The final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is here and it physically hurts to take in the fact that it will be over after this one. The thing with sitcoms are that they do not have a continuous storyline. So it is not like you are gripped to know what happens next.

It is more of comfort and entertainment where every episode presents us with a glimpse into the lives of the main characters. Brooklyn Nine-Nine takes the traditional sitcom format and adds an important factor to it: the educative factor.

While I can’t appreciate how progressive, socially aware, and educative the show is, the fact that it does become a little tiresome at times cannot be denied IMO. Season 8 is no different, and it begins by sparking an important conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and the discourse around it.

Quick Review

If you’re an OG fan, you know what I mean when I say Season 8 is no different from the earlier seven seasons of the sitcom. But this time, several details are altered to keep the world of the sitcom at par with the things happening in reality.

We see our beloved characters wearing masks for a while on screen, there are direct references to police brutality and the murder of George Floyd which took the US in storms and sparked off the Black Lives Matter movement.

I do not have much to complain about the writing. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has always been known for its witty writing and very natural, feel-good performances by the cast. The performance of the cast is consistent and the writing has its fair share of comic elements.

But to the large part, the Season 8 premiere makes it clear that this season will be more educative than the earlier seasons. While that is something I appreciate, I felt that the premiere felt a little preachy and more like a social commentary at times.

As a show designed to provide comic relief, it does get a little too politically correct at times and it seems a little forced. It is as though it is more important to be politically correct than to give us some witty writing and an enjoyable episode.

I won’t deny that this is something I have felt while watching the earlier seasons as well. While I am a big fan and would not miss the premiere for anything, it also gradually becomes a little tiresome when the show becomes social commentary with a line or two of comic relief.

Is It Worth Watching?

If you have stuck through seven seasons and seen the 99^th precinct gang grow, then of course it is worth watching for you. If political correctness is completely nonnegotiable for you in a work of art, then Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the show for you.

I would very objectively highly recommend it, because of the show’s outstanding ability to the genre of comedy so sensitive for the audience.

One Last Ride | Official Trailer | Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I do not sensitive in the sense that it portrays emotions but more in the sense that it is extremely socially aware and sensitive about the portrayal of communities such as the LGBTQ community or the Blacks.

Besides, if you want to see some brilliant comedy and feel-good stuff while relaxing, definitely give the premiere and the following episode a watch.

Plot

The Season 8 premiere begins with Amy rejoining the force after her maternity leave. It is revealed that Rosa has quit her job at the 99^th precinct as a cop and decided to become a private investigator because the police brutality of the George Floyd incident affected her deeply.

After quitting, Rosa takes up a case dealing with racial abuse and profiling and Jake decides to help her out because he happens to know the captain of the district in which Rosa is working in. However, his main aim is to reinstil the belief that there still exists the few “the good ones” in the system and making Rosa realize it.

Mansplaining? You could call it that.

Amy on the other hand is sad because apparently Captain Holt attempted to do small talk with her and those are just for strangers. Being a stranger to Holt is something Santiago cannot bear. Knowing her personality, we all know she will be on her way to win over Holt again and that is exactly what she does.

Amy tries everything to bring back “Raymy”, a collective name for Raymond and Amy. Amy’s efforts, though included to mainly bring comic relief, bring out one pretty important plotline: Raymond and his longtime husband Kevin is separated.

Episode 2 focuses on the gang trying to bring Kevin and Raymond back together because they believe Raymond is in pain because of the separation. The gang churns out a plan to get them to a suburb house at the same time, hoping that spending time together would solve their misunderstandings.

Fortunately, though Holt is upset at first, the plan does do some good to the Kevin-Holt relationship and they decide to go for couples counseling. Meanwhile, Boyle claims he can take care of babies way better than Amy and takes over looking after Mac.

Again a track to provide some comic relief, Boyle ends up locking Mac in a room accidentally and Amy rescues him. The second episode is much more entertaining and less preachy than the first one in my opinion.

I. Cast and Characters

The cast comprises of our familiar faces, such as Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta, Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords, Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago, and Andre Braugher as Raymond Holt.

Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker), and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller) also play pivotal roles as usual.

Final Thoughts And Grade

Brooklyn Nine Nine’s final season premiere provided a serious insight into issues such as racial abuse and police brutality. For a show which revolves around cops, it is a pretty important step. The premiere is quite serious in nature as well.

But the social commentary does seem a little preachy and forced at times and political correctness seems to be the priority than good writing, which does disappoint. But the second episode picks up the pace quite well and delivers the much-needed comic relief with witty writing and some feel-good moments.

About Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an American police procedural comedy television series created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur.

The show stars Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta, Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords, Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago, Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle, Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti, Andre Braugher as Captain Holt, Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock, and Joel McKinnon Miller as Norm Scully.

Braugher has been nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award and has twice won the Critics’ Choice Television Award. The show has also received a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series portrayal of LGBTQ+ people.

The series revolves around Jake Peralta, a talented but immature NYPD detective in Brooklyn’s fictional 99th Precinct, who often comes into conflict with his commanding officer, the serious and stern Captain Raymond Holt.