NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Episode 6.03 "The Tattler"
Jake and Gina attend their 20th high school reunion. Back at the Nine-Nine, Charles helps Rosa with her love life.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. Premieres and finales may feature longer reviews. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
"The Tattler" was written by David Phillips and directed by Jennifer Arnold
Ahead of the comedy's sixth season debut, Chelsea Peretti announced that she would be leaving the cast at some point this season. And now, it seems like the show is already laying the framework for her exit in the third episode. Gina has long been a very amusing and original character. Her comedic voice will be severely missed amongst the ensemble. This show simply has one of the best casts who can make any silly storyline work. The main plot here features Jake and Gina attending their 20th high school reunion. It affords the show the opportunity to tell a bunch of '90s based humor while still being very amused by the characters in this situation. It even features an investigation that needs to be solved as well. Sure, Jake trying to figure out who the tattler actually was isn't a very complex investigation. It seemed a little too obvious the moment that Gina said that Jake just copied her look and started becoming more popular because of it. It's also interesting how this is the first time Jake has even mentioned that his senior year of high school didn't go so well. He was expecting to return for this reunion and be embraced in a different way. That highlights the true insecurities that come out of these reunions. Sure, they can be a time for everyone to come together once more and catch up. But it's also just a time to reminisce about everything that happened even if it seems incredibly pointless now. Jake obsesses over this because he's clearly not over how being the tattler destroyed his reputation. Of course, Amy is still very attracted to him. She sees him as having done the right thing. She even likes that he had perfect attendance. But it's ultimately Gina who holds all of the answers. She tattled in order to protect Jake from falling down the wrong path. Everything worked out for him despite this setback in high school. And now, Jake feels the need to extend the favor to Gina. He wants her to know that she is still capable of doing everything she wants to accomplish. She shouldn't limit herself just because she's a mom and working at the Nine-Nine. In fact, she shouldn't let the precinct hold her back from achieving her dreams. At first, it seems like she is going to pursue some brilliant idea in Silicon Valley. She talks about an app for toddlers to meet up so that parents have less to worry about when it comes to making new parenting friends. And yet, that's not a real offer. She is just lying about her expertise. However, it still strikes some inspiration. It makes everyone aware that Gina has the potential to do more with her life and the precinct may not be the best place for her anymore. As such, she concludes the episode with that clarity and the ambition to do something about it. She's not gone just yet. But it's definitely on the horizon. Meanwhile, the two subplots are both incredibly silly but feature some solid line readings from the ensemble. It's always great whenever Rosa shares some details about her personal life. Sure, it's unfortunate that things didn't work out with Alicia - likely due to Gina Rodriguez's busy schedule. However, things are still going well for Rosa even though she wishes to keep them private. And finally, Holt and Terry actually find themselves working with Hitchcock and Scully to solve an incredibly mundane and silly puzzle on a radio show. They don't ultimately succeed. But it does prove that the precinct can still be home to some very simple fun.
