Sabotage is the nineteenth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's second season.
Jake has been going through a string of bad luck that culminates in him failing his drug test and ending up being suspended. Rosa and Amy are assigned to investigate Jake's claims that he's being set up. Unfortunately for Charles, Jake's suspension also means that he has to work with Scully and Hitchcock.
Also, because they were preoccupied with Jake's suspension, Terry and Holt missed Gina's latest dance performance. Holt's refusal to lie results in Gina becoming depressed and swearing off dance altogether.
This episode provides examples of:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Among other things, Hoytsman's drug-fuelled breakdown involved assault, public fornication, and touching every door-handle in a synagogue with his scrotum.
- Inverted with Peralta's run of bad luck in the Cold Open. It begins with his alarm failing, cycles through a range of other small-scale acts of misfortune such as the hot water in his apartment going out and his car running out of gas, and ends with him being suddenly informed that his routine drugs test has come back positive for cocaine and meth.
- Big Damn Heroes: Rosa and Amy save Jake when Geoffrey ties him up to the point that he can't move, banging on the ice-cream truck door and slapping cuffs on the man.
- Big "WHAT?!": Jake's response to learning that he failed his drug test.
- Black Comedy Burst: Much of the episode is darker in tone than the show usually is, since it involves Jake being held hostage by a stoned, desperate, and bitter Geoffrey Hoytsman (from "The Defense Rests") who blames him for ruining his life and intends to ruin, frame and kill him. Nevertheless, much of Geoffrey's drugged-up incompetence is played for laughs.
- Blatant Lies: Geoffrey records Jake reading a statement that is apparently trying to frame Jake for absolutely everything bad he's ever done. Even discounting the fact the "confession" clearly shows Jake is tied up, the claims include...Jake: I framed him for drug possession, I got him fired from his job, and I planted his scrotal prints on the synagogue doorknobs [...] I threatened to blow Mr. Hoytsman's head off if he didn't, quote-unquote, "really cheap out on his dad's funeral". And while he slept, I logged into Mr. Hoytsman's computer and flooded it with Thai pornography. Starts crying.
Geoffrey: 'Starts crying' is a stage direction, you imbecile!
Jake: Also, I fathered two children with Hoytsman's cleaning lady, and it was I disguised as Geoffrey who spoke against her at her political asylum hearing. [Stares at Hoytsman in horror] God!
Geoffrey: [Smugly] You did it, not me. - Both Sides Have a Point: Jake is hurt that Rosa and Amy aren't going to try and find his saboteur first, and he's right that someone was stalking him. Rosa and Amy point out that they have to do a routine investigation first to eliminate possibilities, and Jake going home to his apartment gives him time to chill and think. Jake later admits that he should have listened to them while tied up in Geoffrey's truck, while Rosa apologizes to Jake that he was right that someone was after him.
- Bound and Gagged: Happens to Jake.
- Brutal Honesty: Holt refuses to lie to Gina about seeing her dance performance, and consequently bluntly informs her that he believes her enthusiasm for dance is merely a hobby.
- Call-Back: Geoffrey Hoytsman from "The Defense Rests" returns, with a grudge.
- Chekhov's Gag: Jake's investigation of his case consists of him taking selfies in different locations and sending them to Amy and Rosa. Hours of not hearing from Jake make Amy and Rosa look over Jake's selfies which leads them to Hoytsman's truck, rescuing Jake.
- Comically Missing the Point: Geoffrey Hoytsman, when moaning about how his life has imploded, rues that he's gone from being a successful and well-respected lawyer to a shunned and lonely failure living in an ice-cream truck who's lost everything and everyone he valued. Jake says that he knows how Geoffrey feels:Geoffrey: You've only lived in an ice-cream truck for part of one day! How could you possibly know?!
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: When he's being arrested by Amy and Rosa, Hoytsman tries to invoke the inverse of this:Hoytsman: [Whining] Don't hurt me! I'm someone's little boy!
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Jake's exciting escape from Hoytsman's clutches is scuttled when he ends up flat on his back in the street, unable to return the chair he's strapped into back to an upright position.Jake: I can't move! I'm turtling! I'm turtling!
Geoffrey: Nice try, Jake! Get up!
Jake: ... I can't.
Geoffrey: [Sheepish] Oh... yeah, okay. My bad. - From Bad to Worse: Jake's week starts out with him oversleeping because his power went out and ends with him under investigation for drug use.
- Getting arrested for cocaine usage in "The Defense Rests" sent Geoffrey Hoytsman's life on a downward spiral, albeit one mainly of his own making. While Jake helped him out by getting him sentenced to forty hours of community service, Hoytsman's ill-advised attempt to do all forty hours at once led to a drug binge which in turn led to a very public psychotic meltdown which cost him his job, his family and friends, and his home.
- Funny Background Event: Terry can be seen reacting in annoyance when Holt refers to him as a "bunny-buying coward" in his conversation at the end with Gina.
- Hope Spot: Jake has one when Hoytsman momentarily goes off-topic and forgets that he was going to kill Jake. And then Jake accidentally reminds him...
- Hypocritical Humor: Jake confidently asserts he can prove his car's gas has been tampered with because he keeps all his receipts "like a mature adult person". Among his recent purchases are a laser-tag session, wheely-shoes and a remote control monster truck.
- Idiot Ball: Geoffrey's plunge deeper into drug addiction hasn't helped his intelligence any.Geoffrey: It sounds like you're having a breakthrough. You should act on this. You still have time to make it right.
Jake: Really? You're not gonna kill me?
Geoffrey: [Chuckles] Oh geez, I totally forgot! Thanks for reminding me, of course I'm gonna kill you. Drugs make me say such silly things! Drugs are so silly. Ooh! I'm gonna do some right now. - Immediate Self-Contradiction: Jake claims not to know why he has trust issues, then adds that it's probably to do with his dad abandoning him and he really ought to work on it in therapy. But hey, who has a spare hour every fortnight?
- Insult Backfire: Regarding the clothes Jake borrowed from his neighbor:Rosa: You never told us Sinbad lives in your building.
Jake: If Sinbad lived in my building I would have a tattoo on my forehead that says "Sinbad lives in my building". - Jerkass: Among Hoytsman's various transgressions are "really cheaping out" on his dad's funeral and fathering two kids with his cleaning lady only to sabotage her political asylum hearing.
- Knight of Cerebus: By the standards of this show, at least. Geoffrey Hoytsman's appearance signposts the show going more into Black Comedy.
- Mood-Swinger: Geoffrey Hoytsman veers wildly between affability, threatening hostility, and forgetfulness throughout the episode. It probably has something to do with the massive cocktail of drugs he's likely got swimming through his system.
- Mood Whiplash: The second half of the episode is noticeably darker than the first half and the sub-plots surrounding it.
- Never My Fault: Geoffrey blames Jake for his life falling apart, whereas a more impartial look at Geoffrey's problems would suggest his massive drug addictions and failure to take responsibility for them are more at fault. Displayed in a scene where Geoffrey forces Jake to read a statement accepting blame not just for getting Geoffrey fired for drug use, but for what appears to be every single bad thing Geoffrey has ever done in his life.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Played with. Geoffrey certainly blames Jake arresting him for possession of cocaine for his life subsequently going down the toilet, but while it can be argued that this technically was the inciting incident, as Jake himself points out he actually did Geoffrey a favour in convincing the prosecutors and judge to go for community service instead of jail time. Geoffrey's eventual downfall was actually caused by his decision to OD on cocaine and meth to try and get all forty hours done in one go.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Scully and Hitchcock are actually competent detectives. But they believe their glory days are behind them and all they want to do now is sit around the office until they retire. That they seem to believe that displaying the minimum amount of competence required to do their jobs makes them super-cops suggests that the stupidity isn't entirely an act, however.Hitchcock: All that investigating was exhausting! Besides, we did our share of that in the 70s and 80s. Now we like to do paperwork in our comfy chairs.
Scully: If we're away from our desks for too long they'll update our computers and we'll lose Minesweeper. So please don't tell anyone about the amazing work we did today.
Charles: I never said amazing. You just kinda did your jobs.
Hitchcock: There you go. [Winks]
Charles: No. Really. I mean you also broke a window!
Scully: Now you get it. - Paying in Coins: Jake once paid a power bill with Canadian pennies.
- Pet the Dog: Holt decides that Jake deserves to act out his suspension fantasy and uses his own badge and gun to act out the standard reinstatement scene from so many cop shows and movies.
- Holt also realizes that dancing is important to Gina so he hires her to dance at a precinct event.
- Reading the Stage Directions Out Loud: Jake does this when reading out his 'confession' for framing Hoytsman ("Starts crying.") In his defense, he's no doubt a bit unnerved by the drugged-up gun-toting lunatic holding him hostage, and from the looks of things (and Hoytsman) the cue-cards he's reading from aren't enormously well-written to begin with.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Scully and Hitchcock seem to view their basic competency as evidence that they're super-cops.
- Smug Snake: Hoytsman is incredibly smug for a drug-addled ex-lawyer who lives in a beat-up ice-cream truck and doesn't appear to have washed in a good long while.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When informed he's on suspension and will have to turn in his badge, Peralta wants to go into Holt's office so that he can dramatically slam his gun and badge down on his desk while yelling that the system stinks. Instead, Holt informs him of the lengthy bureaucratic procedures that are actually required for him to do so.Peralta: The system stinks! [Sets off to begin the lengthy bureaucratic procedures to turn in his badge]
- Tempting Fate: Jake confidently asserts that his run of bad luck is over when he gets to work early after a week of unfortunate delays. Holt then informs him that his drug test located traces of cocaine and meth in his urine.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- This is how Geoffrey is able to kidnap Jake. Jake hitches a ride in Amy's car and gets out at a random place in New York when he refuses to let her drive him home, and she won't let him tag along. Then he realizes he has no idea where he is, ergo his coworkers don't know either.
- Rather than be grateful for Jake's leniency over his original drug charges or trying to get himself clean, Hoytsman decided to try and complete 40 hours of community service in one go and snorted a whole bunch of cocaine for energy.
Hoytsman: For energy, I did waaay too much cocaine and meth...went on a prolonged psychotic episode involving assault, public fornication, and apparently the touching of my scrotum on every doorknob in a synagogue. - Turn in Your Badge: Jake wants to do this in Holt's office but Holt tells him that the actual procedure involves Jake filling out several forms and handing in his gun and badge to a property clerk.
- Unusual Dysphemism: When Hoytsman is explaining exactly why he's based out of a beaten-up ice-cream truck:Geoffrey: An ex-client lent me this truck. He likes me because I got him off on a strangle-and-mangle.
Jake: Ew! You have a phrase for that?!
Geoffrey: I used to when I was an awesome lawyer! Now I'm just another idiot living in an ice-cream truck. - Wham Line: 3 of them!Holt: Peralta, you failed your drug test. There were traces of cocaine and methamphetamines found in your urine.Hoytsman: (points a gun at Jake) Hello, Peralta!Jake: (reading the cue cards Hoytsman forced him to read) "...which is why I have decided to take my own life—" Wait! No! I didn't decide that!
