Follow TV Tropes

Following

Recap / Brooklyn Nine Nine S 3 E 10 Yippie Kayak

Go To

"Yippie Kayak" is the tenth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's third season.

It's Christmas time at the Nine-Nine and Terry is off to take some much-needed family time with strict instructions for no one to contact him while he's away, lest his brother-in-law, Zeke, uses it as ammunition to belittle him once again.

Jake is fretting because he completely forgot about buying a gift for Charles. He enlists Gina to help him pick one out, but then Charles overhears and Jake has to lie, say that he forgot to buy Amy a gift, and has to let Charles tag along to the store. Things go from awkward to worse when armed robbers storm the store and take hostages. Jake and Charles have to provide intel to the cops surrounding the store while trying to keep Gina safe.

Meanwhile, Amy tries to prove she's tough by joining Rosa and Holt on a polar bear swim despite the fact that she can't stand the cold.


This episode provides examples of:

  • Aerith and Bob: In a sense. Jake, ever the Die Hard fanboy, naturally gives German names to the robbers (e.g. Klaus, Günter). He even marks those names on his wrist à la John McClane. To his disappointment, it turns out they've got boring old English names, like Matt … and Dave. Justified since they're actually Canadian.
  • Aerosol Flame Thrower: Gina desperately wants to use one against the hostage takers. She gets her chance in the stinger.
  • Air-Vent Passageway: Charles escapes through the air-vent.
  • An Asskicking Christmas: The episode is set during Christmas.
  • Bad Boss: We already knew the Vulture was a terrible boss from the opening episodes of the season, but if the long-suffering reaction from the officer ordered first to shoot Terry (which he refuses to do) and then to go on the roof of a nearby building for no reason (which he reluctantly does) is anything to go by, the SWAT team isn't overly thrilled to have him in charge either. In fact, when Terry carries him off, nobody even tries to help him.
  • Break the Haughty: Gina is initially dismissive of Jake and Charles's attempts to protect her, arguing she can help and that their job isn't that hard. She likewise ignores their warnings. Sure enough this leads to the bad guys capturing her, and she being helpless to do anything about it.
  • Butt-Monkey: Even in a hostage situation, Gina can't help but exert her dominance over others. In this case, it's Ramon, the security guard, who gets repeatedly blamed for a noxious smell in the store.
  • Canada, Eh?: One of the robbers turns out to be Canadian, much to Jake's disappointment. When Jake impersonates him over the walkie-talkie, he does a hilarious fake Canadian accent. Even better, it works
  • Caught Up in a Robbery: The episode is about Jake, Gina, and Charles getting caught up in a robbery at the department store where Jake is trying to buy a last-minute Christmas present for Charles. It's a homage to Jake's favorite movie, Die Hard.
  • Comically Missing the Point: Amy is alerted to the hostage situation at the department store when she checks her phone and realises she's missed dozens of messages from Jake. She's quite naturally frantic with worry, even though most of Jake's texts actually come across as fanboying that he's finally getting to live Die Hard in real life.
  • Convenience Store Gift Shopping: Jake forgot to get a Christmas gift for Charles. Gina suggests he goes to Goodwin's. He begs her to go shopping with him to help him choose, and Charles tags along too because he overheard them, but was told that Jake forgot a gift for his girlfriend. He gets him cologne (his brand), but the store is being robbed and they get into real life Die Hard situation.
    Gina: Jake, just go to Goodwin's. They're open late, and they have everything.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Terry and the Vulture's standoff ends with Terry carrying the Vulture over his shoulder and dumping him in a garbage can.
  • Decoy Protagonist: Played with, Jake gets the majority of focus still, but gets taken hostage near the end of the plot and the episode's John McClane moment goes to Charles instead.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Amy decides to trick Holt into opening a gift, despite his standing ban on Christmas gift giving, by placing a strange box on his desk with no explanation. Jake outright Lampshades this:
    Jake: So, just to recap: You left an unmarked package on a police captain's desk on a random Monday with a suspicious message written on it that looks like it was scrawled by a crazy person.
    Amy: Mmhmm.
    Holt: BOMB! There's a bomb! Everyone out!
    The precinct panics and an alarm starts to wail
    Holt: Go! Go! This is not a drill! Let's go!
    Jake: Great gift, babe!
  • "Die Hard" on an X: Die Hard in a department store. Naturally, since it's an homage to Die Hard.
  • The Dog Bites Back: Terry does this twice in this episode.
    • First he finally gets fed up with his bullying brother-in-law Zeke.
      Zeke: Did one of your detectives lose his head up his own butt?
      Terry: You don't even have a job, Zeke! You know what, I'm not supposed to be bringing this up, but I'm bringing it up! I'm sick of hearing you got things brewing. You ask me, the only thing you got brewing is a pot of BS! Kids, I love you. Sharon, you are perfect. Zeke, get a job!
    • Later he gets fed up by the Vulture, who is his senior, getting in his way and decides to ignore his protocols and sends the police in the thugs' direction
  • Face Your Fears:
    • Parodied with Amy going swimming with Diaz and Holt. She hates being cold, but is determined to prove that she's tough. Nevertheless, when it comes to the big moment she runs into the tideline with her anorak on...and lasts about three seconds of having cold wet feet before turning around and running back to dry land again, shrieking "Nooooooooo!"
    • Later, just after Diaz and Holt have gone in the water, Amy checks her phone message and finds all the messages from Jake being in a hostage situation. This time, she plunges into the sea for real and goes after Diaz and Holt and wades in up to her waist so that she can tell them that they have go and help.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The robber in charge has a villainous scar on his cheek. Jake is happy to be finally dealing with a "proper" villain.
  • Homage: The hostage situation has parallels to the original Die Hard. Jake is ecstatic and keeps trying to find his "John McClane" moment.
  • Hostage Situation: The robbers hold everyone in the department store hostage, eventually even Jake & Gina.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Amy checks her phone and sees that she has dozens of texts from Jake regarding the hostage situation in the department store, most of what he's written is explicitly comparing his situation to the plot of Die Hard, e.g.: "I think they're German!!"
  • Implausible Deniability: Terry knows Captain Holt won't believe that the Vulture dumped himself in a garbage can.
  • Improvised Weapon:
    • Jake and Charles take down the robbers with various items they find around the store.
    • Gina makes an improvised blowtorch from s bottle of hairspray and a lighter. It works and she gets to use it.
  • Jerkass: The Vulture is as obnoxious and as a huge douche as ever. He, a white dude, greets Terry, a black guy, with "Happy Kwanzaa". And he insists on storming the place, even though it's the more dangerous option and absolutely unreasonable, given that there are two cops inside and can handle the situation. The Vulture interprets it as "stealing his thunder".
    The Vulture: Happy Kwanzaa.
    Terry: Oh, man. You can't say that.
  • Just in Time: Charles arrives just in time before Jake gets shot.
  • The Load:
    • Gina, despite Jake and Charles' best efforts, keeps trying to run off and find an aerosol can so that she can use it as a flamethrower against the robbers. This gets her captured and adds yet another problem that Jake and Charles have to solve.
    • The Vulture wants to go in guns-a-blazing because he is due to go on a "massage tour" of Southeast Asia. Terry has to run interference in order to prevent a bloodbath.
  • Lock-and-Load Montage: But with items you'd normally see in a department store.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Rosa wears a bikini bottom to the polar bear dip.
  • Mondegreen Gag: Charles misinterprets John McClane's Catchphrase as "Yippie kayak, other buckets!" (Hey, he can't exactly say the real thing on network TV, can he?)
  • Negated Moment of Awesome: Scully ends up ruining Terry and Hitchcock's cool one-liners.
    Terry: Merry Christmas!
    Hitchcock: Ho ho ho...
    Scully: I'm starving.
    Terry: "I'm starving"?! We had a thing going!
  • Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Amy joins Rosa & Holt polar bear swimming to prove she's tough. She fails.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Not only does finding out that Jake is in danger allow Amy to brave the frozen water but it motivates her to freak out at Holt.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Jake, when the robber in charge is definitely sure about killing him.
    • Terry, when he finds out that the Vulture is in charge of the hostage situation.
  • Pet the Dog: While the Vulture is an absolute jerkass he still compliments Terry’s good looks.
    The Vulture: I will end your career! You’ll be out there working as a model because… well, you know, you’re shredded, and I respect that.
  • Pocket Dial: Terry tells the squad not to call him over the Christmas holiday and he refers to last year, in which Scully called him fifty times.
    Scully: No, I only called you once. My butt called you the other 49 times.
  • Promotion, Not Punishment: Holt congratulates Terry for his actions and tells him that he has the makings of a great captain. But he still has to suspend him for breaking protocol.
    • Though in all fairness, this does involve Terry having a week off for the Christmas and New Year period, so....
  • Rapid-Fire "No!": Jake gets to say "no, no, no, no, no" a lot. Amy, too.
    • Jake utters five nos when the department store closes just as Gina, Charles and he arrive to do some last minute Christmas shopping.
      Jake: Wait! No, no, no, no, no! Don't lock the door!
    • Jake's "no, no, no, no" when the robbers get Gina who is a civilian and is irresponsible enough to run from cops Jake and Charles to get some hairspray to improvise a blowtorch.
      Jake: No, no, no, no.
      Charles: Jake, they're taking Gina.
      Jake: Yeah, I know. We're looking at the same thing.
    • Jake's angry/desperate "No! No, no, no!" when Terry tells him over the phone that the Vulture wants to storm the department store and end the operation quickly.
    • Amy does the 'multiplied no' routine when she has to run into the ice cold water to get Rosa and Holt because she has just read Jake's texts about the hostage situation. She adds a couple of 'oh, my Gods' for good measure.
      Amy: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh!
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Terry finally has enough of Zeke belittling him and calls Zeke out for being unemployed yet still having the guts to make fun of Terry having to prioritize a life-or-death situation above his family.
  • Skewed Priorities: Naturally, the seriousness of the situation is continually undermined by Jake's absolute glee that he gets to live out Die Hard for real.
  • Smooch of Victory: In a way. Amy kisses Jake after he's been rescued, however she admits it's partially due to the fact she's still freezing and he's got plenty of body heat.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The Vulture's motives for wanting to storm the building rather than let Jake and Charles attempt to resolve it internally were entirely petty and selfish, and Terry was vindicated in preventing him from giving the order to do it. However, he still disobeyed a superior officer (and threw him in a garbage can), so he has to be suspended for a week.
  • Tap on the Head:
    • Jake and Charles use this technique to take down half of the robbers with their improvised weapons.
    • Happens to Jake when the robbers capture him. Downplayed as he's shown holding an icepack to his head at the end, well after it occurred.
  • You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Jake tries to tell the robber in charge that killing a man is not as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately, the man's already killed ten people and has no problem with adding another to his tally.
    • Played for Laughs:
      Jake: And that's such a nice round number, wouldn't you agree? I mean, imagine: "I've killed 11 people!" It just sounds so... cumbersome!

 
Feedback

Video Example(s):

Top

Brooklyn Nine Nine

As Jake describes, Amy "left an unmarked package on a police captain's desk on a random Monday with a suspicious message written on it that looks like it was scrawled by a crazy person." Unsurprisingly, Holt thinks it's a bomb and evacuates the entire precinct.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (15 votes)

Example of:

Main / DidntThinkThisThrough

Media sources:

Report