'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Season 5, Episode 3 'Kicks' Recap: Jake Finally Back In Action [SPOILERS]

Reunited and it feels so good! Now that Detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) are freed from prison and are officially back, NYPD’s Nine-Nine is finally complete! Although this is surreal, there seems to be a problem with how Detectives Jake and Rosa are adjusting. Jake is not at all pleased with being assigned to desk duty while Rosa seriously feels that her boyfriend Pimento is cheating on her.

Episode 3 “Kicks” Opens with Jake’s Freedom Feast 2017

The episode opens with Jake inviting everyone to his ridiculous Freedom Feast 2017 to celebrate the fact that he can finally enjoy eating the food he wants (because the food in prison sucked, big time!). Everyone Jake invited into the briefing room had their own 2-liter orange drinks that were meant to be enjoyed with his massive food delivery order consisting of a heavily “sodiumified” French Fry Village, the Cheeseburger Mountain, a Thanksgiving turkey and a Passover Brisket, just because he loves his mom. He then makes a toast to freedom, to orange drink, and to his girlfriend Amy.

Jake tries proves himself worthy for active duty. Captain Holt tells Jake that in order for him to resume active duty, he would need to pass a test. But if he fails it, he will be suspended. The other catch is Jake’s evaluator is Captain Holt himself. So, you know, it surely wouldn’t be that easy. Jake faces the challenge head-on and so they investigate a robbery case. Jake gets a lead on the case through a CCTV footage on the night of the crime. It showed how the queue would move slowly but then a certain pop up tent didn’t. Later on, they found out that it didn’t move because it covered a manhole where the thief was able to breach the sneaker store’s storage room. They eventually arrest the thief who was wearing the sneakers that were stolen in the first place. Holt congratulates Jake which means that he passed the test.
That same night, though, Jake wakes up so stressed because he found out that they arrested the wrong man. The last thing he wanted was to arrest an innocent man so he released the man they had in custody. To set things right, Jake asked Boyle to help him get the right guy. Even if Jake knew this would mean suspension for him, he still went on and did what he felt was right. They set up an ad to bait the thief and surely, they finally got the thief who was actually the same guy Jake released. So, there you have it, that much-needed twist.
Because of the turn of events, Jake surrenders his gun and badge and accepts his suspension. He said that he was not ready yet. Being in prison made him see things from a different perspective. He wanted to go back in the field because he wanted to be his old self but then realizes that he may not be the same anymore. To this Holt says that he was first worried that Jake would be reckless and that prison has made Jake more cautious. Holt wished that every cop would ask, “What if he was innocent?” This question is essential as a detective and so, Holt says that Jake passed his test and is reinstated to the field. But then, Jake said that he still needs more time on the desk to adjust. Kudos!
Rosa almost loses her mind doing her own “investigation” on Pimento. Ever since Pimento came back from Argentina, things were shady. This is why Rosa asks help from Terry and Amy to crack the case on her boyfriend. They first worked on some receipts Rosa found in a restaurant that Pimento dined in with the mysterious woman. She then follows him around to see just where he goes during the day. Finally, she catches Pimento red-handed when she saw him meet another woman outside a restaurant.

When Rosa confronts Pimento about this, Pimento had to explain. He said that the woman he was with is his Spanish teacher, Señora Reyes. At first, Rosa couldn’t believe it so Pimento explained further. They were at that fancy restaurant so he could learn how to order food in Spanish. He wanted to learn the language to impress Rosa’s father. As soon as Rosa heard this, she felt guilty and embarrassed for how she was thinking. She apologizes to Pimento and the two make up. Well, sort of.
With everything that Rosa went through in prison, she honestly felt that it was time to call it off with Pimento. She did just that in the balcony of the Nine-Nine. To recover from what had just happened, Rosa goes back inside and Amy and Terry ask how she was doing. Rosa says it was okay, but then the scene ends with Pimento in tears, screaming Rosa’s name. He didn’t actually handle it very well.
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” continues next week with “HalloVeen,” October 17 at 9:30 PM on FOX.