'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 7 Episode 1 Review: Jake and Holt's power struggle is matched by a pregnancy scare
Spoiler alert for Season 7 Episode 1 'Manhunter'
It is time for the Nine-Nine cry to be heard loud and clear and even a Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) demotion can't ruin our happiness!
However, the same demotion becomes the crux of shifting power dynamics in the opening episode of the NBC comedy's Season 7, as our beloved Holt struggles to follow orders from his best detective-slash-genius Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg).
Jake's daddy issues are once again getting the better of him around his former Captain Dad. As Jake and Holt continue to figure out how best to go about things now that the goofiest detective of the 99th precinct will have to be boss around the no-nonsense former captain, interesting parallels are drawn.
Subtle throwbacks are thrown here and there, only amplified by the possibility of Jake and his wife-slash-colleague Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) getting pregnant.
The episode begins with Sargeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) briefing them of an open firing with the shooter at large, and off go Jake and his team to hunt down the bad guy.
Jake thrives on the thrill of this being an elaborate manhunt — the kind from his dreamiest cop movies, as his colleague and BFF Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), tags along like the best sidekick there ever could be.
The only problem are the names: Jakes christens himself the Manhunter, while as his secondary, Charles thinks calling him the Boyhunter is a matter of fact but is soon made weary of the connotations.
Once they arrive at the scene, the plot introduces us to the visibly nervous, easily intimidated and quite naive detective Debbie Fogel played smoothly by yet another 'Saturday Night Live' veteran Vanessa Bayer.
She is partnered with none other than our precious Holt — thereby pulling him into an active crime scene where he struggles to let go of the former chain of command.
The hesitation in giving his former boss orders isn't lost on Jake either, as he admittedly feels bad for the newly demoted ex-captain whom he has looked up to as closely as he could with any father figure in his life.
Old references like "Officer Dad" and "Captain Dad" fumble out of the younger cop despite his best friend Charles insisting and helping him put Holt away when the older detective gets too overbearing.
Jake and Charles' friendship isn't the only wholesome one budding in the season premiere though. While the two men busy themselves in catching the shooter all the time keeping Holt at bay, their colleagues Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Amy struggle with a whole other journey of their own.
When a visibly moody Amy takes unnecessary jabs at the police dog for licking its own butthole, Rosa senses something is off with her. Soon she learns Amy's period is late and as the planner goes cribbing about not being ready for a baby, we see an unusual fondness in Rosa subtly arising to help her friend calm down in a time of panic.
Their panic-struck-rendezvous is interrupted by a severely insecure Terry who can't get over his daughters shutting him out and accuses Rosa and Amy of the same when the two discuss Amy's crisis in hushed tones.
This once again wraps the entire team in their slice-of-life storylines proceeding alongside Jake's chase. Even good-for-nothing and beyond ancient detectives Hitchcock and Scully put their gluttony to use when the case reveals that a mysterious hotdog cart-vendor is the actual shooter.
Back in the case, Holt can't seem to stop one-upping Jake because that's his nature. From stealing his Monopoly catchphrases and using them for the press to actually being fooled by Jake to step aside for a while—- the mock father-son duo ultimately learn the obvious.
Jake still respects and regards Holt even if the latter's beloved Cheddar "poops only for Kevin" anymore. And that right there is a bond that can't be broken, or shaken by any force of nature — not even deadly ones like Madeline Wunch.
'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 7 premieres on February 6 and will air on Thursdays at 8.30 pm ET on NBC.
