Recap / Brooklyn Nine Nine S 3 E 02 The Funeral

"The Funeral" is the second episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's third season.

All is not well at the Nine-Nine. On top of preparing for the funeral of their previous new captain, their current new captain — the Vulture — has quickly proven himself insufferable. When an attempt by Jake to get him to tone things down backfires, the Vulture hits Jake with an ultimatum — either dump Amy, or be demoted back to a beat cop.

Concurrently, Holt — having returned to the Nine-Nine for the funeral — attempts to cope with the loss of his previous command, and Charles prepares for an illicit rendezvous with a fellow officer at the funeral, much to Rosa and Gina's concern.

Also, Terry's favorite mango yogurt got discontinued.

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Provides examples of:

• Aroused by Their Voice: Jake does an impression of Captain Holt who has a deep, sonorous voice. Amy gets super turned on.
  Jake: He'll be all: [deep voice with pauses and emphases] "Vulture, I must INSIST that you DESIST."
  Amy: [excited] I really think this is going to work. [lowers her voice] Also, if you ever want to bust out that Holt impression at home, I'd be okay with that. [gives him a look]
  Jake: [widens eyes] Oh, okay. Duly noted. Super disturbing, but I'm definitely going to do it.
• Black Comedy: Scully's devastated because his wife left him. Terry thinks that he's nailing the perfect sad face.
  Terry: Scully, you're nailing it!
  Scully: My wife just texted me; she's leaving me.
  Terry: Good! Use that!
• Call-Back: As in Season 1's The Party, Terry takes it upon himself to coach his detectives on how to behave appropriately in public.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Terry. After one drink, he starts dancing like crazy.
  Terry: My tolerance has really changed since I had kids!
• Costume Inertia: Once again, Holt's badge and rank insignia don't match. Other characters still address him as "Captain" despite the fact that he's actually been promoted to Deputy Inspector, though that's reasonable given they still basically consider him their captain.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Captain Holt and Lt. Jeffords drink before the funeral... but not because of the deceased Captain Dozerman. Holt has just realized he's not coming back to Nine-Nine and feels — PAIN; Terry — the same, plus he has troubles getting his detectives in line, and his favourite mango yogurt got discontinued. And Terry loves yogurt.
• Despair Speech: Holt gives one to the NYPD to never love things and people or get too close to them. Terry follows up complaining that his favorite mango yogurt got discontinued.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The Vulture is a boorish oaf, but even he draws the line at farting in a church. "It's God's house."
• The "Fun" in "Funeral": In between Jake and Amy trying to get blackmail material on the Vulture, Charles's attempted affair with Lt. Singh, and Holt and Terry drowning their sorrows at the bar, the members of the Nine-Nine do not acquit themselves well at the funeral or the wake. These various shenanigans eventually lead to Jake and Amy being embroiled in a teeth-grindingly awkward conversation with Captain Dozerman's widow, Charles ranting about vegans in front of a packed church, Holt delivering a very bitter and downtrodden eulogy at the bar and Terry taking over to complain about his favorite mango yogurt being discontinued.
• Hidden Depths: Captain Dozerman turns out to have had a fondness for prostitute-orgies disguised as fishing trips with his buddies.
• Jerkass: In addition to being a general douchebag, the Vulture orders Jake to break up with Amy and taunts Captain Holt over both taking over his precinct and Holt's promotion to the drudgery of the PR department out of nothing more than spite in both cases. He also shows himself to be racist as when he hears Amy can speak Spanish he asks her to fire his housekeeper for him...said housekeeper turns out to be Polish implying the Vulture couldn't tell the two cultures apart.
• Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: The final straw that causes Charles to break off his tryst with Lt. Singh? She's a vegan.
• Multitasked Conversation: Jake disguises a romantic message to Amy about how he's not willing to give up on their burgeoning relationship even if the Vulture demotes him as a eulogy for Captain Dozerman. This results in some mixed messages.
  Jake: Captain Dozerman and I weren't together very long. In fact, as co-workers our relationship was only six days. But that's not nothing. It was long enough for me to know that we had something special. And sure, there may be obstacles, him... having passed away, for example. But I'm not giving up on us. And I don't care if I get demoted. I just... care about being with you... Captain Dozerman. An adult man. Who's passed into the netherworld.
• Noodle Incident: According to Jake, Scully's butt has gotten the 99 in trouble more than once.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Terry notes that Holt's in a bad place when he didn't sniff the bouquet of his drink, or even care that it's not in the proper glass.
    (Holt drinks down a full glass of wine)
    Jeffords: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down sir! You didn't even stop and sniff the bouquet! You always sniff the bouquet.
    Holt: Maybe the old Holt did, but the new Holt chugs Beaujolais from a burgundy glass without a care. Oh, it's a Sauternes glass. Look, heh, the alcohol has rendered me a simpleton.
  • Gina also notes Holt let her choose the music on their drive to the funeral, which she concludes means he’s “given up on life.”
• Patrick Stewart Speech: Peralta's "counter-toast" to Holt's Despair Speech, in which he tells Amy that he's not going to give up on their relationship no matter how hard it gets as a veiled eulogy for Captain Dozerman.
  Jake: Yeah, it pretty much sucked. But still was somehow the best of the three toasts.
• Pocket Dial: Scully's pocket-dialing the Vulture is how the former knows that Jake only pretends to be friendly.
  Jake: So, what, you bugged the briefing room?
  The Vulture: No, Scully butt-dialed me yesterday and he still hasn't hung up.
• Rapid-Fire Interrupting: A bagpipe interrupts Jake every time he tries to speak to the Vulture.
• Sadistic Choice: The Vulture gives Jake one: either give up his relationship with Amy or get demoted.
• Serious Business: Terry's favourite mango yogurt being discontinued is clearly a source of some considerable distress to him.
• Shout-Out: One-drink Terry is doing the Carlton Dance.
• Slave to PR: Holt takes advantage of the Vulture's penchant for being in the spotlight to make him back off from the Sadistic Choice he gave Jake.

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