'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 7 Episode 4 sees demoted Holt uncharacteristically chill for the Jimmy Jab games
One of the best things about NBC’s massively-popular and critically-acclaimed police comedy series ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is Andre Braugher who plays the serious and stern Captain Raymond Holt. He’s the one who is the stickler for rules, more so than Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero). Over the course of six seasons, Holt has softened much.
But with Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick), the temporary Commissioner of the NYPD, demoting Holt to a beat cop, he seems to have found new life, a kind of serious unseriousness that only Braugher can pull off.
Episode 4 of the show’s season 7 brings us back to the famous Jimmy Jab games, circa season 2 episode 3. It’s a series of games the members of the fictional precinct compete in to win the ultimate prize (which really isn’t a big prize). And the episode witnesses a new kind of vigor in Holt.
No longer is he the captain who everyone is scared of. He is now just one of the buddies. And he too is now uncharacteristically pally (or sometimes vicious) with the other cops. An older version of Holt would not scheme against his employees. In fact, he would be reluctant to participate, save only to beat Jake (Andy Samberg) and teach him a lesson.
But now, he is much more chill. Or at least as chill as the emotive minimalist Holt can be. And that chill attitude brings us to a new era of Holt, which in turn, ushers in a new era of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’.
In fact, all throughout the episode, he decides to compete strictly against Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) and even tries to delve into what her motivations for winning were. This is as uncharacteristic of Holt as anything can be. But without a doubt, it is immeasurably enjoyable to watch.
Season 7 of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ airs Thursdays on NBC at 8/7c.