After Jake injures himself on a case, Terry forces him to take time off and rest - something Jake doesn't know how to do. Across town, Holt and Rosa try to avoid intimate conversation during a double-date with their significant others.
Jake has always seen himself as a badass detective just like the heroes in his favorite action movies. When he's given the opportunity to chase after a criminal on top of cars in the middle of the street, he's going to take it. It's a cool fantasy for him. One that only makes him appear even cooler. It's no surprise that things come crushing back down to reality when he falls through a sun roof and the perp gets away. Jake is not like those action heroes no matter how desperately he wants to be. He is a childish man who does outrageous things without any regard to personal safety. Sometimes that's a benefit. He is one of the Nine-Nine's best detectives after all. He has captured so many different criminals over the course of the two seasons so far. And yet, that recklessness is bound to hurt him sometimes as well. He can't always live his life this way because then it may not be the long life that he has always imagined. He has to allow himself the time to heal and that is much more difficult for someone like Jake who is so predominately focused on work.Jake really is incapable of passing cases off to other people. That has always been an inherent part of the character. He needs to be the one in charge leading the investigation. At times, he has been a good supporting friend helping his fellow detectives on their cases. But he always needs to be the center of attention. He struggles letting go and letting others catch the bad guys. He needs to be the one to solve it. He never wants to start a job and then not finish it. Despite his numerous childish ways, that quality is honorable. And yet, that's what is ultimately hurting him once he does suffer this injury. Every part of his body gets injured at some part during the course of this episode. And yet, he doesn't want that to get in the way of him doing his job and catching this criminal before anyone else gets hurt.
That determination is very much centered in Jake's pride. It comes from a genuine moment of tragedy in his past. The last time he took personal days the criminal he was tracking got into a big shootout that killed two pedestrians. Jake has the skills to make the city a better place. So he doesn't want to rest knowing that he can be making a difference. However, an injured Jake is more of a liability on the job. Because of his insistence on working, he makes a mess in the file room, tricks Boyle into getting him back into the field, and ultimately gets injured even more. Terry and Boyle are right in saying that Jake needs to take some time off in order to heal. Because of his injury, he's only making all of their lives worst. Boyle had these big dreams about what their Atlantic City weekend vacation would include. That didn't happen which lead to disappointment - and later Boyle planning a much different weekend for Jake as payback. Meanwhile, Terry wanted to spend his evening with his family and not driving to Atlantic City to pick up Jake.
In the end, Jake needed to learn how to let go for his own personal safety. There was no way he was going to effectively capture the criminal in his current crippled state. Even if he did get his hands on the perp, it's very unlikely he would have been able to arrest him because of his injuries giving him a much bigger weakness than usual. It only take a few more crushing incidents for Jake to realize that he's not doing anyone any good by being in the field. First he gets locked out on the hotel room's balcony while trying to sneak out of the bathroom to ID the perp. And then, he actually gets hit by a car when he tries to pursue the criminal on foot. His injuries are extensive and he needs to learn to take care of himself. The lesson finally gets through to him. All it took was Terry calling it quits on helping an adult version of a child who doesn't even want to help himself.
Elsewhere, the episode continued to rely on comedic pairings that have been used a ton this season because they work so effectively. Rosa and Holt work amazingly well together because they have the same feelings about keeping their personal lives separate from their professional ones. That's a belief they both strongly hold onto. The audience knows so much more about Holt's family than Rosa's though. That's what gives this story an element of surprise because the audience is learning just as much about her as the various members of the Holt family are. Apparently she has two sisters and one of them is pregnant. Neither she nor Holt want to have this family dinner together. They try inviting some "intimacy buffers" to make things less awkward - aka Amy and Gina - but they're too busy dealing with their own issues to even make it to the dinner on time. This evening is tough for both Rosa and Holt because they have to rely on each other. They recognize and respect that they are similar in regards to sharing personal details. And yet, it does feel good to both of them when they do open up and are there to support and cover each other when Rosa feels like she has to leave early. It's tremendous personal growth for both of them. Holt was able to listen to her concerns about possibly being pregnant and helped get her out of this dinner to go find out for real. She's not pregnant but Holt being there for her makes them good friends - and not just on a professional level.
Some more thoughts:
- "AC/DC" was written by Kylie Condon and directed by Linda Mendoza.
- Which AC/DC abbreviation explanation was the best? Atlantic City Dude's Club, Atlantic City Detective's Club or Atlantic City Destruction Crew?
- Holt had several very good and funny moments - seeing 8 minutes as 480 seconds, naming all the orchids he knows, the "Oh" reaction to Rosa possibly being pregnant and him staring at Rosa when she tells him she's not pregnant.
- You just knew that the moment Amy walked away from her gross-smelling food that Gina would grab it and throw it out the window. But at least they got to drink and be hungover together in the end.
- How in the world could Jake realistically heal from all those injuries and be cleared for duty again in the span of just one week?
