The Road Trip is the ninth episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's second season.
After Jake and Amy are forced to stay overnight in upstate New York to conduct a prisoner transfer, Jake decides to invite his girlfriend Sophia along for an impromptu romantic getaway. After Amy reveals that her boyfriend Teddy never does such things for her, Jake helpfully invites Teddy along as a surprise, only to discover he's seriously miscalculated exactly how committed to the relationship Amy is. The resulting double date quickly turns awkward, with several uncomfortable revelations being aired. Meanwhile, Rosa won't admit she's sick to Terry and Gina, and Charles offers to help Holt with his anniversary breakfast.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Berserk Button:
- Teddy's obsession with Pilsners is this for Amy.
- Boyle manages to keep his cool with Holt's obvious disdain for cooking and Boyle's foodie approaches to the subject — until Holt puts salt directly into the pan he's cooking scrambled eggs in rather than sprinkling it in from his hand.
- Big "NO!": More of a 'Long No', really, although it fits in every other respect. After learning that he's inadvertently invited Teddy up to join Amy for a romantic evening without realising that Amy intends to dump him, Jake's perfectly restrained when he says it, but he makes the 'no' last for at least ten full seconds...and then it gets cut off by the commercial break starting.
- Comfort Food: Charles assumes Holt's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are this, but Holt claims it's simply because they are easy to make and the ingredients are cheap and long-lasting. Charles himself plays it straight with his favorite meal of roast chicken and potatoes — he likes it because it reminds him of his mother, since it was the only thing she knew how to make.
- Creepy Doll: Sophia chooses the "Room of a Thousand Dolls" because she thinks it'd be both funny and creepy. It turns out to be way creepier than it is funny.
- Cringe Comedy: If nothing else, Amy's break-up with Teddy suggests why it was probably a good idea that she started a draft on her laptop first.
- Double Date: Actually a double getaway, and incredibly, incredibly awkward at that.
- The Gift: Despite a complete lack of interest or previous experience in cooking, Holt ends up being able to make an excellent croque monsieur just from reading Boyle's food blog.
- Gilligan Cut: Boyle is pleased to have an opportunity to bond with Holt over their apparent shared interest in food. Cut to Holt's office, where Holt is explaining at length his complete lack of interest in food.Holt: If it were feasible my diet would consist entirely of flavourless beige smoothies containing all the nutrients required by the human animal.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep"/Punny Name: According to the credits, the bartender who poured the Mapletini is named Bart Ender.
- Jump Scare/Scare Chord:
- Pretty much every other second in the Room of a Thousand Dolls. Played for Laughs, obviously.
- This gem, while Gina tells Terry that Rosa has been sleeping for ten hours:
Gina: Oh, Ter-bear, what if she sleeps forever?
(Rosa SMASHES THE STORAGE ROOM WINDOW and opens the door from the outside, causing Gina and Terry to scream hysterically) - Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: Amy simply cannot get over Teddy's obsession with pilsners, to the point where him bringing it up once more over dinner is the trigger for her breaking up with him. It's played with, however, in that Teddy post-breakup seems to think that unresolved feelings that Amy may have for Jake might have played more of a part than she's letting on, and it's implied he's not that far from the truth.
- Overly Long Gag: Jake's reaction on learning that Amy plans to break up with her boyfriend, after Jake has invited him to their hotel to spend a romantic evening with Amy.Jake: Oh, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-
[cut to commercial]note - Pet the Dog: In the cold opening, Jake and Charles have prepared elaborate backstories and disguises to go undercover as longshoremen while investigating a smuggling ring at the docks. However, before they can put them into practice, Terry reveals that the ringleader turned himself in while they where briefing Holt. Seeing how disappointed Jake and Charles are, Holt gives them ten minutes to go out and play make-believe.
- Real Men Cook: Played with. That Boyle cooks is no surprise considering he's In Touch with His Feminine Side. Holt, on the other hand, has a strictly utilitarian view on food preparation. In the end, however, Holt makes a croque monsieur for his husband that even Boyle is envious of.Boyle: Now I know how Salieri felt.
- Retcon: A minor one. Holt claims to have absolutely no interest in food, despite having claimed to read Charles' email blast in Sal's Pizza specifically because it was the only one that measured "mouth feel".
- While he may have no interest in the food, Holt has shown a love of statistical analysis.
- Holt may also read Boyle's emails when he first started at the 99 so that he could get know as much about his team as possible.
- Satiating Sandwich: Holt makes his husband a croque monsieur. Also, he often eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
- Supreme Chef: When he bothers to put in the effort, Holt is a natural. His first attempt at a croque-monsieur nearly brings Boyle to Tears of Joy.
- Talking in Your Sleep: Rosa does this in her fever sleep. This being Rosa...Rosa: Gonna rip your head off... C'mere, gonna rip your damn head off, grandma.
- That Came Out Wrong: Amy attempted to avert this in her break-up with Teddy by scripting her break-up speech in advance. Unfortunately, said speech was not finished by the time the actual break-up was provoked:Amy: It's not just the Pilsners. There are so many reasons I want to break up. [Horrified] That sounded bad, didn't it?
Sophia: As a lawyer, it's my duty to tell you to shhhh!
Amy: Okay, look. There's just no... spark between us. That's vague. You're... boring. Oh no. That's too harsh. This is why I wanted to write it down. Can I maybe just have two hours alone with my laptop so I can type up a draft? - Through His Stomach: Holt wants to make a special breakfast for his husband in their anniversary.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Amy breaks up with Teddy and acknowledges that she used to have feelings for Jake, but Jake remains with Sophia. In the last scene, it's hinted that Amy isn't as over Jake as she claimed and that this trope is now in play.
- When She Smiles: At the end, Rosa is clearly moved by Terry's concern for her and Gina's "Rosa's Gonna Make This Cold Her Bitch" care package, and smiles slightly to herself. This does not go unnoticed by Terry or Gina:Terry: Wait — is that a smile I see?
Rosa: Possibly. My immune system is too weak to fight off my smile muscles. - Working Through the Cold: Rosa has a cold, but she doesn't want to go home until she gets the name of a Giggle Pig dealer from a perp. Subverted in that it wasn't successful; Gina locks her in a room and she sleeps for ten hours, during which time Terry gets the name from the perp.
