Brooklyn Nine-Nineis an ensemble show where every character is funny, but Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) manages to find humor in a serious, stoic character. Holt starts the series as a reserved, unemotional manager, but bythe ending ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine, he has slowly revealed layers that make the squad and the viewers fall in love with him. Holt has some ofthe funniest scenes inBrooklyn Nine-Nine, but he also is at the center of some of the most emotional beats.
Braugher’s Captain Holt begins the pilot as the new captain of the 99th precinct. Holt is a dry, deadpan character compared to the rest ofthe cast ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine. Holt develops familial bonds with everyone under his command throughout the show’s run. As the anniversary of Andre Braugher’s passing approaches, his role as Captain Holt will always be preserved. Holt’s typical gravitas makes the moments when he leans into his petty or competitive side that much more humorous. Many episodes encapsulate everything that Holt brought toBrooklyn Nine-Nine, but 10 in particular stand out.
10Christmas
Season 1, Episode 11
Captain Holt receives a death threat, and Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is thrilled to be assigned as his protection detail. Holt tries to downplay the threat and evade Peralta, but ultimately admits that he suspects the threat is coming from a killer he arrested in his youth. Peralta gives him the type of sound advice Holt typically gives him: don’t be a hero, use the squad.
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“Christmas” is one of the first episodes where the audience begins to understand Holt’s stoic nature. He explains to Peralta the death threat is his fault; he brashly taunted the killer when he was making the arrest. With age and wisdom, Holt strives not to let his emotions get the best of him as they did then. He does not want the squad putting themselves at risk to help him, as he thinks the death threat is his fault. Luckily, he listens to Peralta, and the squad is proud to be able to help protect their captain.
9Beach House
Season 2, Episode 12
Blending awkward comedy with surprising emotional heft, “Beach House” is an archetypalBrooklyn Nine-Nineepisode. The story begins when the detectives are on their way to their annual detectives-only getaway. Peralta realizes that Holt, who was an openly gay Black cop in the 80s, was not included in these types of bonding activities, so he invites the boss. Everyone is uncomfortable and unsure of how to act around Holt. Holt’s vacation activities include walking along the beach in the wintertime, sitting in the hot tub without the jets, and asking if people have formal workplace complaints.
Eventually, Peralta realizes the solution is not that everyone should rise to Holt’s level, but Holt should sink down to theirs. This episode epitomizes howBrooklyn Nine-Ninesubtly weaves a grounded backstory for Holt. Being a queer cop of color would not have been easy, but that is not all that defines him in the present.
Holt is such a multidimensional character that of course he would find the hot tub jets childish, calling them a “bubble bath.” This episode shows how Holt can stay true to himself and still bond with the squad. Jake creates a game, “Real Ray or Fake Ray,” where the squad must guess whether the quote is something Holt really said, to the squad’s delight.
8Coral Palms: Part 1
Season 4, Episode 1
After a mobster makes death threats against them, Holt and Peralta are put in the Witness Protection Program and relocated to Florida. Holt tries to make the best of it for six months as “Greg Stickney,” a straight widower. Holt is such an overachiever that he genuinely tries to follow the rules and find joy in his new life, power walking with the women in the neighborhood and working his way up the command chain at the Fun Zone. But in the end, Holt agrees with Peralta: they are detectives, and they’ll work the case until they can go home.
This is a rare episode set outside NYC and without the full ensemble. Holt and Peralta are the focus of the entire episode. Holt is a natural rule-follower so sometimes he needs Peralta’s encouragement to break a little bit bad. Holt is terrible undercover, describing his dead wife as “a strong female woman with nice, heavy breasts.” Holt is on such a different level from most characters that he cannot even pretend to be someone else. When Peralta tries to teach Holt how to ride an ATV, Holt demonstrates a perfect mastery he acquired while “antiquing in the Berkshires.”
7Your Honor
Season 4, Episode 19
Holt asks Peralta to help him work a special robbery case. The victim is the Honorable Laverne Holt (L. Scott Caldwell), Holt’s mother. As Holt narrows in on a suspect, Laverne confesses to Peralta that the man is her boyfriend whom her son does not know about. Peralta encourages Holt to be more emotionally vulnerable with his mother, but Holt dismisses the idea, saying that they are not “Cowabunga people” like Peralta.
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Seeing how similar Holt is to his mother provides a lot of context to his unemotional demeanor. Holt decides to “be the Jake” and open the door to a heart-to-heart with his mother. Holt is often credited with helping Peralta mature, but Peralta helps Holt learn to soften and connect with others. But Raymond Holt will always be true to himself, so in classic Holt fashion, he agrees with his mother to be “15% more forthcoming on personal details and 5% more physically affectionate” while “implementing a 12% increase in impromptu communication.”
6The Box
Season 5, Episode 14
In “The Box,” Holt joins Peralta as they pull an all-nighter interrogating a suspect (Sterling K. Brown). Holt is eager to get his hands dirty again and Peralta knows that many interrogation tactics are more effective with two people. The episode revolves entirely around these three characters and the interrogation and observation room. Breaking withBrooklyn Nine-Nine’s usual ensemble format, the episode allows Samberg, Braugher, and Brown’s performances to shine. Braugher gets to flex his dramatic muscles from his days onHomicide: Life on the Streets, which had a similar bottle episode, “Three Men and Adena.”
Holt’s dry humor plays against Peralta’s silliness perfectly. Their interplay becomes meta, with Peralta unsure if he is playing the “dumb cop” or if Holt truly thinks of him that way. Some of the best moments come from Holt’s dry humor, like when he says Peralta trying to be angry is like “like being yelled at by a children’s cereal mascot.” Peralta’s need for Holt’s approval actually helps him figure out how to break the suspect. Holt’s placid demeanor shatters when Peralta gets a confession, letting out three consecutive “Oh damn!”s.
5Honeymoon
Season 6, Episode 1
Peralta and his new bride, Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), are on their honeymoon in Mexico, but unfortunately, Holt is also there, wallowing in self-pity after losing his campaign to become Police Commissioner. Seeing Holt surrounded by so much sunlight is jarring, but having not properly packed, he is forced to wear novelty t-shirts with bad jokes like “What’s up, beaches?” or “DTF - Down to Fiesta.” Holt’s depression is a new layer to his character. He has been famously difficult to read in the past, but now he is outright depressed, asking “what is it about me that screams ‘loser’?”
Holt goes on quite the emotional arc in this episode. Peralta and Santiago convince him there is more to life than being Commissioner, while Holt is again inspired by Peralta’s irreverence toward authority. The captain decides that after a career of not making waves, it’s time to make his voice heard. It’s a relief to see Holt reenergized, even if he’s still wearing a yellow t-shirt bedecked with a thong-wearing pineapple.
4The Honeypot
Season 6, Episode 7
This episode shows Holt at his full power. Holt’s new assistant is a mole sent by the Police Commissioner to spy on the precinct and Holt. Holt’s detective instincts kick in immediately upon meeting Gordon Lundt (Karan Soni), noticing subtle signs that he was sent as a honeypot, like his Windsor knot tie, “the easiest knot to undo,” that Peralta misses. Holt’s version of what flirting looks like is hilariously awkward, but in the end he is proven right. He even manages to make Lundt fall in love with him while expounding on barrels at a barrel museum.
Holt has spent much ofBrooklyn Nine-Nineseason 6 in a rivalry with the commissioner. At the end of this episode, Holt scores a victory by recording a damning admission of the commissioner with a recorder disguised as a pen. Holt borrows some of Peralta’s love of spy movies in a subtle gesture to Peralta’s influence on him, while his droll delivery is played deliberately straight – which makes him even funnier.
3The Bimbo
Season 6, Episode 13
Holt and Peralta work together to solve a theft at Columbia University, where Holt’s husband, Professor Kevin Cozner (Marc Evan Jackson) works. At the precinct, Holt is a confident, eloquent leader, but seeing him with his husband’s colleagues in academia reveals a completely different side to Holt. The captain lets their perception of him as Kevin’s “working class bimbo” affect his behavior. Among his husband’s peers, he is “the Jake.” Holt gets flustered. When the dean asks what the investigative plan is, Holt can barely choke out: “Clues.”
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Watching Holt and Peralta switch roles for an episode is a fun reversal. Holt’s relationship with Kevin is delightfully distinct, so the time they have together on screen is a joy. Getting Holt out of his element reveals new shades to his character. When the captain admits to Peralta he fears Kevin will realize he’s too good for him, it adds a new dimension to how flustered he has been the whole episode.
2Ding Dong
Season 7, Episode 7
Holt has a long-standing rivalry with Deputy Commissioner Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick,) which showed him at his pettiest.Holt’s insults to Wuntchwere legendary, and when Wuntch’s death is announced, Holt openly celebrates. The title refers to the death of the Wicked Witch inThe Wizard of Oz. Throughout the episode, Holt tries to find a way to mask his true glee as he must speak at her funeral.
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Holt spends much of “Ding Dong” in a posthumous chess match with Wuntch, even going so far as to throw a fake funeral. His gleeful delight is funny, but when he reflects on how their rivalry pushed them both to be better officers, Holt finds himself sincerely expressing condolences for her passing. Holt’s turn to the heartfelt is surprising which makes it even more moving.
1Renewal
Season 8, Episode 8
After spending time separated, Holt and Kevin have reunited and will throw a vow renewal ceremony. As Holt’s workaholic nature has always been a point of contention, he announces that he will soon retire. However, on the day of the vow renewal, Holt and the squad are roped into work hijinks to save a police reform program.
Holt’s willingness to put Kevin’s needs first shows just how much the captain has grown. But their relationship is special because Kevin understands how important Holt’s work is. Kevin shows up to save the day, and tells Holt that he knows he is too passionate to ever retire and would never ask that of him. Holt has fully enmeshed his work and home lives, coming a long way from the “robot captain” ofBrooklyn Nine-Nine’s pilot.
