Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: A Tale of Two Bandits (Season 6 Episode 5)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 Episode 5, “A Tale of Two Bandits,” revisits Doug Judy and despite a new twist and some fun bar shenanigans, the episode misses the mark.

Nicole Byer’s acting as The Pontiac Bandit’s sister is a glowing highlight on the episode. Her voice is so fun to listen to and her over-the-top delivery is appreciated.

Some of the content of her dialogue, though, is problematic.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has made people engaged in commercial sex the subject of jokes on previous occasions. On “A Tale of Two Bandits,” the writers go too far in punching down on people who are frequently exploited and subjects of terrible violence.

To put it frankly, being a sex worker is not funny. Calling someone a “ho,” is not funny.

And there really is no need for this type of joke to be present on an episode about Doung Judy faking his death and Trudy Judy being a criminal mastermind.

There is plenty of material there, so devoting a whole line of dialogue to a joke about someone being exploited is particularly problematic.

This is especially true considering January was National Human Trafficking Awareness month, and the situation described on the episode is very much how many people are trafficked.

And, again, the episode has no reason to go there.

Doug Judy has never been my favorite character. He is predictable, doesn’t really highlight anything significant in the lead characters, and the devotion Jake has to Judy is out of character.

However, the habitual guest star has made perfect sense because of the joy it is to have Craig Robinson on screen.

But, enough is enough. The Trudy Judy twist isn’t interesting enough to justify bringing back the same storyline for another go.

Plus, I feel bad for Terry.

The B-plot is far more interesting and satisfying. Amy is hilarious in each of her different drunk stages. I could watch her gross flirt with Rosa all night long.

I also die from joyful laughter as she frantically dances in the background of the serious drinking discussion.

I also enjoy Rosa’s giggle every time firefighter Rob Dulubnik talks about losing people to the pole hole.

Rob Riggle as Rob Dulubnik is surprisingly sexy.

I’ll be honest, I would not hate seeing him come back for another round two guest star.

The overall message of the drink-off is a bit dubious. It is nice that Captain Holt comes back to support his precinct, even if he would prefer a far fancier bar experience.

But, we do not need convincing at this point that Captain Holt cares for and supports his team. He has proven that time and time again.

So, like with Doug Judy, we are in a redundant territory.

Binge drinking is also a fraught topic. We see Captain Holt chug an entire bottle of wine in under a minute, after having already polished off two or three bottles.

That can literally kill someone.

Of course, Brooklyn Nine-Nine doesn’t exist in a realist universe. However, it still needs to be responsible for the messages it is putting out there.

If the overall message that is supposed to come from the episode is that Captain Holt cares so much, he’ll even show up to save a bar he doesn’t like, there are many ways to get there without binge drinking.

It could have been fun to see drinking games instead. Or perhaps a “karaoke roulette” game where karaoke songs are chosen at random and the 99 has to perform them for a set of bartender judges.

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine writing team is incredibly creative and pop culture fluent.

Unfortunately, that deep talent doesn’t show itself much, if at all, on “A Tale of Two Bandits.”

Luckily, one weak episode does not a season make. I look forward to the show getting back on track next week.

What did you think of this episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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