later. The Florida story went on just a tad bit too long last season, so that was a good call. 

Amy stress shelving was so perfectly Amy. "I`m sorry books!" Now we know for sure that Amy loves Jake, she tore a book for him! A book! And we got an adorable Jake and Amy reunion too! My love for them is truly embarrassing, but I just dont care. 

Speaking of, if loving Caleb the Cannibal is wrong, I dont want to be right. "waiting for soccer practice to let out..." I would be alright with seeing him again. I would be more than alright with that. 

Oh Holt, what have you done? Its honestly really touching that he was willing to compromise his integrity and possibly get in bed (and not in a good way!) with a criminal for Jake and Rosa, but this is so going to be a problem later on. 

Now I want to hear Terry as a podcast guest.

[iMonrey]

What is going on with Charles's/Joe Lo Truglio's hair? I know it was "explained" last week (turned gray/dyed it) but did the actor actually do something to his hair for some other role and that's really why he's wearing a wig?

There's nothing funnier than Holt doing what he thinks "passes" for straight. 

[Rinaldo]

53 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Holt acting straight and talking about how he betrayed his female wife, and how his favourite part of a woman is the clear absence of a penis, had me laughing out loud.

This continued the well-established circumstance that one thing Holt is terrible at, is acting convincingly straight, when he tries to. When he's not trying, of course he does it just fine.

24 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Now I want to hear Terry as a podcast guest.

Don't we all? :) Terry is awesome at nearly everything; just how did he behave on that podcast?

[hoodooznoodooz]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

 

I loved Caleb's specific record of people eaten: Nine and a half. Which half?

 

I'm guessing the half that did not lead to his arrest, because didn't he share that his strategy was to eat the evidence?

[AsYouWish]

I'm struck by how I really do not miss Gina at all this season and in fact prefer the show without this nasty, annoying and obnoxious character and the writers' strange compulsion to keep giving her unearned, undeserved 'wins'!

[Danny Franks]

8 hours ago, AsYouWish said:

I'm struck by how I really do not miss Gina at all this season and in fact prefer the show without this nasty, annoying and obnoxious character and the writers' strange compulsion to keep giving her unearned, undeserved 'wins'!

I could not agree more. This show has never needed a negative, antagonistic presence to be enjoyable. The core characters are all fun and engaging without ever being cloying or overly sweet. Gina has always been superfluous, as these episodes (and others where she was absent) demonstrate. Same goes for Pimento, who's even worse.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Danny Franks

[thuganomics85]

I don't think I'll ever grow tired of Holt pretending to be a "straight guy."  Best worst undercover ever!

Glad they wrapped up the prison arcs and both Jake and Rosa are finally out, even if it felt a bit rushed at the end.  For a second, I honestly thought we were going to have a third one until they finally figured it all out.  But it has come at a cost with Holt now owing this Seamus guy (Paul Adelstein!  You can't trust Kellerman!!!) a favor, which I'm sure he'll collect come finale time, if not sooner.  Not surprised though, because Holt is too good of a boss to let Amy be the one to do it.  That said, I actually called the pigs early on, because I knew there had to be more to that throwaway line about Scully and Hitchcock watching that then just a gag about how they were jealous of them.

I don't care how preposterous it would be, I so want them to find a way to bring Caleb the Cannibal back.  I just love how casually he brings things up about his past and how much darker it gets each time.  Tim Meadows is spectacular in this role.

I kind of want to hear Boyle's podcast now and why Terry was apparently so terrible.

Even if Jake wasn't in prison, I suspect Amy would freak out over unorganized books at the library.  Melissa Fumero continues to be a delight on this show.

Pretty good stunt work during Rosa's fantasy over beating up Hawkins.

Overall, fun arc and return for the show, but I'm looking forward to seeing the Nine-Nine back in business.

[iMonrey]

I'm not sure I understand how they were able to make a connection between the pigs and the crooked cop, either.

[peeayebee]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

And we've got another Raymond Holt maxim to live by: "Imagination is never the solution."
.
.
.
Holt acting straight and talking about how he betrayed his female wife, and how his favourite part of a woman is the clear absence of a penis, had me laughing out loud. The man is such a consummate performer.

Just reading each of these made me laugh all over again. But what made me pause my recording so I could really laugh and laugh was when Holt said, "And to help me pass as straight? Kevin's rose-shearing hat." And now I'm laughing again.

Everything with Jake was fantastic. Andy Samberg is fantastic. Whether he was on drugs or reenacting The Lion King, he was so funny.

Caleb, after getting stabbed: Oww-ooo-oww-ooo-oww-ooo-oww! He poked me in my tummy!

I didn't quite catch all of the chess lingo Holt said to Hawkins, but was it gibberish? Didn't he say something like, "Queen's Knight to the Square..." I don't know a lot about chess, and maybe I misheard. I thought Holt would be well-versed in chess.

Edited October 4, 2017 by peeayebee

[ClareWalks]

As soon as they mentioned that during their surveillance the guy was feeding the pigs up to 8 times a day, I knew the diamonds were in the pigs. Perhaps this makes me the Ultimate Detective Slash Genius.

[Rinaldo]

34 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

I didn't quite catch all of the chess lingo Holt said to Hawkins, but was it gibberish? Didn't he say something like, "Queen's Knight to the Square..." I don't know a lot about chess, and maybe I misheard. I thought Holt would be well-versed in chess.

I can't speak as a consummate chess authority (at all!), but I think the point is that Holt is well-versed in chess, and resented the way she had disrespected the game. Hawkins's previous "gotcha!" message to them contained a typical "Queen takes Knight, Checkmate!" (I haven't looked up the actual wording) remark, quick and flip and unrelated to any real chess moves. Whereas Holt gave a series of actual moves for an actual endgame (mundane as they were), and then was triumphant at having bested her. For Holt, substance and accuracy beat pizazz every time.

[peeayebee]

Thanks. I'll have to rewatch.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

As soon as they mentioned that during their surveillance the guy was feeding the pigs up to 8 times a day, I knew the diamonds were in the pigs. Perhaps this makes me the Ultimate Detective Slash Genius.

To be fair to the 99, they don't have the advantage of knowing they're in a scripted TV show.

Question for the more attentive viewers: Were there any episodes with dream or fantasy sequences before this season? I don't remember any but now we've had two in a row.

[bethy]

As a former/eternal librarian, I was all, "TAKE A PICTURE, AMY" about the book tearing. Come on!

I hate myself a little for laughing out loud at "...waiting for soccer practice to let out...."

[Delphi]

14 hours ago, Gummo said:

 

I hope Caleb the Cannibal returns at some point. (That sounds awful, doesn't it? Just shows how good this show is!)

 

it sounds better than what I was gonna say,  which is what follows:

 

Not enough cannibal jokes.   Awful,  I know,  but they were hilarious .

[VCRTracking]

“Thigh gap. That’s my favorite part of a woman. There’s nothing more intoxicating than the clear absence of a penis.”

Holt pretending to be heterosexual is the funniest thing ever!

Damn I wished Rosa's fantasy of beating the shit out of Hawkins was real.

I would totally listend to Boyle's podcast.

Jake's imitation of both Mufasa AND Scar from The Lion King had me LOLing.

I was actually relieved that it looked like they didn't accept the Irish mob guy's offer and then Holt got the call! Oh man this is going to be trouble.

Edited October 5, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Mrs OldManBalls]

I appreciated the call back to  his wife's "heavy breasts" when Holt was talking to the guard. 

I'm going to miss the cannibal/woodworker. Thanks Tim Meadows! 

Boyle's podcast would have been awesome! 

[meep.meep]

Holt is obsessed with the heavy breasts!  I too loved the line about the "rose shearing hat" that made him look straight.

[hendersonrocks]

I was also completely tickled to hear Holt talk about heavy breasts again. There's just nothing quite like it.

Andy Samberg is a really great comic actor - his scenes in the jail over these last two episodes were so impressive. I never in a million years would have guessed I'd type those words five years ago, but he and this show and this cast are just a perfect fit. 

And while the acting is almost universally excellent (especially you, Andre Braugher!) I want to send special love and chocolates to the writers. They are so flipping good at what they do.

[jhlipton]

On 10/4/2017 at 9:32 AM, Danny Franks said:

I loved Caleb's specific record of people eaten: Nine and a half. Which half?

 

That [Holt] would risk his integrity like that for Jake says so much

Maybe he was mid-snack when he was caught?

For Amy and Rosa, too.

On 10/4/2017 at 1:42 PM, iMonrey said:

I'm not sure I understand how they were able to make a connection between the pigs and the crooked cop, either.

Apparently, those types of pigs are not supposed to be fed much and certainly not 8 times a day.  I just realized that this is a parallel to the guy showering 3 times a day -- that much suspicious activity leads to the stash.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 10/4/2017 at 3:53 PM, thuganomics85 said:

That said, I actually called the pigs early on, because I knew there had to be more to that throwaway line about Scully and Hitchcock watching that then just a gag about how they were jealous of them.

Me, too.  They were Chekhov's pigs.

On 10/4/2017 at 5:20 PM, ClareWalks said:

As soon as they mentioned that during their surveillance the guy was feeding the pigs up to 8 times a day, I knew the diamonds were in the pigs. Perhaps this makes me the Ultimate Detective Slash Genius.

No doubt!

On 10/4/2017 at 4:42 PM, iMonrey said:

I'm not sure I understand how they were able to make a connection between the pigs and the crooked cop, either.

The pigs kept eating.  They were eating the diamonds, which were then smuggled in the live pigs.

Edited October 10, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[AnnaRose]

I didn't get the whole pig thing either.   I mean, I understand they fed the pigs the diamonds... but what about the whole feeding them 8 times a day thing.  Why was that supposed to be meaningful?  And was someone coming to take the pigs away while the farm was under surveillance?  Were a bunch of people coming to take one or more pigs from the farm while it was under surveillance?  I thought it was basically a fake farm, so wouldn't that have been suspicious anyway?

And most perplexing... how were they able to make sure they didn't just poop the diamonds out before they got to whoever was supposed to receive the diamonds?  The whole thing was just weird and gross.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

23 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

I didn't get the whole pig thing either.   I mean, I understand they fed the pigs the diamonds... but what about the whole feeding them 8 times a day thing.  Why was that supposed to be meaningful?  And was someone coming to take the pigs away while the farm was under surveillance?  Were a bunch of people coming to take one or more pigs from the farm while it was under surveillance?  I thought it was basically a fake farm, so wouldn't that have been suspicious anyway?

And most perplexing... how were they able to make sure they didn't just poop the diamonds out before they got to whoever was supposed to receive the diamonds?  The whole thing was just weird and gross.

Not sure about the pooping, unless they shipped the specific pigs that had eaten diamonds out each day, but I thought maybe the pigs don't really like eating diamonds, and assuming they are not teeny, only a couple can be hidden in their food at a time, so they are fed a few diamonds eight times a day to create a diamond-stuffed pig.

[AnnaRose]

9 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Not sure about the pooping, unless they shipped the specific pigs that had eaten diamonds out each day, but I thought maybe the pigs don't really like eating diamonds, and assuming they are not teeny, only a couple can be hidden in their food at a time, so they are fed a few diamonds eight times a day to create a diamond-stuffed pig.

Yeah, but not to be gross but... how would they stay in?  It's not like what goes in stays there.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

46 minutes ago, AnnaRose said:

10 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Not sure about the pooping, unless they shipped the specific pigs that had eaten diamonds out each day, but I thought maybe the pigs don't really like eating diamonds, and assuming they are not teeny, only a couple can be hidden in their food at a time, so they are fed a few diamonds eight times a day to create a diamond-stuffed pig.

Yeah, but not to be gross but... how would they stay in?  It's not like what goes in stays there.

Maybe it takes 24 hours for food to pass through a pig's system and so they ship out that days' diamond-fed pigs each day and slaughter them in a safe place, and feed diamonds to a new set of pigs the next day?  I guess if a pig does pass a diamond while still on the farm, they re-feed it to them, meaning they would have to carefully rake through the pig poop. and maybe they feed them something constipating, besides the diamonds themselves. I actually had the same question and this is the best I could come up with. 

Edited October 10, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[formerlyfreedom]

This show sparks the most interesting discussions. I'm not sure I want to have "How long does it take a pig to poop something out?" in my google search history.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

5 minutes ago, saoirse said:

This show sparks the most interesting discussions. I'm not sure I want to have "How long does it take a pig to poop something out?" in my google search history.

It might be used against you in a court of law.

[Lady Calypso]

Well, I guess this was as good of a way as any to get Jake and Rosa out of jail. I, too, questioned the pig diamond scenario, but I assume the pigs were about ready to be slaughtered anyway, so they just fed them extra and then got the diamonds out shortly after. Though I'm not sure I even want to think about it much. 

Man, Jake's one man reenactment of The Lion King had me in stitches. Almost as much as Mashed Potato Amy. 

I'd love to see Caleb back again. I thought he was pretty hilarious, especially when he was stabbed and then tried to eat Jake. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Romero again. He'd be a good foil for Jake, and with this still being a sitcom, they could easily get him out of jail if they wanted to for an episode. 

Oh man, Holt now owes Seamus a favour! Paul Adelstein! I kind of wanted it to be Amy, to give Melissa more to do later on, but Holt isn't a bad second choice. Plus, it makes total sense for him to want to protect his precinct. 

Amy organizing the library shelf was hilarious and so Amy. She's still my favourite character, by far, even though I also love the other main characters. Well, except for Gina, who I still don't miss. 

I think they got them out in a decent timely manner. I also think three episodes would have possibly dragged. I liked the witness protection storyline last season and I think that three episodes there worked well because they had a solo Jake/Holt premiere before bringing back the other characters, but this prison storyline would have dragged in three episodes. It was already tight with the danger aspect with Jake. Another episode, and protecting Jake would have been stretching it. 

I do wish we got more of Rosa in prison, and not just meeting with Holt, Terry, or Hawkins. I wonder if we might get some flashbacks of her in prison sometime this season.