‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’: Holt Deals With a Personal Loss
It’s no secret Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a funny show, but “Ding Dong” takes everything to another level. The episode is centered around Officer Holt as he goes through the stages of grief over a colleague, which allows Andre Braugher to showcase his comedic skills.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for the most recent episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.]
Madeline Wuntch is dead
Yes, that Madeline Wuntch. This comes as a shock to the precinct and for viewers as Wuntch has not been seen all season. Her presence has still been felt as Holt deals with his temporary demotion, but it’s completely shocking as her death is untimely to everyone.
Holt is in denial when he first hears of Wuntch’s death, and he believes she’s faking her death. He does not believe it until he actually sees her body in the casket. Holt then starts celebrating, much to Rosa’s amusement, and he hilariously starts throwing bagels at everyone in the precinct.
Next comes anger, as it turns out Wuntch still had a plan to mess with Holt, even after her death. She’s put him in charge of arranging her NYPD memorial service. In a video message she tells him she’ll know he won’t be able to resist being cruel, which will jeopardize his job.
The former captain then faces the next stage, bargaining. Amy, who is dealing with mood swings because of fertility hormones, and Rosa try to get him to compromise and write a nice speech. At the memorial, Holt goes through depression when he realizes Wuntch had another nemesis named Adam.
Jake is caught between Terry and Charles in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
In the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode’s B-plot, Jake receives tickets to the Kwazy Cupcakes movie premiere. Both Charles and Terry want to take their kids, and they do their best to try and convince Jake who deserves to go more.
At one point, the two even enter a boxing ring. Jake takes this as a sign Terry will literally kill Charles, but it surprisingly turns out Charles is just as dangerous. In the end, Jake decides he will take Nikolaj, Cagney, and Lacey himself.
Perhaps the only disappointing part of the episode comes when Terry and Boyle make fun of Jake once he leaves the room. They talk about how “people without kids are so stupid.” This doesn’t bode well, as viewers know Jake and Amy have had trouble getting pregnant, and Jake truly wants to be a parent.
Holt comes to terms with Wuntch’s death
As Holt deals with his depression that he might not have been as important to Wuntch as she was to him, he bonds with her other nemesis Adam. Amy and Rosa figure out that Adam was lying about being her nemesis.
It turns out, Adam was working for Wuntch to try and one-up Holt, but Holt predicted this would happen. In an elaborate plan, the memorial they are all attending is fake. All of the attendees are played by improv actors who did it for the “exposure.”
At the real memorial, Holt finally accepts Wuntch’s death. For his speech, he speaks from the heart. Holt acknowledges that he did not get along with Wuntch, but she always pushed him to be better. For that, he will always be grateful, and he is truly sad their sparring has come to an end.
Amy and Jake are pregnant in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode ends on a happy note. Amy ended up calling her doctor about the mood swings and hot flashes, and it turns out those aren’t related to hormones. Amy shows Jake a positive pregnancy test, and they embrace. In a moment of humor, Charles wakes up in the dead of night, realizing that Amy is pregnant.
