Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season Finale Review: Lights Out (Season 7 Episode 13)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine uses a city blackout to shine a light on the precinct’s finest power couple — Jake and Amy!

And shine they do as Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7 Episode 13, “Lights Out,” finds time between bank heists and particularly painful contractions to demonstrate the lengths these two will go to to protect their city and their loved-ones.

This finale is the perfect storm of comedy, chaos, and characters. The flawless episode helps usher in the Nine-Nine’s newest member with a humor and hospitality we’ve come to admire over the seasons.

It has certainly been an unprecedented season of success for the ageing series and it is one made all the sweeter by the lack of misfires we experienced along the way.

Jake and Amy probably would’ve enjoyed having their son in a clean hospital room where firefighters can’t touch their baby, but I’m sure they understand why this is so much better.

A power outage that quickly turns New York City into a scene from The Purge is a dream come true. The blackout throws the Nine-Nine into emergency protocol as they are forced to face a city-wide playground of criminal antics with their usual charisma.

No one wants to actively root for a blackout in any situation, but it’s no secret this season finale owes most of its success to the circumstances of this disaster.

“Lights Out” is Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s perfect storm. And it’s one that only gets better when Amy’s water breaks, starting the countdown to the one event in Jake’s life he cannot be late for.

From there, the series executes a proper welcome party for the Nine-Nine’s tiniest new recruit fit with foiled bank robberies, hilariously horrifying birth plans, and two badass parents.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine uses these unfortunate circumstances to propel its strongest female leads to a new level of greatness.

With the precinct’s dads out of commission, St. Amy Santiago evokes emergency protocol herself and powers through her contractions to keep the precinct running. She puts on a pair of sweatpants, stifles back her screams, and even delivers her baby without medications — as if she hasn’t done enough.

Someone get this woman her own precinct to run, now!

Amy’s strength is framed in an incredibly empowering way and propelled forward by Rosa, who instead of matching that strength with her own, decides to embody Amy’s insecurities instead. The two friends show that women are more than capable of saving the day while allowing them to still show vulnerability.

Amy doesn’t have to be strong, but she is. Rosa doesn’t have to stay by Amy’s side, but she does. They step up to the occasion and they are there for each other. The Sleuth Sisters do it all and they do it better!

Not able to let his wife down amid an emergency, Jake steps up in big ways as an officer of the law and as a soon-to-be father.

The obstacles Jake faces along the way make his journey a particularly great experience. Bystanders like evil old Dottie, who doesn’t think twice about shooting criminals, and a drunken bachelorette party allow the comedy of these chance encounters to elevate the chaotic energy of the scene.

Samberg plays to all the parts of Jake that we love as he is forced to make his way through a maze of crime to get to his wife, amping up the desperation as the clock ticks down. He doesn’t even try to make foiling a bank heist look cool — there’s simply no time!

This hard-fought battle is capped off with an epic horse ride through Brooklyn, which Jake then brilliantly tries to boast to Amy about with her son halfway out of her body. Sorry Amy, but some things are too cool not to bring up during your son’s birth.

The birth of Amy and Jake’s son should be everything but thanks to this superb finale, this momentous event just feels like icing on the cake for Peraltiago.

The way the entire squad comes together to help their family is so pure and acts as the foundation for most of this episode’s best comedy.

The logistics of having a Nine-Nine break room baby and Charles invoking Lt. Peanutbutter’s help all make for a good laugh, especially when the horse continues to outrank Charles.

But nothing, and I do mean nothing, can match Terry and Holt’s decision to recreate the choreography of Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” to distract Amy from the pain of childbirth.

Holt and Terry’s elevator storyline feels, at first, like a deliberate ploy to let the kids of the precinct fend for themselves. Thankfully the hip-hop aspect quickly gives us a reason to buy-in.

There is a lot of butt action and a lot of laughter, made all the better by Jake’s excitement when he finds out Rosa videoed the moment for him.

Then comes time to name the baby. This is a moment that encompasses everything about the quirky characters and Jake’s unwavering obsession for Die Hard‘s John McClane that we’ve come to love and embrace.

It’s all just so perfect — and so Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce Mac Santiago-Peralta to the world. Welcome to the party, pal!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine gives us a wholesome birth story we will continue to cherish in our many re-watches.

From start to finish, this episode brilliantly wields its workplace comedy and deals with the task of demonstrating how strength can come in many different forms by embracing the chaos of its own creation.

In a shocking move, the series does not leave us with a cliff-hanger. Instead, Brooklyn Nine-Nine understands that sometimes viewers need a win too. So the ending leans into the calm that has settled amongst these co-workers and allows us to embrace Mac, name and all.

It’s the first time these characters have been allowed to leave us on their own terms, thanks to a very early series renewal, and it’s nice for once to just enjoy the moment — especially when it is so well earned.

Until next time, NINE-NINE!

Other Cool, Cool, Cool Thoughts:

• Jake organically referring to Terry and Holt as their dads and nobody correcting him is everything!
• “Am I proud or turned on? It’s both!” Jake and Amy find authority so kinky, I love it.
• Amy is pushing her child to study library sciences. Mac is going to be the most badass Librarian/Human/Genius one day.
• I’m starting a petition to make Dottie a recurring villain going forward. That woman is a stone-cold monster!
• Jake is going to be a great father but he is also going to be the father that introduces his son to Die Hard way too soon.

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

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine will return for Season 8 on NBC.

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