For our review of the last episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, click here.
Synopsis: Jake and Amy investigate a difficult “he said, she said” case. Holt becomes suspicious after learning his lifelong arch nemesis died in a prison transport accident. (IMDB)
Writer: David Phillips
Director: Stephanie Beatriz
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 22mins
Airs: Thursdays at 8:30pm on CityTV (Canada)/9pm on NBC (United States)
Disco isn’t dead.
The cold open was of the precinct having fun with a case involving a banker with a broken penis. The overly serious nature in which they were discussing the case was too much so Jake vowed that they would one day laugh again at the phrase “broken penis”.
Jake and Amy investigated the case where a banker named Seth (Jonathan Chase), oozing with male privilege, had his penis broken by a female coworker named Kerry who claimed she had done so in self-defense as he was trying to sexually assault her. He thought it was ridiculous. There was definitely a contrast between both parties as they entered into a he said, she said (hence the episode title). It was pretty easy to believe Seth compared to Kerry. Kerry would see the situation she was in and was considering accepting the money her company was offering to let it all slide. However, Amy convinced Kerry to wait and let she and Jake try to build a case against Seth and get her justice.
This whole incident would help Jake to see things from Amy’s perspective as he learned what women had to go through (with a few funny examples along the way). Rosa thought the victim should just take the money so she would get something out of it. Jake and Amy went to the firm at the center of the incident and we’re given the same talking points clearly fed to them by the firm’s lawyer about how great everything was even though they really weren’t. As a result of their investigation, the firm rescinded Kerry’s offer and were going to fire her.
Amy was taking the case very personally and would share a personal story where she would be sexually assaulted. When speaking to one of Seth’s coworkers outside of the office, he would present evidence that corroborated Kerry’s claim but it was only to get Seth’s job. All their work would be for naught as Kerry quit as her work environment had taken a hit.
Holt got news that his well-known nemesis had died during a prison transport accident. However, he wasn’t as convinced and believed that the now 80+ year-old disco strangler had escaped and that they had to go after him. Even seeing his body and all the other evidence that he had died wasn’t enough for Holt. He had dispatched a ridiculous amount of resources to look for the strangler. Terry was right in thinking that Holt was just trying to relive his glory days. He would eventually come to terms with the fact that the strangler was dead until he had found evidence that appeared to suggest otherwise. The search party would eventually find the strangler and the confrontation between he and Holt was hilarious with Holt oblivious to the fact that the strangler was a very old man.
The he said, she said incident would serve as a lesson for Jake and he and Amy’s work would not be for naught as Kerry would inspire another woman working at the firm to come forward with a claim of her own.
Overall, He Said, She Said was a good episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that would take a surprisingly heavy turn as a case would have a special significance with Amy. Despite this, it was still about a broken penis which went as far as you would expect. The conflicting perspectives made for a fun and insightful episode for Jake. However, the B story with Holt was the better of the two as his determination was both hilarious and compelling to watch. As long as episodes keep finding a decent balance between the A and B stories, they will keep succeeding.
Score: 8/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
