Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Dillman
March 28, 2020 11:34 AM - Season 7, Episode 9 - Subscribe
Holt can recommend only one of his detectives for a job opening on a prestigious task force. In a classic whodunit, Jake tries to prove he's the best sleuth by solving the case of a glitter bomb prank gone awry.
AV Club recap (also in the linkbox)
AV Club recap (also in the linkbox)
Now that Holt is back in the Captain's office, I wonder why they bothered with the whole "Let's demote Holt for a year" storyline. It really contributed very little and I'm not sure they ever explored anything in much detail.
Of course, I also thought that they should have killed Picard in "Best of Both Worlds" and put Riker in command, so that shows how good my instincts are for writing network/syndicated television.
And really, they don't do well with arcs. The very forgettable Jake-and-Rosa-are-in-prison arc, for example. Though at least that gave us Tim Meadows as a cannibal. The funny kind of cannibal.
Oh, and one more thing that just BUGGED me about this episode. Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on March 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
Of course, I also thought that they should have killed Picard in "Best of Both Worlds" and put Riker in command, so that shows how good my instincts are for writing network/syndicated television.
And really, they don't do well with arcs. The very forgettable Jake-and-Rosa-are-in-prison arc, for example. Though at least that gave us Tim Meadows as a cannibal. The funny kind of cannibal.
Oh, and one more thing that just BUGGED me about this episode. Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on March 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
This felt too early-seasons to me; I thought we'd had a good recent episode establishing that Jake was more or less past his immaturity, and all that was dropped for this. His treatment of Officer Booth at the start (when he had no serious basis for blaming him) reeeally rubbed me the wrong way.
Rosa was great as usual, but one problem is that the writers have gotten so accustomed to subverting her badass qualities that jokes like "She devotedly watches a soap opera" don't really register as surprises to us the way they do to the other characters.
Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
I don't think the reason for his second firing was given, and I'm inclined to presume it was a bad one because he hadn't simply admitted it? But yeah. Actually, all I could think of was the irony that a real-life Yarn Barn, Hobby Lobby, has been one of the few non-essential stores to consistently and blatantly ignore the coronavirus shutterings across the country, so by sheer coincidence this episode almost works as though it was set now, in the After Time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:57 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Rosa was great as usual, but one problem is that the writers have gotten so accustomed to subverting her badass qualities that jokes like "She devotedly watches a soap opera" don't really register as surprises to us the way they do to the other characters.
Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
I don't think the reason for his second firing was given, and I'm inclined to presume it was a bad one because he hadn't simply admitted it? But yeah. Actually, all I could think of was the irony that a real-life Yarn Barn, Hobby Lobby, has been one of the few non-essential stores to consistently and blatantly ignore the coronavirus shutterings across the country, so by sheer coincidence this episode almost works as though it was set now, in the After Time.
posted by InTheYear2017 at 6:57 AM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
I always enjoy seeing JK Simmons, so that's a win, but it felt like there was definitely some cruelty in their depiction of him being a failed man--so many older people, through no fault of their own, have ended up in his circumstances, and it's something always in the back of my mind that I could end up in, so that one made me wince.
Also, and this is perhaps more vexing to me, RAYMOND HOLT KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ACRONYM AND INITIALS. Raymond Holt absolutely knows that an acronym is initials that can be pronounced as a word, like NASA or HUD, not a string of initials that must be spelled out. Raymond Holt would have read the Chicago Manual of Style backwards and forwards, would have memorized the AP Stylebook by 10, would have read every English grammar book on the shelves by 8. Raymond "It's ungrammatical, so I won't say it" Holt knows that the string of initials he gave his task force did not form an acronym. This is the second time that a writer's ignorance was given to Holt about this issue, and it drives me nuts. I almost wish I had twitter so I could yell at the show in all caps about this.
(And clearly someone in the Fremulon group understands a few things about language, so why this? I'm thinking about how much crossover there is with B99 and The Good Place, and Eleanor's listing of Chidi's different grimaces, one which he makes whenever someone says "from whence" instead of "whence." They should not be making Holt call things by wrong names! He would know this!)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 2:30 PM on March 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
Also, and this is perhaps more vexing to me, RAYMOND HOLT KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ACRONYM AND INITIALS. Raymond Holt absolutely knows that an acronym is initials that can be pronounced as a word, like NASA or HUD, not a string of initials that must be spelled out. Raymond Holt would have read the Chicago Manual of Style backwards and forwards, would have memorized the AP Stylebook by 10, would have read every English grammar book on the shelves by 8. Raymond "It's ungrammatical, so I won't say it" Holt knows that the string of initials he gave his task force did not form an acronym. This is the second time that a writer's ignorance was given to Holt about this issue, and it drives me nuts. I almost wish I had twitter so I could yell at the show in all caps about this.
(And clearly someone in the Fremulon group understands a few things about language, so why this? I'm thinking about how much crossover there is with B99 and The Good Place, and Eleanor's listing of Chidi's different grimaces, one which he makes whenever someone says "from whence" instead of "whence." They should not be making Holt call things by wrong names! He would know this!)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 2:30 PM on March 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
I agree with you all on stuff so I will just quote everyone back:
Rosa has been on fire all season and this continues the streak. That interrogation scene in the box was amazing.
Yes!
Oh, and one more thing that just BUGGED me about this episode. Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
Yes! I want to see him come back as a hero.
Rosa was great as usual, but one problem is that the writers have gotten so accustomed to subverting her badass qualities that jokes like "She devotedly watches a soap opera" don't really register as surprises to us the way they do to the other characters.
At this point the change should just be her having no guilty pleasures/history - she just owns her ballet history (or was it gymnastics?) right on thru her love of soap operas and Nancy Meyer.
I always enjoy seeing JK Simmons, so that's a win, but it felt like there was definitely some cruelty in their depiction of him being a failed man--so many older people, through no fault of their own, have ended up in his circumstances, and it's something always in the back of my mind that I could end up in, so that one made me wince.
Likewise.
Nothing to add except that I loved this moment [paraphrasing because I don't remember]:
Jake: Captain Holt is not the serious stickler we see on the outside.
Holt: Is this about the time I ate a burrito? I was peer pressured into it!
posted by Emmy Rae at 10:08 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Rosa has been on fire all season and this continues the streak. That interrogation scene in the box was amazing.
Yes!
Oh, and one more thing that just BUGGED me about this episode. Dillman was fired from two police forces for investigating corruption, and in the end he's treated as a joke because he is reduced to working part time in a yarn store instead of being a noble cop. What the hell?
Yes! I want to see him come back as a hero.
Rosa was great as usual, but one problem is that the writers have gotten so accustomed to subverting her badass qualities that jokes like "She devotedly watches a soap opera" don't really register as surprises to us the way they do to the other characters.
At this point the change should just be her having no guilty pleasures/history - she just owns her ballet history (or was it gymnastics?) right on thru her love of soap operas and Nancy Meyer.
I always enjoy seeing JK Simmons, so that's a win, but it felt like there was definitely some cruelty in their depiction of him being a failed man--so many older people, through no fault of their own, have ended up in his circumstances, and it's something always in the back of my mind that I could end up in, so that one made me wince.
Likewise.
Nothing to add except that I loved this moment [paraphrasing because I don't remember]:
Jake: Captain Holt is not the serious stickler we see on the outside.
Holt: Is this about the time I ate a burrito? I was peer pressured into it!
posted by Emmy Rae at 10:08 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
this was a really funny episode, but yes in the grand scheme of character development it felt like a season 2 episode, except for Boyle.
The really great point that no one has commented was how far along Boyle has come and really does deserve a place on that task force. Didn't stop him from being a great comic foil for Jake.
"I gasped at your gasp!"
posted by numaner at 2:36 PM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
The really great point that no one has commented was how far along Boyle has come and really does deserve a place on that task force. Didn't stop him from being a great comic foil for Jake.
"I gasped at your gasp!"
posted by numaner at 2:36 PM on March 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
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posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:21 PM on March 28, 2020 [4 favorites]