Jake, Rosa, and the Pontiac Bandit

It's not like Jake to be able to let anything go, especially not a criminal who's still out there because of him. In this week's episode we see Jake finally catch the Pontiac Bandit, who escaped him in last year's episode. He does so while in disguise in a Santa suit, but I like to think that Jake has been trying and failing to find this guy off screen just about every episode.

But there's a problem: The Bandit, Doug Judy (Craig Robinson), wants to make a deal, offering some critical information that Rosa needs for her task force. This is one of Jake's biggest enemies, the one that got away, so he has to ask himself if he's willing to put aside that personal vendetta, both to catch a much badder guy and to help his friend and colleague.

Just like in last year's episode, the relationship between Jake and Doug is pitch perfect. It's like if Batman and the Joker could occasionally forget their differences to put on robes and eat lobster together. Jake and Doug are enemies, but they still have this weird, chummy relationship where Doug is constantly outsmarting Jake and as much as Jake hates it, you have to figure at least part of him loves the chase and the excitement of working against this guy who's way smarter than him.

Everything seems to be going pretty well. Jake and Rosa go undercover with Doug to take down a dealer, setting a meet up and having Jake steal a car to prove himself. But of course this is all leading up to the moment when we realize Doug had the upper hand the whole time, and the goofy scene of him ordering lobster with Jake was actually code for telling Doug's friend to follow them. Once again, Doug escapes, and the great chase continues.

Sequel episodes can often seem pretty forced, like we're just retreading the same type of thing as another, more successful episode did. But like "Halloween II" earlier this season, "The Pontiac Bandit Returns" doesn't fall into this trap, and completely works as a fresh, new thing. In fact, I would love to see a yearly Pontiac Bandit episode. Even if every time we stick to the same formula of Jake appearing to have the upper hand on the bandit until at the last moment we find out his plan, I'd love to see that again, and this weird relationship is something that is just so strangely, hilariously compelling.

Rosa, Terry and Holt

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming up but Holt has specifically said there are to be no gifts exchanged. This is to avoid brown nosing, he later explains, so of course Santiago is constantly trying to find a way to get around this and still get Holt a gift. Last year, she pretended to just be throwing away a very expensive tennis racket, and this year she realizes she can just make a gift, because as she says, her time is worth nothing.

But while making Holt's gift, a scrapbook of his career, she discovers that Holt may have made a huge mistake on a previous case that put a criminal in prison for longer than he should have. Santiago now has to struggle with whether to come clean and tell Holt the mistake he made. It's a great conflict for Santiago, who's equally obsessed with things being perfect as she is with sucking up to Holt, so which one will win out?

Ultimately, of course, she has to tell him, and as it turns out this willingness to stand up to Holt and tell him he got something wrong was the only gift he wanted. For a character who's almost the Dwight to Holt's Michael Scott, constantly sucking up and backing up what he's saying, it's great to see Santiago taking more of a stand this season, and this small little storyline adds a lot to her character's growth.

Gina and Boyle

Okay, I'm totally back on board with this storyline. When last season ended with Gina and Boyle sleeping together, I couldn't help but groan. It seemed like we were headed down the typical sitcom path of two characters sleeping together and then things get awkward and blah blah blah.

But Brooklyn Nine-Nine has taken this story in such an unexpected direction. For one, the Gina and Boyle relationship wasn't that big of a deal really, with the two casually sleeping together before Gina eventually admitted it happened and that she had fun. It wasn't a giant, dramatic thing that blew up in everyone's face. It was two characters enjoying time with one another and that time eventually ending.

They undoubtedly do work as a pair though, and so the show is keeping them together with this crazy storyline of their parents becoming romantically involved because of a mistake they made a few episodes ago. This seemed like it might have just been a one off joke, so to see it become a major storyline is pretty hilarious. Throughout this episode, Boyle and Gina find a gift from Boyle's dad to Gina's mom and, when they realize how horrible it is, try to make the situation even worse in order to break them up.

But it doesn't work, and Gina's mom actually loves the terrible gift of an electronic scale because the two are moving in together. In a hilarious visual gag, Gina leaves the dinner chugging a bottle of wine, but later comes back full of determination that they need to break their parents up. I love this as a storyline for the two of them, who can both be pretty passionate when they need to be and now have a new purpose and reason to continue to be paired together. I can't wait to see where this goes.

Other funny moments:

-Holt says the party at the bar will start at 9. "PM or AM?" "I'll let you figure that out."
-Everyone claps as Jake brings the Bandit in, and the Bandit says thank you and seems kind of excited.
-”We’re listening.” “No we’re not listening, we can’t hear him. Everyone shoot your guns in the air!”
-Gina can't accept a gift because it's clearly not cash and she doesn't have the time to return something.
-“Presents are like old people third base.”
-Hitchcock needs tape because he cut his hand and has a GIANT gash it it. But they'd just give him the same tape at the hospital.
-Jake irrationally yells things about Doug like he's "a lie guy," to which Holt deadpans "He's right. You have been a lie guy to us before.”
-”Oh yeah, the guy without a daddy is the one with daddy issues. Explain that logic.”
-Gina always opens her gifts in advance so she can rehearse her reactions.
-I love how excited Jake always gets when he gets to go undercover, this time as a criminal named Dante Thunderstone. Doug and Jake brainstorm ideas for Thunderstone's backstory like two little kids.
-”Maybe next year you can do a collage about low points in his marriage!”
-”This next part is like french kissing.” “Got it, jam it in there and move it around wildly.”
-Holt will look through the scrapbook for the relevant cases but assures Santiago that he will not peruse.