'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 7 Finale Review: Amy's delivery is nod to the precinct made better by the baby name
Spoilers for Season 7 Finale Episode 13 'Lights Out'
After an entire season of going back and forth while trying to conceive, detectives Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) are finally proud parents. The plot sprung right at the onset of the latest seventh season, which calls a wrap on this year's run with this thirteenth episode, titled 'Lights Out'. And even though amidst countless inconveniences, problems, and the cosmos just not aligning right for the couple, right when the arc got a little tedious and repetitive for them, the show decided to remind viewers once again how some things are better done the signature way.
Amy has her delivery after managing a city-wide lockout while Jake is out the entire time, trying to stop Brooklyn from entering full 'Purge' mode, and even if this doesn't make them the coolest parents on the block, their choice of baby name surely does. From Jake's obsession with Die Hard to Charles Boyle's (Joe Lo Truglio) obsession with the Peraltiago couple,- everything was special about Amy giving birth, just the way all major milestone moments have been for the new parents.
The episode opens with all the promotional sneak peeks the network had teased again of the finale; there's Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) warning the precinct of the 'Peddle Pubs' and Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) announcing Amy's maternity leave. Scully is the element of humor in this scene - something that he and his partner in sloth Hitchcock don't disappoint with, throughout the episode.
But even Scully asking if he can take a paid three month leave, or him and Hitchcok activating blackout protocols only to eat all the stored food, there's no denying that the real star of this episode is the fictional 99th precinct of New York itself.
Be it Jake looking over the terrace-balcony to the city in pitch darkness, or Holt and Terry getting stuck in the elevator when the blackout ensues - or even Amy giving birth in the makeshift labor room created by Hitchcock and Scully - nothing beats the Nine-Nine as the OG venue for all things special.
It all begins when Jake goes out to admire the darkness and ends up hearing gunshots, hinting as a possible 'Purge' situation on the rise. With people screaming and cars dashing, leading to heavy traffic jam, Jake and Charles step out to control the commotion, while Amy and Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) try to handle the blackout in Holt and Terry's absence. This is where things get interesting as moments into dishing commands and sending authorities out into the streets to control the situation, Amy's water breaks.
And where else should it break other than the Nine-Nine itself. From meeting each other to having their first date together, a grand proposal and even their wedding in the premises of the precinct, it becomes obvious at this point that Amy - with all her fear of missing out on work (or FOMOOW) - is going to deliver her baby in the precinct. It's a predictable outcome of all the events that have led the couple to this moment, but it's still a little emotional if one looks at it as the Peraltiago's own personal nod to the workplace that gave them everything.
While Amy goes into full-on denial of needing a hospital, Rosa comes through once again. Much like the way she won her a baby stroller or the way they became the 'Sleuth Sisters', Rosa overcomes her fears of childbirth and actually gives firefighter a hand in Amy's delivery, while Jake is out there getting roped into the worst scenarios imaginable. From stopping an armed robbery to helping an unusually violent aged old woman to trying to commute on the excruciatingly slow 'Peddle Pubs' - Jake tries his best to get to Amy before she delivers the baby.
His only respite? Charles, even though offended they haven't picked a baby name yet, does the utmost to help out his best friend from witnessing one of the most pivotal moments. Everything is predictable and we know Jake is going to make it, but what saves the day are Holt's attempts at distracting Amy and the name the Peraltiago choose for their baby.
Technically, it's Terry's genius that decides to teach Holt an elaborate hip hop dance routine when the two get stuck in the elevator and Holt's paranoia kicks in. So when his most diligent protege goes through similar stress to the point where she goes on a 10-second stream of profanity without hesitation, Holt has to step up and distract Amy with the moves he just learned. But none of that compares to the albeit predictable yet delightful choice of baby name Jake and Amy decide on: Mac - short for McClane, obviously.
And thus, with their own classic not to Jake's forever obsession - the one that brought him to the law, and to Amy, and to this moment, and to the place where everything happened, season 7 signed off with a small hint that season 8 might most likely be about Jake and Amy's parenting troubles.
'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' season 7 finale aired on April 23, at 8:30 PM only on NBC.