Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: Sicko (Season 6 Episode 17) & Suicide Squad (Season 6 Episode 18)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 Episode 17, “Sicko,” and Season 6 Episode 18, “Suicide Squad,” close out the show’s first season with its savior network NBC.
Even though the finale errantly focuses its lens, once again, on Jake, Charles, and Captain Holt, rather than powerhouses Amy, Rosa, and Terry, it hits on all the sweet spots and satisfies with its choice guest appearances.
Kyra Sedgwick’s Captain Madeline Wuntch is ALWAYS welcome on my screen.
Her turn as the ever-duplicitous and acerbic rival Captain Wuntch pulls the characters together and makes “Suicide Squad,” zing with chemistry. I would not hate it if Wuntch became a regular on the series.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine plays up the “will-they-won’t-they” flirty vibe between the battling Captain couple and this is at once bizarre and epically fun.
Captain Holt is a married gay black man. Captain Wuntch is a, presumably, straight single white woman. SHe might be the usual suspect, but she’s not exactly the usual love interest.
The show has a thick and sturdy foundation in representation. So, it has leeway and grounding to play. It’s not at all offensive or really even confusing that there is sexual tension between Holt and Wuntch. It is just delightful.
And, in this odd way, it normalizes Holt’s sexuality and makes him an equally included member of the 99’s workforce. His difference doesn’t make him different in terms of desirability or fair game for a straight white woman’s antagonistic advances.
In other words, there is no storyline that this gay, black, elitist, character can’t have. That’s magical.
Rosa is drastically underused on the final two episodes, and this is a major miss for all of Season 6.
It is true that Stephanie Beatriz can make more of an impact in her ten seconds on screen as Rosa Diaz than most actors can make as a lead with twenty minutes. But, still, her character is ripe for more development and attention.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 Episode 6, “The Crime Scene,” proves that the show benefits when Rosa is a primary lead on the A plot.
Rosa’s relationship with Jocelyn is lovely and it is fun to meet her and see her make a stand for the relationship. But, it isn’t given real development.
We don’t know why Rosa loves Jocelyn. We don’t know how they met, where Rosa is at with her parents and her bisexuality.
We spend more time learning about Hitchcock and Scully’s backstory and eating habits this season than we do on Rosa’s identity.
That is a shame. It would make the show stronger to tweak the line-up order of characters for Season 7 so that Jake, Captain Holt, and Charles aren’t featured as primary in well over half of the episodes.
It is time for an adjustment.
I have been asking for a Terry-focused episode all season and unfortunately, “Sicko,” and “Suicide Squad,” fail to deliver.
This failure is markedly pronounced as the plot would have easily lent itself to elevating Terry to lead. He passes his lieutenant exam and manages to stay at the 99, but his screen time and our access to his internal processes don’t reflect that primacy.
It is a bit confusing, to be honest, why the show is so resistant to let go of a Jake-focused season.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is truly an ensemble.
I am eager for the fantastic series to embrace that identity and let each of its leads get the spotlight.
I do love how the season ends. There is no cliffhanger, and that is a refreshing change NBC brings to the table. The episodes also don’t focus on Peraltiago, which I actually adore.
I am one of the biggest Peraltiago shippers out there, but it makes me feel secure and pleased that this show is strong and solid without that relationship as the centerpiece.
Season 6 has been a joyful, emotional, and funny one, filled with meaningful representation and a couple of missteps.
I am mindful of the fact that it is a season that could have never been, and I am truly grateful for all the wonderfully talented creators who make it for us.
It is going to be a long summer without the NINE-NINE!
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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Janelle Ureta
Janelle Ureta is equal parts Veronica Mars, Raven Reyes, and Rebecca Bunch, but she aspires to add some Tammy Taylor to the mix. An attorney turned teacher, Janelle believes in the power of a well-told story. She is currently exploring how to tell short stories, 140 characters or less, on twitter. She loves to talk about TV, and right now she can't shut up about Timeless, Dear White People, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The 100, or Younger.