Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Paranoia
April 1, 2016 4:08 AM - Season 3, Episode 20 - Subscribe
Jake and Terry help a paranoid Pimento. Amy, Charles and Gina plan a bachelorette party for Rosa.
From Alan Sepinwall at Hitflix:
The most fun was had on the mini-party idea, which got tweaked to turn it into a competition between co-maids of honor Charles, Amy, and Gina. Frankly, I wish we could have spent even more time there. The quiz where the three of them had to guess details about Rosa's life felt like it could have run on for much longer without losing comic steam, and the podiums were among the more clever pregnancy-disguising methods the show's used of late for Melissa Fumero (who had her baby over the weekend).
Pimento's bachelor party, on the other hand, never entirely clicked for the same reason a lot of the Pimento material this season hasn't: when he's dialed up to 11, even if his paranoia turns out to be right in this case, he doesn't at all fit the tone of the rest of the series. When he's just been slightly weird, like the episode where Pimento and Diaz first started flirting, he can be amusing, but when he's completely unhinged, it's a bad match of a show and an actor who are both very funny apart from one another.
At the same time, Stephanie Beatriz was — as she gets to be from time to time, but never so much that the effect is ruined — excellent at letting Rosa's emotions shine through, first in expressing her genuine love for Adrian, then her unhappiness at learning that he had run off to avoid future assassination attempts. And the idea of the detective squad conducting a secret operation to bust the dirty FBI agent and bring Adrian out of hiding provides an interesting — and serialized — direction for the season's final episodes. (In case you missed it, FOX renewed Brooklyn for a fourth season last week.)
Bonus: Stephanie Beatriz posted a picture to Instagram of Melissa Fumero's son, and Joe Lo Truglio's son in a B99 onesie!
From Alan Sepinwall at Hitflix:
The most fun was had on the mini-party idea, which got tweaked to turn it into a competition between co-maids of honor Charles, Amy, and Gina. Frankly, I wish we could have spent even more time there. The quiz where the three of them had to guess details about Rosa's life felt like it could have run on for much longer without losing comic steam, and the podiums were among the more clever pregnancy-disguising methods the show's used of late for Melissa Fumero (who had her baby over the weekend).
Pimento's bachelor party, on the other hand, never entirely clicked for the same reason a lot of the Pimento material this season hasn't: when he's dialed up to 11, even if his paranoia turns out to be right in this case, he doesn't at all fit the tone of the rest of the series. When he's just been slightly weird, like the episode where Pimento and Diaz first started flirting, he can be amusing, but when he's completely unhinged, it's a bad match of a show and an actor who are both very funny apart from one another.
At the same time, Stephanie Beatriz was — as she gets to be from time to time, but never so much that the effect is ruined — excellent at letting Rosa's emotions shine through, first in expressing her genuine love for Adrian, then her unhappiness at learning that he had run off to avoid future assassination attempts. And the idea of the detective squad conducting a secret operation to bust the dirty FBI agent and bring Adrian out of hiding provides an interesting — and serialized — direction for the season's final episodes. (In case you missed it, FOX renewed Brooklyn for a fourth season last week.)
Bonus: Stephanie Beatriz posted a picture to Instagram of Melissa Fumero's son, and Joe Lo Truglio's son in a B99 onesie!
Oh, good, it's not just me. I hate Pimento, I hate his jump right to MARRIAGE with Rosa, I hate everything about this plot and am very sad that he appears to be coming back.
Well, no, I didn't hate Rosa's parties, because they were great.
posted by jeather at 10:35 AM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Well, no, I didn't hate Rosa's parties, because they were great.
posted by jeather at 10:35 AM on April 1, 2016 [3 favorites]
Rosa's parties were amazing and I loved everything about that plotline. Pimento... Eh, I won't miss him. He seemed like he was originally intended to be a bit part, and then the show just kept extending the joke.
posted by tautological at 1:06 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by tautological at 1:06 PM on April 1, 2016
I like Pimento. I don't want him as a major actor, but as a recurring part and someone who makes Rosa happy, he's been fun. I loved the first few seasons of the League and Rafi was a huge part of that, so his surreal intense shtick works for me.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:17 PM on April 1, 2016
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:17 PM on April 1, 2016
I like Pimento too. I've never seen The League, seen very few things on Mantzoukas' imdb page actually - I'm mostly familiar with hearing him on the "How Did This Get Made" podcast, so, it's been a lot of fun finally fitting a face with the voice. I hope they bring him back again eventually.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:27 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oh yeah! at 6:27 PM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
I didn't like Pimento either and I felt like it was the same thing I didn't like earlier in the season with the multiple terrible captains. It seems like this show is such a sweetheart that having an antagonist as part of the team just stresses it out too much and is very uncomfortable. Antagonists shouldn't be on the team.
You know I didn't notice Melissa's pregnancy cover ups until this one, after many threads pointing them out, but in this one they could not be unseen.
posted by bleep at 12:20 AM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
You know I didn't notice Melissa's pregnancy cover ups until this one, after many threads pointing them out, but in this one they could not be unseen.
posted by bleep at 12:20 AM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
I liked Pimento just fine when he was allowed to be part of the ensemble, but the only time that really happened was in "Cheddar." His shtick works a lot better when he's reacting to everybody else's stuff than as the focus of the plot.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:21 AM on April 2, 2016
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:21 AM on April 2, 2016
I've really enjoyed the Pimento ark thus far, sorta surprised myself tbh. Thinking about it, he and Diaz are seem to fit well together, playing off each other.
posted by Carillon at 2:11 PM on April 6, 2016
posted by Carillon at 2:11 PM on April 6, 2016
Just catching up now, thanks for getting the post up, ellieBOA!
I guess Jason Mantzoukas can be a somewhat divisive comedic personality, but he won me over years ago with his frequent podcast guest spots and I enjoy the added dynamic that he brings to B99. If there's one criticism I have of the show over the past couple of seasons, it's that they've played it very safe when it came to augmenting the ensemble with new cast members, so I've been curious to see if this arc would be testing the waters for a new full-time cast member.
I'm intrigued to see where the whole FBI-conspiracy storyline takes the show. It seems like it could be another (mostly offstage) pseudo-dramatic turn kind of like Jake's own undercover stint between S01 and 02.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:11 PM on April 6, 2016
I guess Jason Mantzoukas can be a somewhat divisive comedic personality, but he won me over years ago with his frequent podcast guest spots and I enjoy the added dynamic that he brings to B99. If there's one criticism I have of the show over the past couple of seasons, it's that they've played it very safe when it came to augmenting the ensemble with new cast members, so I've been curious to see if this arc would be testing the waters for a new full-time cast member.
I'm intrigued to see where the whole FBI-conspiracy storyline takes the show. It seems like it could be another (mostly offstage) pseudo-dramatic turn kind of like Jake's own undercover stint between S01 and 02.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:11 PM on April 6, 2016
I like Mantzoukas a lot, I'm just finding him overwhelming in B99. If he's coming back and they're resolving this plotline about the threat on his life then maybe they'll find a way to write him so he's not always up at 11?
The other two characters on B99 who get equally revved up are probably Jake and Terry, but both of them spend time at a lower energy level too. I feel like Mantzoukas hasn't gotten to do that at all; he's always coming across as a little methed-up. Which I don't think he needs to be do be entertaining, as an actor. It's just all they've had Pimento do - all whackadoodle, all the time.
posted by phearlez at 8:11 AM on April 7, 2016
The other two characters on B99 who get equally revved up are probably Jake and Terry, but both of them spend time at a lower energy level too. I feel like Mantzoukas hasn't gotten to do that at all; he's always coming across as a little methed-up. Which I don't think he needs to be do be entertaining, as an actor. It's just all they've had Pimento do - all whackadoodle, all the time.
posted by phearlez at 8:11 AM on April 7, 2016
Jake and Terry feel like real people. Pimento feels like a caricature. It's not about the actor here; I don't feel animus towards Mantzoukas.
posted by jeather at 9:06 AM on April 7, 2016
posted by jeather at 9:06 AM on April 7, 2016
Rosa's parties were just the adorable best, so that makes this kind of a top episode for me.
But yeah, kinda insane to have her get engaged in like three episodes after stringing us all along with boring Nick Cannon for how many episodes?
That said, I was kinda touched at the "for Pimento!" at the end.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:32 PM on April 8, 2016
But yeah, kinda insane to have her get engaged in like three episodes after stringing us all along with boring Nick Cannon for how many episodes?
That said, I was kinda touched at the "for Pimento!" at the end.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:32 PM on April 8, 2016
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It probably doesn't help that I had gotten well and sick of him as Rafi over on The League, where they seemed unable to limit their use of him. But at least there he was somewhat offset by much more phlegmatic characters around him (in temperament, that is, certainly not in deed) where on B99 he's got character like Jake (and Terry when he's wound up) who are about at that level of twitchy already.
posted by phearlez at 9:12 AM on April 1, 2016 [1 favorite]