Jake and Terry, enjoying a New York public defenders function (a.k.a Chamber of Snakes)
The Defense Rests is the fourteenth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's second season.Jake and Sophia hit a rough patch because their relationship is preventing her from getting any good cases at work. While Sophia wants to take a break, Jake is determined to work things out and sets out to charm Sophia's boss with Terry's help. Unfortunately, while things start off well, Sophia's boss turns out to have secrets which will strain their relationship even further.
Deputy Chief Wuntch comes to Captain Holt to ask for his recommendation so that she can become Boston's Chief of Police. Holt turns to Rosa for counsel as he grapples with whether he should help his mortal enemy or give into his desire to torpedo her career.
Also, Gina is lashing out at Charles because of their parents' ongoing romance so Amy steps in to utilize her conflict resolution skills.
This episode provides examples of:
- Analogy Backfire: Jake makes the standard Romeo and Juliet comparison to his relationship with Sophia.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The flashbacks of public defense lawyers being terrible human beings to Jake includes a defense lawyer calling him incompetent, another calling him an idiot, and another one offering him a mint.Jake: I could have choked on that mint! Even the nice ones are psychopaths!
- Artistic License – Law: Sophia declares the she is going to be the defense lawyer for Geoffrey despite the conflict of interest since her boyfriend arrested him.
- Batman Gambit: Wuntch pulls yet another one on Holt, knowing that's he'd be too honorable to give her a bad recommendation no matter how tempted he may be to destroy her career. She was actually using the Boston PD's interest in her to leverage for a promotion in the NYPD.
- Being Good Sucks:
- Jake arrests Sophia's boss on seeing him snorting cocaine. He tries to apologize to Sophia, who says he's too much of a cop for her.
- Holt, after receiving advice from Terry and Rosa, gives Wuntch a good recommendation because Rosa tells him that revenge always backfires. He settles for giving her tickets to Wicked in Boston as part of their volleying insults. Wuntch sincerely thanks him...because she used the Boston job to get a promotion in the NYPD.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sophia dumps Jake and Wuntch reveals that she manipulated Holt into ensuring she received a promotion within the NYPD and so will both remain in New York and have further authority over him. But Gina (reluctantly) consents to Lynn Boyle marrying her mother.
- Blatant Lies: Jake points out that Geoffrey still has cocaine on his clothes. Geoffrey denies that it's true and tries to get rid of the evidence in front of Jake and Terry.Jake: There's cocaine on his collar right now.
Geoffrey: Oh! Not anymore! [Snorts] Whoo!
Terry: You're really not reading the vibe right at all. - Brutal Honesty: Lynn Boyle admits that he considers meeting Darlene Linetti to be a better thing to happen to him than the birth of his son.Charles: It's okay, Dad. You did what you had to do.
- Burn the Witch!: Invoked by Holt in one of his usual exchanges with Wuntch.Wuntch: I'm a frontrunner for a job in the Boston P.D.
Holt: Boston? But it's so close to Salem. You do know what they do to witches up there? - "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Discussed and subverted. Jake admits that if he had listened to Sophia to give her space, not gone to the party, or not followed Geoffrey to the bathroom, then she wouldn't have broken up with him. Terry points out he got a drug addict off the streets and quite possibly removed him from his position of influence at a law firm.
- Curse Cut Short: When Holt discovers he's been played by Wuntch, he goes "What... the—" before cutting to the next scene.
- Derailing Love Interests: Sophia goes from an Understanding Girlfriend who took it well that her partner was in love with a coworker to a Career Versus Man.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Rosa got her childhood nemesis Carla Bianci suspended from school in the second grade because the other girl used to "hoard the good markers". Deconstructed however, since even Rosa admits that it ultimately wasn't worth it; when Carla returned from suspension she was naturally in the mood for vengeance and made Rosa's life miserable for the next ten years.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Both Jake and Holt are reduced to this by the end of the episode and, in Holt's words, elect to get "soused".Jake: [Glumly] My lady left me.
Holt: My lady stayed. - Epic Fail: Hoytsman bets Jake he can't take a champagne glass of a pile without knocking it over, Jake smugly tells him he didn't tell him he couldn't take the one of the top, then it falls over anyway.
- Forced Kiss: Wuntch gives one to Holt, his response is the closest thing he can get to a Big "WHAT?!".
- The Gambling Addict: Jake deduces that Geoffrey Hoytsman, Sophia's boss, likes to gamble based on his frequent trips to Atlantic City, and the two end up bonding over a series of increasingly ridiculous minor bets. Unfortunately, it turns out that Geoffrey also happens to be addicted to cocaine.
- Hannibal Lecture: Parodied, when it seems like Hoytsman is trying to psych out Jake by pointing out that Sophia will not be thrilled by Jake arresting her boss:Geoffrey: You screwed this up, buddy! You think she's still gonna love you after this? She'll see who you are now...
Jake: Hey, you don't know anything about me and Sophia!
Geoffrey: What? I was talking to myself, about my wife. She's not gonna like this. Who cares about you and your gross life? - Hope Spot: It initially seems like Jake's plan to charm Geoffrey Hoytsman is working well, and the two eventually become quite friendly after engaging in a serious of silly minor bets. Then Jake follows Geoffrey into the bathroom...
- Idiot Ball: Probably justified, since he's pretty high on cocaine at that point, but Sophia's boss is not at his best after being arrested.Sophia: Jake, I'm not here to talk to you. I'm here as Geoffrey's attorney.
Geoffrey: Oh, I can do it myself. Watch this. ObjectionobjectionobjectionobjectionOBJECTION! Ha! Five objections. Maybe this "cocaine" isn't so bad after all!
Sophia: Okay! Geoffrey, I'm going to have to advise you to stop talking-slash-confessing in front of the detectives. - "It" Is Dehumanizing: Both Jake and Terry identify the assorted defense attorneys using derogatory nicknames instead of their actual names.Jake: I refuse to learn their names because it humanizes them.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Invoked on both levels. Amy and Charles acknowledge that Gina has a point to be concerned for her mother's happiness and that things between Darlene and Lynn appear to be moving very fast. Unfortunately, the way she expresses this point also underscores exactly what a hurtful asshole she can be as well:Gina: You know what? This isn't about our lives getting intertwined, okay. I'm actually worried about my mom, because she's been hurt before. This is all moving way too fast.
Amy: [Surprised] Wow, Gina.
Charles: [Moved] That's really sweet.
Gina: And the only reason I didn't tell you guys is that I don't value you as people so, you know, why be honest?
Amy: Right.
Charles: Yeah, you just went back and ruined what you said.
Amy: Mm-hmm. - Morton's Fork: Holt is in this situation. He could either give Wuntch a good recommendation or a terrible one. Rosa says that if he screws over Wuntch, she'll make him pay for it because revenge never works out. Wuntch reveals she used the job offer to get a promotion in NYPD, and she will never forget that Holt helped her, ensuring their rivalry will continue.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- The precinct is suffering from an ant infestation. Holt posits that the ants are in the precinct house to avoid the cold weather and comes to the conclusion that the best solution would be to freeze the ants to death by opening all the windows. Unfortunately, the ants then go for the next available heat source: the cops' clothing!
- Jake intends to charm Sophia's boss Geoffrey into giving her better cases, thus salvaging his relationship with her. Unfortunately, his efforts to become friendly with Geoffrey directly lead to him accidentally discovering Geoffrey doing cocaine in the bathroom, which means he's forced to arrest Geoffrey, which torpedoes his relationship with Sophia.
- Holt gives in and gives Wuntch a good reference, reasoning that at least if she gets the Boston job she'll be out of his life and that Rosa of all people told him not to seek revenge. Unfortunately, Wuntch was just using the Boston job as leverage for a promotion within the NYPD — and so not only is she remaining in New York, but she's got more authority over Holt than ever before. And she has Holt to thank for it.
- Oh, Crap!: Jake has an Oh, Crap! moment when he walks into a ballroom bathroom to see Sophia's boss snorting cocaine. The night goes downhill from there.
- Take That!: As a parting shot to Wuntch, Holt gets her tickets to a Boston production of Wicked:Holt: She's moving to a second-class city and I wanted to rub her nose in it. Enjoy the understudies, Madeline! Enjoy having some chubby Chenoweth knock-off warble her way through "Popular".
- Twerp Sweating: Aged up and generation swapped. Gina tries to put Lynn Boyle through the wringer, but Lynn isn't fazed and is earnest about his feelings towards Gina's mother so she gives him her blessing to marry her mother.
- The Unsmile: Jake and Terry's phony smiles have more in common with grimaces than actual smiles.
- What You Are in the Dark: A downplayed example. It's not really discussed, but given that the two men were alone in the restroom when Jake caught Geoffrey doing cocaine, had Jake been a less ethical police officer he could easily blackmail Geoffrey to start giving Sophia better cases in exchange for Jake looking the other way. Instead, Jake feels compelled to do his job and arrest Geoffrey despite knowing that doing so would damage his relationship with Sophia. In the end, when Jake's drowning his sorrows over being dumped, Terry brings this up to try and comfort him:Jake: Ugh, I should not have gone to that party. Should not have gone into that bathroom. Should not have arrested her boss.
Terry: I don't see it that way. You did everything right. You were a good cop. - Wretched Hive: The Public Defenders' Ball (or, as Jake calls it, "Satan’s Charity Ball: Rise Of The Demons") is considered to be this by the cops. Sophia doesn't actually disagree.Sophia: Imagine this room is full of super-intelligent robots. Hell-bent on ending humanity, and you are a working-class human who just entered their swarm-hive.
- You Did the Right Thing: Terry tells Jake that he did this, though ironically Terry advised Jake against going to the party. He says that Jake behaved like a cop, and he should feel no shame about arresting Geoffrey. Terry participates in drinking shots with Jake to help him cope.
