Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: The Set Up (Season 8 Episode 6)
Jake Peralta is many things. He’s a feminist. He’s a lover of Taylor Swift music. He’s willing to go above and beyond to solve cases — but does that make him one of the good ones?
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 8 Episode 6, “The Set Up,” seeks to expose a flaw in its own design by putting our titular “good guy” protagonist in the hot seat.
This episode explores the issues of these typical Jake-led cases where he defies orders from his Captain to solve the latest case. When his theory crumbles, we’re once again forced to face the truth of our favorite detective.
When Brooklyn Nine-Nine premiered in 2013, Jake was introduced as a disobedient but capable detective. Captain Holt eventually taught him to be a smarter, more obedient cop. Yet, Jake has continued to disobeyed orders and he often ignores authority when he believes he can solve a case.
This has generally worked in this show’s favor, producing crazier outcomes as Jake winds up in witness protection and then jail when his recklessness backfires.
This rogue cop act is one many of us have rooted for because Jake’s inability to follow the rules of the law has been justified by his heroic ability to catch the bad guy. His antics have, from a comedy standpoint, provided some high-class hilarity.
Now this series is demonstrating an awareness that narrative comes from a place of privilege; where cops like Jake can be an exception to the rule because they believe they’re doing what’s right and because it makes for good TV.
So what happens when Jake’s idea of justice hurts an innocent man? Pure Brooklyn Nine-Nine brilliance happens, that’s what.
By doing away with Jake’s intriguing “set up” theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine sacrifices what had the potential to be more of the same successful formula. It’s a crucial acknowledgment that this show has contributed to the very problems its final season is tackling.
After all, you can’t tackle police reform without first addressing Jake Peralta’s problematic behavior. You can’t have Amy campaigning to get dangerous arrest-hungry cops off the street when her husband is out terrorizing those very streets.
The choice to root this season’s greater themes of police reform in Jake’s series arc is a wicked move because it brings everything full circle from the pilot episode.
Baugher once again commands the episode’s closing moments with a powerful speech and one very Huffy Holt.
His comments on cops becoming so untouchable, people flee in fear is exactly the statement this episode requires. Holt’s refusal to let Jake off the hook after the detective begs to be suspended is a stellar commentary on their power dynamics.
What Jake did was uncool, uncool, uncool but this episode handles his actions with complete professionalism.
This doesn’t necessarily make “The Set Up” a perfect episode.
It’s certainly a high-functioning installment and the kind of personal character study we’re lucky to see from a sitcom tackling its own problematic nature.
However, in the attempts to keep us in the dark as Jake guides us through his elaborate theories, this episode sabotages its own momentum. It’s not a mystery that Jake’s actions, driven by years of idealizing reckless movie cops, are leading him into trouble.
Yet Brooklyn Nine-Nine insists on leading us blindly into this investigation, making a mystery out of nothing so it can have that triumphant “Sike, he was just being a bad cop” moment, instead of leaning into the build-up.
I love this show for its ability to structure every episode as one big mystery but this time it works against the big reveal. If the episode had been less concerned with deploying smoke and more concerned with setup, this concept would be a knockout.
One may question how Charles and Terry continuously find themselves sharing the most pointless storylines, but when it comes to Rosa and Amy, the Sleuth Sisters do not disappoint.
Not only is nine-drink Amy super into discussing the Babysitters Club, but the double-digit drinks lead to British-talking Amy. We even get a not-so-subtle clothes switcheroo between these plastered sisters — what a concept!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine seems to have cracked the code to solving this unbeatable case.
It’s not just about being a mouthpiece for police reform, it’s about integrating those issues into the lives of these established characters in ways that shift the focus of their narrative.
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs back-to-back episodes Thursdays at 8/9c on NBC.
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Alicia Gilstorf
Alicia is a Rotten Tomatoes Certified Critic and a Critics Choice Association member. She credits her passion for TV to workplace sitcoms, paranormal dramedies, and coming-of-age stories. In her free time, Alicia loves to curl up with a good book and lose herself in a cozy game. Keep a lookout for her coverage of Ghosts. You can also find her work on Eulalie Magazine and Cool Girl Critiques. Follow Alicia on social media: @aliciagilstorf