The NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine is about an amusing squad of detectives who become a family as they solve crimes. While it’s an ensemble show, episodes usually center around the detective Jake Peralta.
Jake is the goofball of the squad. He’s known for his childish charm and laid-back personality. However, he’s also one of the best detectives in the precinct. Fans love him for his kind heart and hilarious one-liners. They also love him because he's relatable, which makes him such a quotable character.
“When did everyone decide to become an adult?”
Jake likes to say he's not in crippling debt but rather is "crushing" debt. His character trait of frivolity puts him at risk of losing his apartment. When Gina offers to pay his rent because she's saved up a lot of money, Jake's surprised. He asks Amy when everyone decided to become an adult.
Viewers can relate to Jake's aversion to getting older. Adulthood has a way of sneaking up on people. It can be difficult to accept the boring parts of being a grown-up, like paying bills or going to the DMV.
“Point is, haters gonna hate. Shake it off. Taylor Swift, always right.”
Throughout Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jake expresses his love for Taylor Swift many times. He claims that she makes him "feel things" and that Swift's security team detained him due to a misunderstanding.
Taylor Swift is such a popular musician because her lyrics resonate with people. Jake quotes Swift's song "Shake it Off" when advising Terry how to deal with his bullies. Fans of the artist and the show can take Swift's advice to heart when facing negative people in their own lives.
“The only worthwhile thing I’ve done today was take a Buzzfeed quiz about what kind of onion I am.”
Everyone at one point or another has fallen down a rabbit hole when surfing the internet. Quizzes, in particular, are a great way to both have fun and waste time.
While Jake is one of the highest-ranking members of the 99th precinct, he's known to slack off on occasion. Jake claims that the only worthwhile thing he did that day was take a quiz about what kind of onion he is. That may not seem like an important question to have answered, but the audience wants to take the quiz too after hearing that line.
“Anyways, I’m gonna go cry in the bathroom. Peace out, homies!”
After Jake gets out of prison, he struggles to get back in the field. He doesn't want to arrest someone innocent and make them go through what he did. After sharing this, he smiles and tells everyone he's going to cry in the bathroom.
Audiences may or may not be able to relate to Jake's career struggles. However, many viewers sympathize with his uncomfortableness with vulnerability. Jake often brushes off difficult feelings by telling a joke. Also, sometimes, a good cry session can help people process their emotions.
“As you all know, I hate Thanksgiving. The pilgrims were murderers, and turkey tastes like napkins.”
Jake doesn't have good memories associated with Thanksgiving. Most of that has to do with his absent father. However, it also is because he's not fond of turkey or the holiday's complex history.
Viewers in America understand where Jake's coming from with this quote. Thanksgiving is more forgettable compared to holidays like Halloween and Christmas. But Jake learns that what makes the day special is not the food or the story of the pilgrims — his friends at the 99th precinct are what make the holiday memorable.
“All the drinks I’m bringing are blue.”
Jake's taste in food is joked about frequently in the series. He eats gummy bears wrapped up in fruit roll-ups and calls it a breakfast burrito. Jake also consumes drinks of the blue variety more than any other color.
Many fans can sympathize with Jake's guilty pleasure of junk food. Blue drinks may not be natural, but they're delicious. His childish appetite is both hilarious and relatable. It's good that Jake starts dating Amy because she encourages him to eat healthier and drink more water.
“Is it a ‘Chris’? Hemsworth? Evans? Pratt? Pine? Brown? Cross?”
Holt informs his squad that someone robbed a celebrity at their precinct. Jake wants to take the case, as he thinks it could be a famous Chris. Fans can relate to Jake's assumption. There are many celebrities named Chris, especially in the Marvel cast. It's hard to keep track of them all.
Audiences also understand Jake's disappointment when he finds out the celebrity is a non-Chris. Instead, the victim is a world-renown oboist that Holt and his husband admire.
“Oh, come on! Why doesn’t my life always work out perfectly?”
When the precinct is invited to a birthday party at Holt’s house by Kevin, Jake plans to impress by talking about articles from The New Yorker. However, he can’t find the right article the guests are discussing. So, he groans about how his life doesn’t always work out perfectly.
Jake’s frustration when things don’t go according to plan is very relatable. When bad luck strikes, fans share a similar wish to Jake. Everyone wants a simple life without complications.
“Everyone likes to be the little spoon. It makes you feel safe!”
Jake sleeps with Sophia, not knowing she's the district attorney for a perp he's trying to put behind bars. Sophia jokes that she'll tell the court that he likes to be the little spoon. Jake defends that everyone does. The prosecutor Carl backs him up by saying, "Yes, little spoon all the way."
Most fans can agree with Jake on this one. It's nice to be held, and being the little spoon doesn't make you weak. It's moments like these where Jake validates viewers by shutting down gender stereotypes.
“I was in bed by 10:00. Then I looked at my phone for another two hours, so actually, I didn’t sleep very well.”
Jake has plans to get drinks with Gina but can't make it due to her new job. When Terry asks Jake how he slept, Jake says he went to bed early but stayed up on his phone for a couple of hours.
He describes a typical bedtime routine for many viewers. Often, people start scrolling through their social media when they get under their covers at night. While it leads people like Jake to lose sleep, it can help distract them from their daily troubles and worries.