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Brooklyn Nine-nine’s ending was full of twists, turns, and double-crosses. What exactly happened to the beloved sitcom’s characters in the series finale? The police sitcom follows the detectives of Brooklyn’s 99th precinct, including Jake Peralta, Amy Santiago, Captain Raymond Holt, and Lieutenant Terry Jeffords.
The heist double-crosses have been one of the best running gags in the show, so it was only fitting that they would be part of the Brooklyn Nine-nine ending. The final episode's multitude of betrayals features several alternate motivations. The first deception is the motivation for the heist itself, which Jake quickly reveals is not a farewell to Holt and Amy but an elaborate scheme to orchestrate his perfect goodbye, as he is leaving the force.
The next major double-cross comes as Amy chloroforms and dupes Jake. Believing his perfect goodbye destination, the Brooklyn Bridge, to be arbitrary and meaningless, she plans her farewell party at the team's favorite bar. Amy employs her ex-boyfriend and plays on Jake's insecurity to convince him that he has been in a coma for seven years to get the location of the heist target.
The final double-cross in the Brooklyn Nine-nine Ending is Holt's, who leads the team to the site of their first arrest under him. This allows Bill to betray the whole team and lock them in a storage container, ultimately leading to Hitchcock's surprising win. Hitchcock becoming the Grand Champion of the Nine-Nine by buying the prize for $40 is a hilarious anti-climax to all the effort.
Holt and Amy's promotions in the Brooklyn Nine-nine Ending are obvious, but the other characters' advancements are more subtle. Terry gets promoted to Captain of the Nine-Nine. It's also noteworthy that Charles gets a promotion in the form of his new partner and their dynamic. The last scene shows Charles' new partner suggesting a series of undeniably cringe-worthy nicknames which Boyle coolly rejects.
Charles has been promoted to the "Jake" role in the partnership, a position he previously idolized. Jake also gets his promotion to his new dream job, that of a great dad.
Holt becomes deputy commissioner, realizing his dream of joining the NYPD's upper levels. His police reform program marks the pinnacle of his ambition to restructure the department and improve equality and justice. Jake leaves his dream job as a detective to work towards his new aspiration of being a great dad, and after receiving validation from Holt, he rests assured that he has made the right choice.
Amy also moves on from the Brooklyn Nine-Nine and continues her climb up the NYPD ladder while still working directly under her mentor. Rosa's perfect ending is shown through her final conversation with Amy where she asserts she doesn't need a romantic partner to be happy. Since she ends the show as a PI, working for herself, she gains the independence she thrives on. Charles gets his happy ending, remaining at the Nine-Nine, but gaining the confidence to become the cool detective in his partnership.
Terry is named captain of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine, feeling like the perfect fit for this position since he has often filled the role in Holt's absence and has earned the team's respect many times. Although most of the characters end up in different places, each one gets a happy ending based on their strengths and aspirations. Even Hitchcock and Scully get the satisfaction of reuniting, presumably to continue their slothful employment at the Nine-Nine.
The theme of family has always been prominent, and the Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending ties it together perfectly. The whole heist episode is a well-established family tradition for the Nine-Nine, which, for longtime viewers of the show, was a perfect note to end on as it highlighted how close the characters were.
This is brought to the forefront in the final exchange between Amy and Rosa. Amy struggles to understand Rosa's contentment with being single. By the end of the conversation, the two accept their differences, causing Rosa to express her affection for Amy. The last conversation between Jake and Boyle contributes as well, with Boyle accepting that being a father is what Jake needs to focus on, and it doesn't mean an end to their friendship.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine team comes to accept one another for who they are and their different directions in life, and the family values are driven home at the very end with one final exclamation of "Nine-Nine!"
The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was always a major factor in the show’s popularity. They delivered big laughs, but they also made the audience feel as though these characters were much closer than just work colleagues. As the finale aired, some of the cast members shared their parting thoughts about the series. Fumero said to fans, "This finale was made with a lot of love, a lot of joy, a lot of laughter, and even some tears. We hope you love it as much as we do."
Meanwhile, Crews shared, "This show has meant so much to me over the years and I know it means a lot to all of you." In an interview for the final season, the cast also expressed what it meant to say goodbye to the show after so long. However, while it is a bittersweet moment, Crews reiterated that the entire crew that helped make the show happen felt like part of a big family. He also expressed how the fans also held a place within that family, as he explained that, no matter where he was, if he shouted out Terry's Brooklyn Nine-Nine catchphrase, he would hear it shouted back.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending had a lot to address, as there were many narrative arcs to wrap up, considering the size of the ensemble cast of characters. One of the main criticisms referred more to the overall final season and how it lessened the impact of the finale. Real-life issues made it impossible for Brooklyn Nine-Nine to continue in the way it had been.
With various incidents of police brutality, highlighted by the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was forced to address the role of police in the modern world. While it was responsible for the show to tackle the issues rather than ignore them and continue with purely silly police adventures, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was also not equipped for such a challenge. It could no longer be the same lighthearted sitcom it started as, nor could it address these complex issues in meaningful ways. It resulted in a season that felt scattered and unsatisfying to many fans. As a result, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending felt like a tacked-on ending rather than something the show had been building towards.
One of the character choices that rubbed certain fans the wrong way was Brooklyn Nine-Nine's parenting drama with Jake and Amy. Jake quitting to stay home with their child came out of nowhere and went against Jake and Amy as characters. Not only did Jake love his job, but Amy, being unprepared for the hardships of juggling a career and a child, did not fit into her super-organized persona. Some fans felt it was a manufactured happy ending for the pair rather than something that made sense for them.
Though some fans were let down by the Brooklyn Nine-Nine ending, there were plenty who felt it was the perfect conclusion to the series. This includes those who felt Jake's decision was a heartwarming one and showed how much his character had grown throughout the series. While the finale gave a healthy amount of fan service, Collider points out a fun, subversive moment in the episode with Rosa.
After confessing to Amy that she is thinking of getting back together with Pimento, she reveals it was a trick and points out to Amy, "You all think for someone to be happy their story has to end with marriage and kids." However, the reason most fans seem happy with the finale is the heartwarming note it leaves. The show has always provided laughs and fun storylines, but it is the Brooklyn Nine-Nine characters that have made the sitcom special.
Many finales feel the need to see the beloved characters go their ways and end their time together. Friends saw Monica and Chandler moving away. Recently, Ted Lasso ended with the titular coach returning to the United States. Indeed, there are a lot of characters in Brooklyn Nine-Nine moving onto new things, but the final scene in the series lets the audience know that they will always come back together on a sweet and comforting promise.
The cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was one of the most beloved ensembles in sitcom history and bidding farewell to the team was one of the saddest aspects of seeing the show come to an end. While fans were not able to see the whole gang together, the cast of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has stayed quite busy since the series ended, with plenty of projects to catch up with.
Andy Samberg has done a lot of voice work in recent years, playing Dale in Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers and returning as Jonathan in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. However, he also starred opposite Kate Winslet in Lee in his first dramatic role and will appear opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman in the comedy-drama The Roses. Stephanie Beatriz is another member of the cast who has done a lot of voice work recently, most notably, playing the lead role of Mirabel in Disney’s Encanto. However, she has also moved onto another, very different series starring opposite Anthony Mackie in Twisted Metal.
Melissa Fumero also returned to television for the short-lived Netflix sitcom Blockbuster before providing her voice to the cast of the Max series Velma. Joe Le Truglio returned to his previous TV ensemble in the revival of Reno 911, Chelsea Peretti voiced characters on Big Mouth and Bob’s Burgers, and Terry Crews will be seen opposite Dave Bautista in The Killer’s Game. Sadly, one key cast member of Brooklyn Nine-Nine passed away following the end of the series with Andre Braugher’s death in 2023. Braugher’s final roles included the drama She Said and the series The Good Fight.