NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Episode 7.02 "Captain Kim"
A new captain at the Nine-Nine attempts to ingratiate herself with Jake and the squad by inviting them over to her house for a dinner party.
In 2019, the television industry aired 532 scripted shows across numerous outlets. The way people consume content now is different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, it's less necessary to provide ample coverage of each episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site provides shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
"Captain Kim" was written by Carol Kolb and directed by Luke Del Tredici
The detectives at the Nine-Nine have gotten incredibly territorial with their precinct. This isn't the first time that Holt has been removed from his post as captain. The story continually states that he will be a patrol officer for a year. It should be fascinating to see if the show actually commits to that path for the entire season. The premiere showed how that could dramatically shift up the storytelling potential. This episode states that it doesn't have to change too much though. He can still routinely hang out with his friends at the precinct and engage in the various hijinks with them. They still respect him no matter what. That hasn't changed even though he is dealing with pigeons outside of takedown scenes instead of commanding the missions. That may be beneath him overall but it's very amusing to watch. He has been rendered powerless. And yet, he is still a man willing to fling himself down a flight of stairs out of rage in order to maintain a sense of order in the precinct he loves so much. That takes conviction and commitment. And again, it's stated that the detectives have run off every new captain who has come in to fill the void. It has become so routine that Rosa just takes most of the episode off. That is strange. She is featured in the cold open. But then, she disappears because she doesn't want to know any more personal details about the captain who will be replaced quickly thereafter. Instead, Charles is the one who embodies her spirit by taking overall as the badass of the Nine-Nine. That is incredibly silly but it's also startling just how massive the makeover of his character is through the sheer addition of this jacket. It gives him a newfound confidence. He is no longer saying ridiculous things that could easily be misconstrued as sexual innuendos. It may be short-lived because he is inherently good-natured no matter what. He doesn't want to disrupt his life too much. But that's basically the extent of his story. The main focus of this episode is delving into what life is like for a captain who comes into the Nine-Nine wanting to do everything right because she has respect for the people here only to still be forced out because of their behavior. That makes sense because Jake and company are a very specific bunch of people. They can easily alienate those who don't see life on the job the same way they do. That's difficult. They don't want to embrace this kind of change. This episode suggests that they may not have to. Jake spends the episode trying to figure out what personal connection Captain Kim must have to Wuntch. He cynically believes that Wuntch is purposefully sending all of the worse candidates to this job. In this case though, Kim is in awe of what Holt has accomplished in his career and the work he has done in this precinct. It's only after getting to know the people that she wants to run far away. She is incredibly accommodating too. Jake is inherently distrustful though. He doesn't believe any of it. He doesn't come off well in this episode at all. That is unflattering in a potentially destructive way. It could be a fun recurring joke this season that no captain is ever capable of filling the role that Holt has left behind. He has always managed to find a way back to this position. And yet, the detectives shouldn't be openly antagonistic to anyone who comes into the job. They were once incredibly supportive of Holt in his run to be the next police commissioner. That would have dramatically changed their lives. Amy and Terry going out for promotions runs that same risk but the show has found creative ways to keep them at the Nine-Nine. Holt is still in this environment. He is still part of the fun. A new captain doesn't have to change things dramatically. But the show is now stating that it will be a thing of importance. The easy solution may just be to have Terry step into that role on a temporary basis. There are no longterm prospects in this job at the moment. It's simply the administration filling time until Holt returns. That doesn't make it entirely entertaining or worthy of spending a lot of time thinking about though. That's awkward and makes some of the character beats a little more difficult to swallow here.
