“Okay, I am actually starting to hear the sex talk now.”
“The bunghole is the least erotic part of the barrel. It’s simply functional.”
“Sure sure sure. Bunghole. Continue.”
A while ago, I made a video about Rosa Diaz’s coming out arc on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but
now, I want to talk about basically what happens *after* the coming out. Queer stories so often
revolve around coming out because it’s such a big moment in the lives of so many queer
people, but it’s definitely not the only part of our stories. After every coming out,
there’s an entire life that follows. And what I think Brooklyn Nine-Nine has done well
and continues to do well is portray its queer characters in a realistic, funny, relatable
way -- beyond their coming out. These characters don’t just spend one episode having their
coming out arc and then never talk about it again. Just like real people, they continue
to live their lives -- something that, if you’re queer, involves a bit of queerness.
But they also don’t become just stereotypes. Their stories don’t only become about their
queerness. That kind of representation can be exhausting, because that’s not all we
are. These characters on Brooklyn Nine-Nine are given the space to just be normal characters
who happen to be queer, which is refreshing and heartwarming. It strikes a good balance
between no queer representation, which sucks, and the full-on, “only ever give them storylines
that have to do with being queer” kind of representation. This middleground is what
I’m calling in this video, casual queer representation, but really, it’s just well-done
queer representation. So first, let’s go over Rosa and her girlfriend Jocelyn, and
then we can talk about the queer couple that’s been in the show since the beginning: Captain
Holt and Kevin.
[Dramatic music] “Let’s do this.”
After coming out as bisexual in season 5 and having some brief things with women, season
6 is when Rosa gets a girlfriend. In episode 6 of that season, we learn about her because
Rosa has some whacky hairstyles throughout the entire episode, and she explains that
her girlfriend is in cosmetology school and practicing on her.
“Is it bad?” “Before I answer that question, do you currently
have a knife on you?” “Yeah, several.”
“Then I love it!”
So not only does it make every scene hilarious when Rosa consistently has new, out-of-character
hairstyles, but we get a little peak into what her dating life is like. The episode
is definitely not about her relationship -- it’s about her and Jake trying to solve a seemingly
impossible murder -- but the little glimpse we get of it is sweet and funny. That's solid casual
queer representation, if you ask me. It fits into the plot, it’s not forced, it just makes sense.
“Can we find a segue?” “What? You can’t just say, ‘Let’s find a segue.’”
“I just did.” “Okay.”
Later, in episode 11, as the B-plot for that episode, Captain Holt wants to meet Rosa’s
girlfriend and invites them over for dinner.
“Kevin will be making his famous rice.”
I thought this plot was interesting because it shows that queer people don’t all just
automatically get along with each other and have everything go smoothly. There’s conflict
between the two main queer characters, even if it is really just an issue of miscommunication.
You see, Rosa and Holt’s relationship is fun to watch not just because they’re both
queer but because they’re the two “emotionless” main characters. Emotionless in quotes because
they both definitely have emotions, Holt just hides his behind a nearly-unreadable poker
face, and Rosa tries to act too tough for emotions. And so seeing them have any sort
of emotional reaction when interacting with each other makes it that much more emotional
for the viewer, since they normally don’t outwardly express those feelings. And when
you add on top of that the fact that Holt has been out for decades while Rosa only came
out recently, you get this incredibly sweet relationship where Rosa looks up to Holt,
and Holt wants to make sure that Rosa is happy. Holt has blazed a bit of a trail for Rosa.
His coming out as a gay man was definitely different from her coming out as a bisexual
woman, but he was still the first out queer person in their precinct, and he comforted
her when she came out and was scared.
“Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more
interesting place.”
So now that Rosa has a girlfriend, you can see why she would be nervous about having
her meet Holt. Holt means so much to her and has helped her through a lot, so if he doesn’t
like her girlfriend, that would break Rosa’s heart. Thankfully, at the end of the episode,
Holt meets Jocelyn and does like her.
The next episode to feature Jocelyn is episode 14, where Rosa has to choose between helping
her coworkers catch a hacker in the precinct, or talking to Jocelyn to stop her from breaking
up with her. This episode manages to extract some emotions from Rosa and has her admit
that she really loves Jocelyn. Here, we see that queer relationships have ups and downs
just like any other relationship. Jocelyn feels like Rosa prioritizes her work over
their relationship -- which is a problem that many people face in their relationships -- and
Rosa has to do something drastic to prove that she will prioritize spending time with
Jocelyn more in the future. It’s a really cute moment squeezed into a hectic episode
that nails the casual queer representation. This is Rosa’s life, girlfriend and all.
It’s not any sort of statement, it’s not *about* her queerness per se. It’s just
her life, and her life definitely involves her girlfriend. It’s real, and genuine,
and casual, the way good queer representation should be.
In between these episodes, Rosa does all sorts of other stuff. She fires a flaming arrow
into a pile of stuff that the squad has thrown away as a part of a Norwegian organizing technique
called Munkensmat. She helps Amy realize that she did the right thing by pursuing a difficult
case. She goes undercover to get the name of someone’s supplier. She solves a murder.
And towards the end of the season she ships Boyle to New Jersey and opens a door with
her chin. She’s got quite a bit going on that has nothing to do with her being bi,
but she is given the space to date people and talk about them and have them be a part
of the show -- just like any other character. And importantly, she doesn’t become any
kind of stereotype of a bisexual person. She’s still the same Rosa, it’s just that now
she dates women sometimes.
Then, there’s Holt and Kevin, also known as Jake’s father figures.
“My two dads, straight smashin’ it.”
These two have so many adorable moments, despite the fact that to my knowledge, they have not
shared an on-screen kiss. Both Holt and Kevin are very serious, professional people who
are not big on public displays of affection. In fact, in season 6, there’s a scene where
they shake hands and comment on it being PDA.
“PDA in the office? My my.” “Couldn’t help myself.”
“Hm.”
That’s something that makes complete sense with what we know about the two of them and
their personalities. But just because we don’t see them kiss doesn’t mean we don’t see
any affection between them. One of my favorite little things that happened twice in season
6 was the show slowing down for a moment, showing Holt on the phone with Kevin, and
having him say “I love you.”
“We’ll eat the extra rice for breakfast. I love you as well.”
This short scene completely breaks the otherwise blazing-fast pace of this twenty-minute comedy
show, which makes it all the more sincere and heartfelt. It’s not another bit. It’s
not a joke. It’s just a quick pause so that Holt can tell his husband that he loves him.
It’s such a small thing but it warms my heart so much. Maybe because you kind of expect
big heartfelt moments when something dramatic happens or when there’s a fancy scene. But
you don’t necessarily expect to see just a casual “I love you” on the phone, which
makes it feel all the more genuine. Like you’re getting a little sneak peak into how they
talk to each other normally.
“I’ll tell you the entire story tonight. I love you as well. Goodbye.”
There’s also the moment where they both independently push back against the idea that
being called a “dirtbag” is a bad thing because they have the same literal interpretation of it.
“But a dirtbag is a useful part of a vacuum. I don’t see how it’s an insult.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t bring myself to call him a dirtbag.”
“And why would you? A dirtbag is a a very useful part of the vacuum cleaner.”
Or there’s the time where they have a flashback to when they got married just as same-sex
marriage was legalized and bond over a little joke that Holt made.
“I remarked afterwards that I wished the officiant had been more efficient.”
“Well then I never would have heard your efficient-officiant quip.”
“Hm, you’re right. I regret nothing.”
And then, because they’re such literal, rational people, one of my favorite moments
between them was when they decided to take a trip every year, not because they have to
do something like buy a pie when they get there, but because they like spending time
with each other.
“A trip with no purpose? Raymond.”
Outside of their relationship together, Holt has all sorts of other plans and ambitions.
He wants to be the Commissioner of the NYPD, and when that fails, he goes on a solo vacation
to Mexico where he accidentally interrupts Jake and Amy’s honeymoon. He’s a complicated
character who isn’t defined solely by his relationship to Kevin, but who’s allowed
to have a partner who is a major part of his life, just like any straight captain would.
Kevin even has his own relationship to many of the other characters, like Jake and Gina,
and doesn’t exist solely as Holt’s husband.
When your queer characters are allowed to be their own people with motivations, and
troubles, and relationships just like any straight character, that’s when you’re
nailing the good queer representation. We don’t need more stereotypes, and we don’t
need more half-second-long kisses between nameless queer background characters. We need
fleshed-out main characters who just happen to be queer.
We need more Holts, Kevins, Rosas, and Jocelyns.
“Hell yeah!”
And bonus points if the actor you get to play the character is queer too. Rosa is played
by Stephanie Beatriz who is out as a bisexual woman, and Jocelyn is played by Cameron Esposito,
who is an out lesbian. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong for a straight actor to
play a queer character -- I mean kind of the whole thing about acting is that you’re
pretending to be someone or something that you’re not. But, when a queer character
is played by a queer actor, it just means so much more. That representation exists not
only in the character but also in the actor. They get to be the representation that they
needed growing up. And people looking up to that character can also look up to that actor
in a similar way. Watching interviews with Stephanie Beatriz is incredible because she’s
able to talk about what this representation means to her personally, and I think that
in itself is powerful and important.
People often ask, “Why does this character need to be queer?” And it’s kind of an
insulting question, because nobody asks, “Why does this character need to be straight?”
There doesn’t necessarily need to be a reason. Some characters are straight. Some are bi.
Some are gay. Your characters don’t need a reason to have brown hair or be tall, because
that’s just a part of who they are that’s chosen by whoever wrote them. The same goes
for their sexual orientation. But at the same time, queer people exist in the real world.
And if you want your show to reflect the real world in some way, or be relatable for the
people watching it, then it makes sense to include queer characters. It would be weirder
to just completely ignore the existence of queer people. So don’t ask, “Why does
this character need to be queer?” Just make queerness a normal part of some of your characters,
because it’s a normal part of so many people’s lives already.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine understands this lesson, which is why the queer representation on the
show is so good. With season 7 coming out so soon, I’m excited to see where it takes
Rosa, Holt, and the rest of the cast.
Thanks so much for watching this video, and a huge thank you to all of my patrons for
making this video possible. You can check out the description of this video to see the
names of some of my biggest Patreon supporters, and if you’d also like to support future
videos like this one, you can go to patreon.com/rileyjaydennis.
Supporters on Patreon get access to all kinds
of cool rewards like early access to videos, sneak peaks at future projects, and an exclusive
Discord server -- so definitely check that out if you’re interested. You can also subscribe
and ring the little bell if you want to be notified when I upload another video. Thanks
everyone, and I’ll see you next time.
“Nothing would make me prouder than being your big daddy.”
“Well, we’re off-track now so… good day.”