Recap / Brooklyn Nine-Nine S2E10 "The Pontiac Bandit Returns"

"The Pontiac Bandit Returns" is the tenth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's second season.

After finding and catching Doug Judy, the Pontiac Bandit, Jake and Rosa plan on throwing the book at him, until he promises to give them the head of the Giggle Pig ring. Meanwhile, Amy's attempt at making Holt a not-technically-a-gift leads her to discover a problem with one of his old solves, and Charles and Gina are worried about their parents' developing relationship.

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Tropes:

• An Ass-Kicking Christmas: Jake Peralta is undercover, dressed as Santa on a stakeout. Suddenly, his nemesis Doug Judy appears and Jake chases him in the very impractical costume. He and his partner Rosa Diaz search for him in a lot where they sell Christmas trees. After Jake gets him, they knock down a heater and some of the trees immediately catch fire. Jake, happy to have caught Judy & still dressed as Santa, sees a couple of kids that happen to be in the lot and yells at them: "Take a good look, kids. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE NAUGHTY!" With massive fire in the background.
• Batman Gambit: Yes, Doug Judy manages to outplay everybody once again, despite Jake keeping a constant eye on him the entire time.
• Calling Your Attacks: Judy, attempting to escape Peralta:
  Doug: Onion ring attack!
• Character Development: In Doug Judy's debut, Rosa was mad at Jake for trusting Doug Judy over her. Here, Jake is both determined to make it up to her and to learn from his mistakes when bringing in Doug Judy and using him to get the Giggle Pig honcho. Here, despite wanting Doug Judy's head, he follows Rosa's lead because he knows how important this is to Rosa, Holt, and the Nine-Nine. He goes way out of his comfort zone. As a result, Rosa goes over to sincerely thank Jake, who is Drowning My Sorrows, because he ended up saving the Task Force. Jake appreciates it while showing Rosa the So Long, Suckers! video that Doug Judy sent. Rosa promises that she'll help catch him, to return the favor.
• Christmas Episode: Jake is dressed as Santa on a stakeout. Amy is making Captain Holt a scrapbook, since he forbid any gifts, but defined gifts as anything to spend money on. Amy discovers there is a problem with one of his cases. Gina and Charles worry over their parents' fling is developing into a serious relationship because they find out the two of them are exchanging gifts.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Rather than join in one the Nine-Nine toast, Jake is taking shots while watching Doug Judy's So Long, Suckers! video at the bar for hints.
• Dynamic Entry: Doug Judy's escape comes courtesy of a garbage truck that crashes through the drug lab's door.
• Exact Words: Amy asks Holt what constitutes a gift, and he answers "anything that is bought". So Amy makes him a scrapbook, thus making it not a gift by Holt's definition.
• Facepalm: Amy covers her forehead and eyes with her hand when she talks with Terry about finding a mistake in one of Holt's old cases. It's her reaction to his snark about Holt being a laid-back guy who delights in having his mistakes exposed.
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: A variation. Either Jake takes in Doug Judy, the man after whom he's been chasing for the better part of a decade, or Tito Ruiz, the head of the Giggle Pig ring on which the reputations of Rosa, Holt, and the entire Nine-Nine rests. Rosa sincerely thanks him for getting Tito, knowing how hard it was for him.
• Freudian Slip: Once Doug Judy is on Peralta's mind, Judy's name pretty much becomes every other word out of his mouth.
  Jake: You have the right to remain Doug Judy. Anything you Doug or Judy can be used against you in a Doug of Judy. Sorry, I’m preoccupied by someone who will remain nameless. I’ll start over.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Gina excuses herself from the dinner with her mother and Boyle's dad, nicks a bottle of wine off a nearby diner's table, and exits the scene chugging.
• Kids Play Matchmaker: Inverted: Boyle and Gina are attempting to break up their parents.
• Loophole Abuse: Since Holt defines a gift as something that was bought, Amy decides to make him a scrapbook.
  • She once tried to exploit another loophole by trying to give him a racquet she claimed to have bought but never uses, but Holt easily saw through her excuse.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the process of capturing Doug Judy in the cold opening, Jake sets fire to a row of Christmas trees and terrifies a group of children while celebrating the collar.
• Present Peeking:
  • Gina and Charles find and open early a gift that's for Gina's mom from Charles's dad in order to find out about their relationship. Neither of them wants them to be serious.
    Gina: We need to figure out what is in this horrible package, so we can determine where they're at in their relationship.
  • Gina says she peeks at presents all the time to practise her reactions.
    Gina: I always open my gifts in advance, so I can rehearse my reactions and nail those Christmas-morning candids.
• Properly Paranoid: Jake thinks that Doug Judy might injure him then escape. Jake takes away the items that he thinks could cause injury and searches a lobster for any weapons. Problem was that Doug Judy did use the lobster: as a signal to the waiter to follow them with a garbage truck.
  Doug: How am I supposed to escape using a lobster?
  Jake: Squeeze the lemon in my eyes, so I can't see, stab me in the jugular with the claw, then shove the tail down my throat so I can't scream for help.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Jake thinks that the lobster was part of Doug Judy's plan. He incorrectly assumed it was a murder weapon. It turns out that he was right about the lobster being important: it was to signal the waiter, who was one of Doug's friends, to follow with a garbage truck.
• Sequel Episode: To "Pontiac Bandit". Jake's nemesis Doug Judy appears again, and once again, he gets a deal for reduced sentence in exchange for leading them to a bigger criminal.
• When She Smiles: For the second episode in a row, Rosa's storyline ends with her smiling, but this time it's a giant, sunny smile.
  Rosa: It means so much, it's been so stressful and it went so well! Seriously look at me, I can not stop smiling. How do people do this with their faces?

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