Jake and Amy

Well, that was awkward.

The Jake and Amy relationship was a major focus for the first part of this season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but it's been kind of in the background recently. Jake is with Sophia now and Amy is still with Teddy, but we all knew it was just a matter of time before there was another confrontation between them. And boy was it uncomfortable.

In "The Road Trip," Jake and Amy take a trip upstate for a prison transfer. Jake is inviting Sophia along and, feeling bad that Amy is alone, takes it upon himself to invite her boyfriend Teddy. It's another example of Jake meaning well and really trying to help rather than just being a jerk. But things start going disastrously wrong when Amy reveals she's planning to break up with Teddy, and she is absolutely terrible at being subtle and keeping a secret.

This all culminates in a dinner between the two couples which is so tremendously hard to watch as it becomes clear Amy is not going to be able to keep the secret. When the breakup starts happening, Teddy thinks it's because Amy still has feelings for Jake, which she kind of confirms. And of course Sophia didn't know about any of this before, so there are like three layers of uncomfortable here.

This whole confrontation reminded me a lot of The Office in that the episode builds itself entirely around this really awkward situation and just lets it play out, although not quite as long and painfully as The Office would.

Jake makes things okay with Sophia, and the episode ends with Amy being the one with feelings for Jake who is now the one in the relationship. It's all very high school, as Sophia is quick to point out, which seems like the show being a bit self aware about this whole Jake and Amy dynamic its set up.

It isn't that any of this is bad, but it's definitely the very typical "will they/won't they" dynamic we've seen over and over again in these types of shows. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is doing a fine job with it, but the show isn't exactly adding anything. It's a pretty decent version of something we've seen a million times before. But unlike something like the Jim and Pam relationship in The Office, I don't feel like Brooklyn Nine-Nine has really set up Jake and Amy as a couple that's so obviously perfect for each other. I can see a relationship between them working, but I'm not exactly dying to see them end up together.

Part of this is that I just don't think Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a show where I'm that interested in the romantic relationships of the characters. Even in this episode, I find the friendship between Gina, Terry and Rosa to be more compelling than the romance between Jake and Amy. Obviously the Jake and Amy stuff is going to continue on for the rest of the season, so hopefully the show is able to build it up into something greater, but for now, it seems to me to be the least interesting element of the show.

Holt and Boyle

Now this is an awesome b-story for both Holt and Boyle, a combo that we don't see too often without Jake involved. In this episode, Holt wants to make a fancy breakfast for Kevin for their anniversary, so he turns to Boyle for some cooking advice. Of course Boyle goes completely over the top with it, both because he's insane about his cooking and because he wants to share something with Holt. Right now, all they have in common is sharing the same bank, and in the best cutaway of the episode we see Boyle at the bank sneaking up trying to surprise Holt, who immediately yells and turns a gun on him.

Putting together Boyle, who's so completely into everything and specifically cooking, with the ridiculously detached Holt is a hilarious combination, and these are some of the best moments in the episode. I love the moment when Boyle is describing his favorite food and trying to get an emotional reaction out of Holt, whose favorite food is PB&J for very clinical reasons: because it's simple and easy to make. There's also a great scene of the two cooking scrambled eggs, and Holt rushing through the process nearly gives Boyle a heart attack.

In the end, Holt ends up reading Boyle's cooking blogs which helps him a lot, even though he initially took Boyle's advice as stupid. And as Boyle is shocked and kind of disappointed to find out, Holt turns out to be an excellent cook. It's a great moment in their relationship to see Holt coming to respect Boyle for his passion at something, even if Boyle no longer has any upper hand on Holt anymore.

Terry, Gina and Rosa

Meanwhile, Rosa is sick and of course unwilling to admit it. She tries to go through her regular day while Terry and Gina try to get her to admit she needs help, though Gina does it in her own very Gina way, like holding a cross made of pencils up at Rosa. This storyline deals with a common Brooklyn Nine-Nine theme: people not wanting to admit they need help but finding that they have a group of caring people to help them. Gina and Terry end up helping her pretty aggressively, such as by locking her in a room so she'll sleep and giving her cold medicine. In the best moment of this storyline, Gina accidentally gives Rosa the non-drowsy cold medicine, which makes her go completely crazy, rolling around the office in her chair. This is an awesome storyline for Rosa in that we get to see her completely not like her usual self, both in how crazy she gets because of the medicine but also in that we get to see her crack a smile and being appreciative of her friends at the end of the episode. More than even the Jake and Amy stuff, the friendships between these people is what really keeps this show together.

Other funny moments:
-In the cold open, Jake and Boyle get all excited to go undercover at the docs, but when the perp turns him in Holt gives them 10 minutes to stay in character anyway. It's great to see Holt for once conceding and letting them have a bit of fun.
-Holt has no interest in food. If he could, his entire diet would be made of a flavorless, beige smoothie.
-After Santiago reveals she was going to break up with Teddy, Jake lets out an "Oh noooo..." which is cut off by the cut to commercial. Something about people getting cut off but a sudden cut to commercial is always funny to me.
-Jake and Sophia's room is completely covered in creepy dolls and puppets, which the episode hammers in on a few occasions and is genuinely pretty terrifying.
-"You know what would be more romantic? Hanging out fully clothed with two people who have fallen out of love."
-In response to Sophia noting Jake's plan blew up in his face spectacularly, he says that everything he does is spectacular, which is kind of a good way of describing Jake in a weird way.
-Jake tries really hard not to make the hotel sound romantic for Teddy, like by telling him they have a dead crow in their bathroom.
-In an attempt to break the awkwardness at one moment, Jake throws the drink menu right at Teddy, who was definitely not ready to catch it.
-I love the moment when the waiter comes around to ask if they're having a good time, and Jake just cheerfully responds, "We are not."
-Amy wants two hours alone with her computer to write out a draft of what she wants to say, which I can totally relate to.
-Jake at first offers his plea to Sophia at some random old guy's door. "Sorry, you were the wrong door." "YOU were the wrong door!"