S05.E13: The Negotiation

[formerlyfreedom]

Jake is called upon to negotiate a hostage situation with a jewel thief, only to discover that the culprit seems to be a familiar face. Amy and Gina help Charles with the high demands of his new food truck, and Holt panics when a member of the Police Commissioner selection committee decides to interview Hitchcock about Holt.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

Has Doug Judy already shown up this season? If not, it’s gotta be him, right?

[ClareWalks]

A promo I just saw on Twitter (B99's official page) confirms that Doug Judy is back this episode!

[WritinMan]

A little disappointing to see Rosa's hair back to normal, but this was still a great episode. Doug and Jake are great together.

"Spreadsheet. Spreadsheet."

"Crime. Crime."

I laughed way too hard at that.

[tennisgurl]

Oh my God, please, please tell me that the "Whats Going On" karaoke was a reference to Sense8? I am shook. 

Jake and Doug Judy are just golden together, every single time. Of course Doug Judy could never do Jake dirty like that, Jake's his adorable little frog! 

"Wow, do you think our childhoods have affected who we became as adults?" "It made you a tiny cartoon watching frog man". 

[ClareWalks]

I have not thought about that song for at least 10 years, and now it will be stuck in my head FOR ALL TIME.

I was pleasantly surprised that Doug Judy contacted the actual druglord. I thought for sure when Doug ran off that the druglord would turn out to be an imposter friend or something.

[possibilities]

16 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh my God, please, please tell me that the "Whats Going On" karaoke was a reference to Sense8? I am shook. 

Now I want the Nine-Nine to be a cluster!

[Dots And Stripes]

Just when I was starting to look past Jake's decision to trust Doug Judy (again!), Rosa gets thrown into the mix. It's the same pattern every time. Doug always breaks his promise. It was hard to buy that Jake would believe him again, but Rosa should be more levelheaded than that. 

I'm still glad to have this show back, but I've realized I love the characters of this show and the cases on the show are my least favorite part.

[hoodooznoodooz]

He said he doesn’t watch ‘Stranger Things.’

This guy is the worst!

[AnnaRose]

I love Doug Judy episodes, (he's such a lovable scamp) - they are some of my favorites, and this one didn't disappoint.  He and Peralta are so great together!  I pretty much loved everything about that entire storyline. 

The Holt/Terry/Hitchcock segments had some fun stuff too... especially Holt's and Terry's reactions while Hitchcock was being interviewed. 

[possibilities]

I'm not a fan of Doug Judy, because I can't believe Jake or Rosa would fall for it every damn time. And then this time I didn't believe DJ would return the diamonds. So they were all out of character. Also hated the negotiator. I get that they often have cartoonish opponents, like the firefighters and the horse, but for some reason I wasn't feeling it this episode.

I still liked the episode, but it's not one of my faves.

[scrambled eggs]

Interesting that this is the third episode in a row where the cold open ties into the episode as a whole. That was also the case for "Halloveen and "99," and you can kind of count "The Venue" since Rosa tossed a donut hole in Jake's mouth later in the episode. I love the traditional cold opens, but this does give them a little extra time for the plot. 

[wayne67]

Gina is the worst and the Doug Judy schtick has been overdone and it makes everyone look stupid for playing along with it. 

[ClareWalks]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

And then this time I didn't believe DJ would return the diamonds.

Once I realized the druglord was real, Doug Judy returning the diamonds made sense. This wasn't a heist DJ wanted to pull off in the first place, and keeping the diamonds adds serious felony grand larceny to his record and would mean he'd have to be in hiding forever. I do agree with you that Jake and Rosa need to be a bit more skeptical when it comes to Doug Judy. My husband watched with me and was like "why do they TRUST this guy EVERY TIME?!"

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

Once I realized the druglord was real, Doug Judy returning the diamonds made sense. This wasn't a heist DJ wanted to pull off in the first place, and keeping the diamonds adds serious felony grand larceny to his record and would mean he'd have to be in hiding forever. I do agree with you that Jake and Rosa need to be a bit more skeptical when it comes to Doug Judy. My husband watched with me and was like "why do they TRUST this guy EVERY TIME?!"

Honestly, my first assumption would be that Judy would return the diamonds, but then keep one for himself. I really thought he'd end up holding a diamond to the camera to show Jake at the end. 

I think they do try to come up with twists with Doug Judy so he's not entirely predictable, even when you know he's going to escape (this time, returning the diamonds), but I think they need to come up with a final shtick for Judy that'll land him in jail. Because really, I'd much prefer Jake and Rosa get a one-up on Judy than him besting them every single time. Jake trusting Judy was funny the first couple of times, but I started getting really annoyed in the cruise episode a couple of seasons back. 

So, this episode wasn't one of my favourites, but it still had some funny moments. Most notably, Jake's meta comment about meeting up with Judy once a year. I'm still deciding on whether I liked the negotiator guy. 

I didn't really enjoy Charles' food truck plot where he turned into some monster chef. I get it was supposed to be funny, but I didn't laugh. 

I enjoyed the Holt/Terry/Hitchcock mini plot, but that barely lasted five minutes.

[Traveller519]

I always enjoy watching Craig Robinson and Andy Samberg interact. They play off each other so well. That said, I'm starting to grow a little weary with Doug Judy Plots. You can see the "double cross" coming a ways out now. When Jake took off after the drug lord I rolled my eyes, there's Doug left alone... 

I really enjoyed the Holt/Terry/Hitchcock team-up to move Holt's plot forward. 

The less said about the food truck, the better. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

So Doug Judy's mother is now safe enough for him to abandon her?  The drug lord has no associates who could be sent after her in response to Judy's latest double cross?  Makes no sense.

[VCRTracking]

Always great to have Craig Robinson back as Doug Judy. The way he sings Rosa's name is one of my favorites.

Loved Dennis, the hostage negotiator and how he described his job: "Two liars lying to each other until one liar stands too close to the window and get shot in the head."

[Trillium]

I could watch Jake and Doug Judy sing karaoke for an entire episode and be happy so I really don’t care much if the plot makes sense. Plus  I loved their conversation about Le Creuset. That’s some expensive and dope bakeware that I totally wish I could afford. 

[Loandbehold]

Count me in with those not enamored with Doug Judy episodes anymore. I still like DJ's interactions with Rosa and especially Jake, but they're too good as cops to be taken in again and again.

Still,

15 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh my God, please, please tell me that the "Whats Going On" karaoke was a reference to Sense8? I am shook. 

Sums up my feelings as well.

Holt/Terry/Hitchcock were fun together.

The only thing I liked about Boyle's subplot was his demanding that he be called "Chef" and wearing that as his nametag.

[iMonrey]

This was a fairly weak episode after the strong one we had last week. Has there been any backstory to Boyle and his food truck? I can't remember any and it just seemed to come out of the blue. 

Quote

That said, I'm starting to grow a little weary with Doug Judy Plots. You can see the "double cross" coming a ways out now. When Jake took off after the drug lord I rolled my eyes, there's Doug left alone... 

Yeah, I feel the same way. On the one hand, the confusion of the hostages was amusing and so was the karaoke scene. And I know sometimes Jake isn't the brightest bulb but c'mon. Doug Judy always runs off! It's just getting stupid now.

[VCRTracking]

What saves Doug Judy for me is despite everything he genuinely likes Jake and considers him a friend. He's not just doing things to piss him off and deliberately make him look bad like Wuntch does to Holt. Also we want Jake to succeed most of the time because both the crimes and the criminals are usually terrible(but not too terrible for the tone of this show) but I also want him to lose once in a while and Doug Judy outsmarting him is a fun way for that to happen IMO.

Edited March 26, 2018 by VCRTracking

[Loandbehold]

49 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Has there been any backstory to Boyle and his food truck? I can't remember any and it just seemed to come out of the blue. 

I don't remember the episode, but Boyle and Amy were in a sub-plot where Boyle decides to buy a food truck and Amy decides to be his financial backer and partner. Amy learned that a food truck was impounded by the police as part of a crime and that it was going to be sold at auction.

[biakbiak]

23 minutes ago, Loandbehold said:

I don't remember the episode, but Boyle and Amy were in a sub-plot where Boyle decides to buy a food truck and Amy decides to be his financial backer and partner. Amy learned that a food truck was impounded by the police as part of a crime and that it was going to be sold at auction.

Ep 5 Bad Beat, the main plot was Holt going undercover at a gambling club.

[AnnaRose]

8 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

...they're too good as cops to be taken in again and again.

But they weren't taken in.  Doug Judy was telling the truth about the drug dealer (drug lord?) who the Nine-Nine were able to arrest.  And the reason the whole thing fell apart was because the wanna be negotiator pulled a gun on Jake when he was about to move in for the arrest.  Jake had to go after the criminal, that wasn't a mistake even though it did result in leaving DJ unattended in circumstances that were just too tempting for him.  (At least until he thought about what he did and wanted to do right by his BFF/soulmate Jake.) 

And if I recall correctly, the last Doug Judy episode didn't involve the gang being "taken in" either.  I think in that one, Jake sought out Doug Judy to help him catch his criminal step-brother, and then Doug Judy was pardoned for his previous crimes and went straight.

And the cruise episode before that... Doug Judy was also telling the truth in that one too, and brought Jake and Amy there so they could identify and catch the guy who was trying to kill him.  (Granted in that one, he did get away at the end... but they were in international waters at the time, and it wasn't surprising that DJ planned an escape for himself.)

Anyway... I'm surprised so many people didn't enjoy this one.  For me, the Doug Judy episodes are up there with the yearly Halloween heist episodes, and I don't think those stand up all that well to a lot of critical analysis either.  This show is mostly just silly fun to me, and I never expect it to be particularly realistic.

Edited March 27, 2018 by AnnaRose
Typo: Doug Judy was left unattended, not unintended.

[Ms Blue Jay]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh my God, please, please tell me that the "Whats Going On" karaoke was a reference to Sense8? I am shook. 

I'm gonna say "no" because I've been collecting every song every played on this show, and almost all of them are from the 90s.  SOME from the 80s.  But it's pretty normal for this show.  Some examples:  LL Cool J, Destiny's Child, Onyx, Montell Jordan, Air Supply, Enya, Salt N Pepa, Sarah McLachlan, and Toni Braxton.

"Let me give you some advice. I don't like you two."

"Let me give you some advice. I don't care about any of that."

I thought those lines were hysterical!

I really really liked this episode. 

I think Jake just genuinely really really likes Doug Judy, against his own will.  They get along really well.  Jake, according to what we've been shown, has ZERO friends outside of the precinct.  Doug seems to be the only one.  And Doug REALLY gets Jake.  Just forget that Doug is a criminal for a second - he is the most happy go lucky, easy to get along with person on the show.  There's absolutely no drama - except for all the crime.  Also, through it all Jake is always a good cop who gets the job done, so honestly, no harm, no foul.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

  Anyway... I'm surprised so many people didn't enjoy this one.  For me, the Doug Judy episodes are up there with the yearly Halloween heist episodes, and I don't think those stand up all that well to a lot of critical analysis either.  This show is mostly just silly fun to me, and I never expect it to be particularly realistic.

I really agree with you.

[tennisgurl]

43 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm gonna say "no" because I've been collecting every song every played on this show, and almost all of them are from the 90s.  SOME from the 80s.  But it's pretty normal for this show.  Some examples:  LL Cool J, Destiny's Child, Onyx, Montell Jordan, Air Supply, Enya, Salt N Pepa, Sarah McLachlan, and Toni Braxton.

 

Normally I would agree with you...except that the "singing karaoke while singing Whats Going On" is probably the most famous scene in Sense8, and this show is so up on pop culture, it really seems like something deliberate. 

[thuganomics85]

Ah, Doug Judy!  It was about that time, I guess.  I understand the criticism over how it always seems to end with him outsmarting everyone, but I can't help but to dig his interactions with Jake.  It's a bit of a cliche, but there truly is a sense that they would have been best friends (sorry, Boyle!) in another life.  As usual, Andy Samberg and Craig Robinson's interactions and banter was spot-on.  I did wish we got more of Doug/Rosa though.

The subplot with Hitchcock was fun, especially Holt's reaction when he heard all about "My Bare Lady."  I'm kind of worried about that actually being a real thing.

On the other hand, the Boyle's plot didn't work for me.  Complete with the bonus of Amy apparently confiding in Gina about her concerns, and naturally Gina blabs it with ease.  At this point, Amy should know not to trust Gina with that stuff, and it is making her come off dim that she keeps letting Gina walk all over her.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Omg.  This entire time I thought he was saying My BEAR Lady.  LOL!!!!!  I guess I don't watch enough (any) porn.  Not that I even know what my version of the title would imply.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[hendersonrocks]

I really would have pegged Jake as a Flame Le Creuset kind of guy. The things we do for love!

Both of the side plots felt a little underdeveloped, but that wouldn't stop me from standing in line for one of Boyle's meatball sandwiches. 

[Loandbehold]

17 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Just forget that Doug is a criminal for a second - he is the most happy go lucky, easy to get along with person on the show.  There's absolutely no drama - except for all the crime. 

Aside from the assassination, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln? It's hard for me to put aside the crimes DJ commits when Jake's and Rosa's job is police officer.

16 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

The subplot with Hitchcock was fun, especially Holt's reaction when he heard all about "My Bare Lady."  I'm kind of worried about that actually being a real thing.

If it wasn't before, it soon will be.

[Panopticon]

I remember wanting a follow up on the food truck when it was last mentioned, so that was a be careful what you wish for plot. At least it kept Gina away from the other two stories, both of which were good.

The Doug Judy plot would have been a success for me just because of Rosa’s deadpan rendition of the scorpion and the frog. 

And Hitchcock behaving himself just long enough to help Holt’s case for promotion was hilarious (and kinda sweet). Spreadsheets, crime, precinct!

[peeayebee]

"Spreadsheets spreadsheets."
"Crime crime."
"Precinct precinct."

OMG, my favorite part of the ep.

[dusang]

I did love Hitchcock immediately volunteering to hide in a closet when he heard there was someone there to interview people.  Self-awareness is key.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

On 27/03/2018 at 11:22 AM, thuganomics85 said:

On the other hand, the Boyle's plot didn't work for me.  Complete with the bonus of Amy apparently confiding in Gina about her concerns, and naturally Gina blabs it with ease.  At this point, Amy should know not to trust Gina with that stuff, and it is making her come off dim that she keeps letting Gina walk all over her.

So... Gina is the scorpion and Amy is the frog.

21 hours ago, dusang said:

I did love Hitchcock immediately volunteering to hide in a closet when he heard there was someone there to interview people.  Self-awareness is key.

He'll make Head Bee Guy in no time.

[Danny Franks]

Jake being so excited to have a hostage situation to negotiate was as funny as the ESU guy being so pissed at not being the negotiator.

Always love it when Doug Judy turns up. He's definitely the best recurring character on the show, and his friendship with Jake is awesome.

Love What's Up. It reminds me simultaneously of Sense8 and of the early 90s.

The meta-joke of "can it wait twelve months? I usually run into him about once a year" was nice. As are the repeated gags of Jake always falling for Judy's lies and being conned, but forgiving him.

It was unusually unprepared of Captain Holt to not have everyone lined up and prepared for the commissioner selection committee member. I'd have expected him to have Hitchcock and Scully out of the way (as Hitchcock assumed would be the plan), and Terry and Amy ready to be interviewed.

The storyline with Boyle being an asshole 'chef' to Amy and Gina was predictable. Not much to say other than that.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Danny Franks

[jhlipton]

On 3/26/2018 at 9:56 AM, Trillium said:

I could watch Jake and Doug Judy sing karaoke for an entire episode and be happy so I really don’t care much if the plot makes sense.

Count me among the ones who like the Doug Judy episodes, and who doen't care if they're not realistic.

On 3/26/2018 at 9:07 AM, VCRTracking said:

Loved Dennis, the hostage negotiator and how he described his job: "Two liars lying to each other until one liar stands too close to the window and get shot in the head."

After all the Earnest and Caring negotiators on most shows, having one who just wants to get the show over was funny.

 

On 3/26/2018 at 5:22 PM, thuganomics85 said:

The subplot with Hitchcock was fun, especially Holt's reaction when he heard all about "My Bare Lady."  I'm kind of worried about that actually being a real thing.

It was a Fox reality show that lasted two seasons, as well as a movie about nudists, as well as a porn film.

On 3/26/2018 at 6:50 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Omg.  This entire time I thought he was saying My BEAR Lady.  LOL!!!!!  I guess I don't watch enough (any) porn.  Not that I even know what my version of the title would imply.

I'm guessing that you don't know (and don't want to know) what a "bear" is in gay vernacular.  Suffice it to say that a "bear" lady would be... interesting!

On 3/30/2018 at 11:43 AM, Danny Franks said:

It was unusually unprepared of Captain Holt to not have everyone lined up and prepared for the commissioner selection committee member. I'd have expected him to have Hitchcock and Scully out of the way (as Hitchcock assumed would be the plan), and Terry and Amy ready to be interviewed.

It's my understanding that Holt knew the interview was coming, but not when.

[Sandman]

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎26 at 8:44 AM, Lady Calypso said:

I really thought he'd end up holding a diamond to the camera to show Jake at the end. 

Or show one sparkling, embedded in his front tooth?

Yeah, the food truck needs to be pushed off an embankment or blown up -- empty, of course. The Charles Becomes A Nightmare Chore, Channels Nana Boyle thing wasn't at all funny.