Season three of Brooklyn Nine-Nine won my heart forever when it introduced Jason Mantzoukas as a lunatic undercover officer named “Adrian Pimento.” There is quite literally nothing not to like about any of that development. It has: 1) Jason Mantzoukas, best known as Rafi from The League and from his work on the world’s greatest podcast, “How Did This Get Made?” (please note his patented maniacal wheezelaugh in this clip); 2) a character who was so deep undercover that he’s now an insane person with a slew of comically violent stories; and 3) the name “Adrian Pimento,” which is perfect, and another entry in the long list of great guest character names on shows in the Mike Schur universe. See also: Robert California, Ethel Beavers, etc.
So, I’m admittedly somewhat biased here. But still, even with that bias, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable when I say that season three was a lot fun, right down to the finale and its screeching left turn of an ending.
The tricky part of any ensemble comedy is getting the pieces to fit together. More so than drama, comedy has a groove to it, and it can take time to find that groove. Mike Schur said something very smart about this once upon a time: Comedies should produce an entire first season from beginning to end, and then throw it all in the trash before it airs. That way when the show debuts for the audience, it’s already worked out most of the kinks that judge-y online critic-types (hi!) might hold against it in their early reviews. And at a time when there are 8,000 shows premiering every year on 400 channels and streaming outlets, hitting the ground running has never been more important.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of those shows that took a little time to find its groove, but it had the luxury of leaning on some great performances while it did. Andre Braugher in particular has been a comedic revelation. Example: Every line of dialogue he’s ever said on the show. But especially the time he christened himself “Velvet Thunder.” Please play his reading of that phrase on a 10-minute loop at my funeral in lieu of a eulogy.
And the show would have been fine if that’s all it was, wacky investigations and Andre Braugher saying things all Andre Braugher-y. But this season, it moved beyond that and really settled in. Part of it was a natural result of learning its characters, part of it was unleashing Chelsea Peretti (her character, Gina, went from somewhat distracting in the early episodes to a total delight now), and part of it was fast-forwarding through the Jim and Pam stuff and just getting Jake and Amy together. Clearing all that up freed the show to move from a jog to a sprint, which freed it to do things like go on goofy extended tangents about Sex and the City in an episode about pulling off a heist in the FBI building. It’s gotten quite fun.
Which brings us to the season finale. Which was the conclusion of a two-parter about the team trying to bring down a crime boss named Figgis, both to make it safe for Pimento to return home and be with Diaz, and because, I mean, they’re cops. Which led to Figgis calling Jake and saying that he was going to kill him and Captain Holt for dismantling his operation. Which, smash cut, led to this…
Would I watch an entire season about “Greg and Larry” living in some sort of witness protection as Florida neighbors? I… I think I would. I doubt I’ll have to, as Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a growing history of ending a season with its main characters getting sent away from the Nine-Nine, only to have them return in relatively short order. (Jake going undercover, Holt and Gina getting moved out after Holt lost a power struggle.) But I really think I would.
More importantly, though, it was a fun and funny way to end the season, and a much cooler way to do it than if they had ended on the threat alone. It’s what a cliffhanger should be. Unlike The Walking Dead teasing something for months and then just refusing to pay it off, this is an unexpected last-minute twist that leaves viewers curious and sets the stage for an entire arc of story next season, instead of just one single reveal. Plus, it has the added benefit of giving me months to imagine Andre Braugher taking issue with people’s holiday decorations at community organization meetings. I really appreciate that.
