One of the great feats of single-camera sitcoms is the speed of the line delivery. As someone who tries to take note of the best lines of dialogue from an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, that can result in a lot of rewinding the DVR. If there is any weak link among the ensemble cast that cannot keep up with the throttling rhythm of the dialogue, then his or her folly would be clear. Instead, everyone knows just the right way to tailor the clean, quick, quippy dialogue to his or her character’s personality.
Jake speaks quickly and then realizes his choice of words are unfortunate (one big laugh this episode came from confusing ‘coitus’ with ‘colitis’). Rosa’s sharp mind gives her deadpan line reads a cutting zing. Cpt. Holt and Amy share a love for wordplay, so their excellent diction merits an articulate speaking voice. Thankfully, all of these characters’ mouths speak alike, since the FOX comedy keeps packing in a lot of subplots per 21 minutes. This week, three different subplots needed time to put their story arcs in motion, which required the show’s superb cast to get cracking on their one-liners. There is almost no breathing room on Brooklyn Nine-Nine anymore, but since it still brings the laughs, that isn’t too much of a problem.
The central storyline this week has Jake trying to figure out how to recharge his batteries after his lack of success in the dating world de-energizes him. Terry tells him to avoid talking about work and to just enjoy himself as he tries to find common interests with a beautiful woman. Jake catches the eye of a lovely lady at the bar named Sophia, who aligns with the “cool girl” persona that Gillian Flynn wrote about in Gone Girl. Sophia is a gal who likes to eat spicy chicken wings, initiates sex and is willing to please her man by having a Die Hard marathon in her apartment.
Of course, Jake is over the moon – until he finds out that she is the defense attorney who is going up against the precinct in court. With Brooklyn Nine-Nine continuing to thwart the actual investigative work in lieu of more character-based moments, the case that Jake is there to defend is not very clear-cut. Meanwhile, when Jake has to come up with a last-minute attempt to get dirt on the subject and ensure a guilty verdict, we don’t see his efforts. We only hear about them when he is on the witness stand the next day.
The other main storyline involves Amy, who Rosa wants to defeat 12-year victor Scully in the election for union rep. (One of these episodes, Rosa is going to get a worthwhile story of her own, without the aid of the other characters.) The smart, pragmatic Amy is much more qualified for the position, although she feels that this role could deter her from becoming a future precinct captain.
