Instead of being authentic to the character, the writers tried to bring the comedy forward through Amy descending into panic and madness, which felt and looked cartoonish. Her wide-eyed panic around Teddy could have been funny if it didn’t seem overdone and rushed. The descent of her dignity in the dinner sequence with Teddy, Jake and Sophia seemed like a tool to get the writers to open up the romantic tension between her and Jake again, instead of closing this chapter on her love life in a way that felt natural. (Thankfully, a chipper waitress shows up to add levity to the awkward double date, earning some of the bigger laughs of the episode.)
Amy’s strange behavior contrasted with the very strong B-plots this week, all relying on personality traits from the characters we know, realize and understand. Cpt. Holt, loving to his husband, asks Boyle to help him prepare a terrific breakfast-in-bed for Kevin’s birthday. Boyle, the endearing suck-up with a foodie reputation, insists on helping the captain with this challenge, hoping to get into Holt’s good books. Rosa, the thorny and determined detective hoping for a big break in the “giggle pig” case, tries to fend off an incoming cold so that she can question a prime suspect. Terry, the supportive aide and father figure of the precinct, tries to make Rosa better by keeping her quarantined from the interrogation room. Gina, who always looks out for her own best interests, tries to lock Rosa away so that the detective’s germs won’t infect her.
All of these stories worked because the characters’ actions and the motivations behind them felt true to what we have seen before, without overdoing what made their personalities so endearing in the first place. Unlike Amy, whose reactionary break-up and lack of preparation just seemed too off the grid for the character, the rest of the Group of Seven behaved in ways that were expected but still funny.
Meanwhile, the end of the episode hints at the incline of romantic tension between Jake and Amy. One hopes that Brooklyn Nine-Nine won’t pursue this angle too much, since it is likely much more fun to watch these characters as competitors than as a couple. With this element thrown back into the mix, though, it will be interesting to see how both of the characters navigate these unpredictable emotions, especially now that Sophia is privy to their mutual attraction.
Being familiar can work for a sitcom, as long as the situations are fresh. However, Amy’s dazed and confused state was too shrill for what we had seen from the character already, to a point that the jokes involving her collapsing relationship couldn’t land. “The Road Trip” had many high points and strong character-driven moments, but the chemistry of the two subplots could not quite overcome the bumpy main plot – one that relied on goofy theatrics and out-of-character decisions to bring spontaneous but unearned humor. It didn’t feel all that funny because too little of Amy’s story felt true.