All Good Things Must Come To An End: Brooklyn 99 Final Season
Nothing good can last forever -- including Brooklyn 99. Since the very beginning, I have always been a fan of the 99. From watching it when I was younger with my family, to finishing the final season amongst friends, it has been a constant in my life. I was devastated when Fox cancelled the show but ecstatic when NBC decided to give it another chance. When I heard the news that Brooklyn 99’s eighth season would be the show’s finale one, I understood that all good things must come to an end.
Brooklyn 99 follows a group of New York City cops in the 99th precinct. Its main character, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), is a goofy detective who is good at his job, but is too carefree to rise through the ranks. Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) is hard-working, driven, and overly fastidious. Other characters include the silly Charles (Joe Lo Truglio), the deadpan Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz), the giant --yet sweet-- Terry (Terry Crews), and the fan-favorite monotone Captain Holt (Andre Braugher). This group of police officers, and several other characters, get into weekly shenanigans with few lasting consequences throughout New York City.
A show following a group of police officers in 2020 could not get away with ignoring the Black Lives Matter movement and the rise of police brutality into national discourse. Between seasons 7 and 8, the United States grappled with the death of George Floyd, amongst other victims of police brutality, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
While Brooklyn 99 was able to brush over the pandemic by skipping into the future, they could not have avoided the issue of police brutality. While this topic may seem hard for a sitcom to handle, Brooklyn 99 is no stranger to tackling social issues. Captain Holt is an African-American openly gay police captian and has faced adversity on the show due to his sexuality and race while rising up the police department hierarchy. Terry faced a racist assault in season 4 by an officer when off-duty. One of the most emotional plot-lines the show featured was Rosa coming out as bisexual to her parents and their subsequent negative reaction. In the past seven seasons, there has been explicit tackling of progressive issues within the show, but never to this degree.
Even though Brooklyn 99 dealt with social issues in the past, the attempt to cover the Black Lives Matter movement seemed to be a nearly impossible task. In reality, there were three options for Brooklyn 99 to address the Black Lives Matter Movement: pretend nothing happened, face the issue head-on, or cancel the show prematurely. Of course, they went about facing the issue head-on in a way that recognized police brutality but still maintained the fact that Brooklyn 99 is a comedy. In season 8, Charles becomes a performative, hyper-ally towards the Black Lives Matter movement. Rosa quits the force to become a Private Investigator to help victims of police brutality. Jake gets suspended at one point in Season 8 because of a false arrest that led to the wrongly accused individual to be fired from their job. The rest of the squad stays behind to try to change the system from within and to keep the show running. All in all, the handling of social justice within the first few episodes is awkward.
For example, the first episode of season 8 is entitled, “The Good Ones”. Here, this title attempts to categorize the main cast of cops as good cops and other minor characters portraying the stereotypes of cops as those who are perpetuating the systemic issues of policing. By the end of the episode, Jake realizes that he can’t be a ‘good one’ when the system is broken. At first glance, it seems tone-deaf to call an episode “The Good Ones”, but by the end, the conclusion is made that there cannot be good ones in a broken system. The season 8 premiere ended on a dark note as the show recognized its bias towards policing.
Of course, it’s awkward to have a comedy about police amidst police brutality. It would be even more awkward if the show got cancelled prematurely instead of addressing the current climate. In the end, it’s better that Brooklyn 99 acknowledged the movement that they are a part of as a show about policing.
A couple of episodes into the season, the mood shifts from the current social climate in the United States back to weekly escapades. The deep systemic issues explored in the first episode makes it strange to get back to the lighthearted sitcom moments throughout the season. Overall, the season had a different feel compared to past seasons. However, a few moments shined. One in particular was the vow renewal ceremony between Captain Holt and his husband, Kevin. In early season 8, the couple had split and were working through couple’s therapy to get back together. The vow renewal scene late in the season showed Captain Holt smiling so widely from pure joy (a rare occurrence for the strictly serious captain). This scene perfectly encapsulates the highs of Brooklyn 99.
In an otherwise dull final season, the two-part last episode is the perfect way to say goodbye to Brooklyn 99. In “The Last Day” parts 1 and 2, Jake plans one last heist (a tradition of the 99 that is featured in one episode per season) where the whole cast has to devise a plan to steal an item. It was revealed that Jake plans on quitting the 99 to spend more time with his son and the entire heist is his loving way of saying goodbye to his peers and friends. In an otherwise silly show, this moment was serious and emotional as it showed Jake grown-up, ready to take on adult responsibilities. The episode is filled with easter eggs any fan would love from a balloon arch to Gina (Chelsea Perretti) and Pimento (Jason Mantzoukas) coming back for one last heist. In the end, Amy, Jake, and Holt end up all leaving the 99. In a flash-forward in the final scene of Brooklyn 99, Terry is police captain in the 99th precinct. Just when you think the cast is broken up forever, Jake, Amy, and Holt reunite with the rest of the 99 for another round of heists. In unison, they shout, “99!” one last time, ending a great show on a high note.
Despite an overall lackluster season, Brooklyn 99 managed to gather momentum in its final moments. In the end, it was time for Brooklyn 99 to come to an end. A light-hearted show about police officers is not what this country needs right now, but Brooklyn 99 served its part over the years as a great workplace comedy.
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