Rosa enlists Jake’s help to tell her parents some important news, and the whole situation had us emotional!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5×10 “Game Night” on FOX had us riding an emotional roller coaster with Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz)! While she doesn’t seem to have any issues telling the squad, her parents were a whole different story. Luckily, Jake (Andy Samberg) was right there with her every step of the way. He even went as far as pretending to be Rosa’s boyfriend. But when they found out Jake was engaged to Amy (Melissa Fumero) and told Rosa they preferred her with a man who was engaged to someone else over another woman. Rosa was forced to come clean and told them to accept her or lose her. While her mother seems to need more time, her father was at least welcoming. For the most part.

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Meanwhile, Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) realizes the precinct’s internet is running so low it’s basically nonfunctional. When he investigates, he discovers cyber crimes has moved into the previously vacant floor of the building and they are using all the internet. So Holt grabs Terry (Terry Crews) to help deal with them. When that doesn’t work, they grab Amy and Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) to try some different tactics. Ultimately, they need the power of Gina (Chelsea Peretti) to get their precious internet speed back. Nobody can get the best of Gina! Months of maternity leave haven’t softened her personality in the slightest, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Let’s break it down with our roundtable guests of the week!

Christina (@OddlyUnromantic) – Massive obsessive fan of movies, TV, music, and YouTube.

Kaysi (@julietknope) – Trash for good television.

Aurora (@AurorasBlog) – Marathon runner and equity actress, currently running 882 miles for the 882 daily victims of assault for Project882!

Marilyn (@Marilyn72568293) – Cosmetologist and lover of fun! Enjoy watching the best shows I can find!

Pamela (@CharlesonPamela) – Teacher, aunt, and sister who also loves watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine!

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1. Gina is back! Did you know that’s who the squad was speaking about when they said they needed someone terrifying? Or did you think they were talking about Rosa?

Christina (@OddlyUnromantic): I had a feeling it was going to be Gina that the squad was going to call on. Rosa is terrifying to a certain degree. But Gina terrified Pimento when no one else could. Rosa has a soft side, while Gina has nothing soft about her!

Kaysi (@julietknope): It’s so good to have her back! No, I didn’t know, I thought they were talking about Rosa.

Aurora (@aurorasblog): I thought they were talking about Rosa! They totally got me. What a fantastic misdirect!

Marilyn (@Marilyn72568293): I really thought they were going to go get Rosa. But I couldn’t be happier that they ended up talking about Gina! It has been far too long!

Pamela (@CharlesonPamela): I was really hoping they were talking about Gina, but at the same time, I was afraid they were going to trick us again the same way they did with the Halloween episode. I’m so glad she’s back!

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2. Rosa tells her parents the truth of her sexuality in an outburst after they make her mad at dinner. How do you think she handled the situation?

Christina: Rosa was incredibly nervous, so I’m in no way going to say she handled the situation with her parents wrongly. I think Rosa handled the situation toi the best to her abilities. Her identity and her family are important to her. So her knowing her identity would cause friction with her parents made Rosa nervous and act differently.

Kaysi: It probably would’ve helped if she had been honest from the start. But even when she tried to explain more calmly later, they still struggled to accept her. So I think she handled it the best way she could.

Aurora: As best as anyone could.

Marilyn: Rosa definitely handled herself better than I would have given the situation. I was as angry as she was when they said they would rather she be someone’s mistress than with a woman. Really? Great parenting. Jeez.

Pamela: I was livid for her! But at the same time, I’m really proud of Rosa for not having an epic meltdown like we all know she’s capable of. She could have had that table flipped before we even knew what was happening. I think she handled the situation like a freaking pro!

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3. Why do you think Rosa’s parents seem to have such a difficult time accepting their daughter likes men and women?

Christina: I think Rosa’s parents had a hard time accepting her identity because they might be traditional and not very open minded. Maybe they’re religious and the LGBTQ lifestyle is not something they like or completely understand.

Kaysi: Her parents are probably like most people who don’t support bisexuality because they had specific things they wanted and expected from Rosa’s life. Her being bisexual doesn’t  necessarily match with what they wanted for her.

Aurora: It’s hard to say they’re traditional. I wouldn’t expect a family who believes in specific gender roles to embrace a daughter who wears leather jackets, rides motorcycles, and is a police officer. But they do seem to have a very specific picture of how their daughter’s life would turn out. So, I could see how it might be jarring for them to find out. Of course, that doesn’t excuse their reactions. Maybe they’re worried about how to explain it to their parents. It’s too bad that it’s like that.

Marilyn: I couldn’t begin to fathom why it’s such a difficult thing to accept. Everyone should accept that people love who they love. But especially your parents. They are the people that are supposed to love and support you no matter what. I was really disappointed.

Pamela: They seem like they just expected Rosa to be old fashioned. Which is surprising, because she pretty much does the opposite of all that. But maybe that’s why. Maybe being a cop is all part of Rosa escaping the box her parents want her to fit into.

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4. What were you thinking about the entire situation as we saw Rosa being more emotionally open than ever before? Did it hit you harder because her usual stoic manner was gone?

Christina: Rosa being emotional was fantastic to see! Yes, it hit me harder because I’m so used to her being stoic all the time. I always get hit in the feels so hard when Rosa has emotional scenes. Stephanie Beatriz is insanely amazing as Rosa!

Kaysi: I loved seeing this more emotional side of Rosa because it really feels like we’re getting to know her better and she has no reason to put up any fronts anymore. It definitely did hit me harder seeing how affected she was by the reactions from her parents.

Aurora: I thought the show did such a good job of keeping some of her stoicism while opening up. I thought it was the perfect balance, and yeah, this episode definitely hit me hard. My heart was overflowing with emotion when Holt hugged her at the end.

Marilyn: The way Rosa was tearing up throughout this episode hit me right in the heart! If she had been able to detach herself from the situation like usual, I don’t know that it would have affected me in the same way. Seeing Rosa cry is something I never want to see again!

Pamela: Rosa being so emotional definitely had the situation hitting me harder. If she could have been sarcastic about it all like usual, I wouldn’t have given it as much thought. I’m glad she was as emotional as she was though because it’s a serious situation and it deserved all the respect it got.

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5. The show once again dealt with a situation that some people struggle with daily. How do you think the sexuality issue was handled on the show?

Christina: Brooklyn Nine-Nine has done such a great job of handling situations that people deal with everyday. As an LGBTQ ally I’m incredibly happy with the way B99 handled Rosa’s coming out. Her closest friends didn’t bat an eye or look judgmental when she told them. Their questions were all polite and asked in real interest. I loved that Jake got everyone together for a family game night at Rosa’s. They see her as the Rosa Diaz she is: terrifying, but with a kind heart.

Kaysi: Once again, it was handled really, really well. They did a great job of talking about bisexuality in a way that was still light-hearted and funny, despite it being a very real and serious topic. They did a great job.

Aurora: I thought it was handled wonderfully. They covered different ways people responded, and used Holt to remind us how much progress has been made. Real family is not always the family you’re born into. Rosa as exactly who she was even while talking about a heavier subject. They kept great jokes, so it still felt like the show we love. Personally, I thought it was done perfectly.

Marilyn: I think they did a really great job with it. They still had comedy within the show, but they kept that part of it pretty serious. As they should have. Over the years, I think this show has gotten really great at addressing serious issues.

Pamela: It was handled really well. I kind of like that they didn’t have Rosa’s parents just accept it. Only because that really hit the issue home. Not everyone has the luxury of telling their parents something like that and just having them accept it and move on.

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6.  Jake really stepped up for Rosa, which isn’t surprising. But he was more mature than we’ve ever seen him. What do you think has changed the most about Jake over the past five years?

Christina: Jake has definitely matured for the best. I think the maturation comes from Holt’s influence the most and also from Amy. Holt is the father figure Jake desperately wanted and needed and Amy provides him with stability and the desire to be better. Jake sees the squad as his family. He’s not just in it for himself, he’s learned to be a team player.

Kaysi: I think Jake has changed the most because he really does view the precinct as a family. He’s longed for a family like that his whole life and now he has a whole group of people he loves and who love him back. It’s only helped him grow more.

Aurora: It’s hard for me to say, but I guess Jake legitimately cares more about other people now. Granted, I think he’s always been caring. But at the beginning, he had more of a desire to be the center of attention, or to get under people’s skin. Whereas now, he just wants to truly be there for his friends. He potentially thinks of the world more of  he and his friends instead of just himself.

Marilyn: I definitely think how Jake talks to people has changed the most. He couldn’t even utter a serious sentence when the show first began. He was always being a smart ass or sarcastic. Now he seems to understand what’s going on around him a bit more. I love it!

Pamela: Jake’s respect for authority over the past five years is the biggest change I’ve noticed. In the beginning he had zero respect for his captain, and less than that for Holt. Fast forward five years and not only does he respect Holt, but he respects everyone within the squad as well.

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7. We’ve seen the show without Gina and we missed her the entire time. So when Gina said she wasn’t coming back to the precinct, did it have you worried at all? Or did you know she was coming back?

Christina: I knew Gina was going to come back. There’s no way Gina would be really gone.

Kaysi: I was a bit worried! Since Chelsea Peretti just had a baby in real life, it wouldn’t have been too surprising if she decided to leave the show. But Brooklyn Nine-Nine just isn’t the same without Gina so I’m thrilled she’s sticking around!

Aurora: I was shocked and really thought she wasn’t coming back at first. It was a fun surprise that she was gonna come back after all.

Marilyn: I’m not going to lie. I was a little scared that she was serious. I thought maybe since she really did have a baby that she was done with the show. But I’m so glad she was just being Gina!

Pamela: I might have been a little nervous. Just because I know she actually did have a baby.

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Final Verdict: We love Rosa just the way she is, and would also really like to meet her girlfriend!

The writing has always been phenomenal. But this episode blew us out of the water. The way Rosa’s sexuality was handled was pure magic. We loved seeing her get so emotional about the entire thing. Rosa’s parents not accepting her for who she is had us seething with anger right along with her. When she let herself cry, we all burst into tears. We also loved seeing Jake step up and help her out when she clearly needed someone there. The friendship between the two of them has always given us the warm and fuzzies. Not to mention, this episode brought Gina back! This episode was full of nothing but highlights! Not only did we get Gina back, but we got to see her come back with a vengeance! She took down the cyber crimes unit as if she had never left. There’s the Gina we all know and love!

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We were a little disappointed with the lack of interaction between Rosa and Holt in this episode. If anyone knew what Rosa was going through, it would be Ray. While they did have a couple interactions that were great, we were just hoping to see a bit more. Especially when Rosa’s parents couldn’t seem to accept her for who she really is. Rosa and Holt have gotten pretty close over the last five years. We kind of think he is like a father figure to her and we were surprised and a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see Holt comfort Rosa.

We won’t get to see another episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a while now that they’ve gone on winter break. But they have certainly left us with a lot to think about. At least we get to celebrate that Gina is back and we weren’t left with any major cliffhangers. Sure, we had a few, but at least they aren’t going to keep us up at night wondering what will happen next. At least we hope not. We are pretty anxious to meet Rosa’s girlfriend, but we’re sure that will happen in time as well. There is a pretty big question about when Hitchcock and Scully find the time to be as helpful as they are. When they want to be, of course. Guess that’s just something we’ll have to wait for.

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns to FOX in 2018