Jake Peralta may have won the first Halloween Heist and been crowned the Ultimate Detective/Genius on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but he hasn’t always lived up to that title. The immature detective has had his fair share of screwups as he lets his eager demeanor often get in the way of solid police work.
However, Jake has also proven he’s the best the Nine-Nine has to offer. Captain Holt has often said so himself. When he’s on point and following a hunch, Jake solves the case and gets the bad guy. And he’s only gotten better over time. There’s hope for him yet.
BEST: Choosing a Case Over the Precinct’s Closing Hearing
When the NYPD announced it would be closing a precinct for budget cuts, the Nine-Nine was on the chopping block. They knew they would be closed if they didn’t get a big case and prove why they should stay open. Jake and Charles took on a final case of a kid’s stolen bike that turned into that saving grace.
But while on the job, Detective Peralta realized they had to miss the precinct’s hearing to catch a bigger bad guy and get him off the streets. He chose justice over his own selfish desires.
WORST: Duped By a TV Producer
Jake and Rosa investigate a famous actress’s missing laptop as they visit the set of their favorite police procedural drama. The TV producer on the scene is obviously nervous and tries to sway Jake’s investigation with perks like becoming an official consultant for the show.
Rosa is unimpressed, but Jake, easily excited by cool perks and special treatment, falls for the producer’s tricks. It leads him down the wrong path in the investigation and he nearly ruins it. It’s Rosa’s wits that are his saving grace.
BEST: Questioning the Guilt of an Arrest
Fresh out of a two-month stint in jail after being framed for bank robberies, Jake is eager to prove himself worthy of the field again. Captain Holt follows him on a case of a shoe thief selling stolen merchandise. But as Jake makes the arrest, the culprit pleads his innocence.
Unsure if he’s made the right call, he goes after another lead, but not before letting his first arrest go. It’s a bungled case, but what makes this a moment of greatness for Jake is his realization that the world isn’t black and white.
WORST: Lets Jealousy Get in the Way of an Investigation
As Amy prepares to take the next step in her career as a sergeant, Jake proposes their last case together as detectives be the ultimate sendoff for her. A series of arsons related to the New York Times crossword puzzle ticks all those boxes.
But when Jake invites the puzzle creator to join the case, knowing Amy greatly admires him, he doesn’t expect the puzzler to be so good looking. Insecurity and jealousy make him deviate from the plan, and when he leaves his post, the arsonist strikes again.
BEST: Helped Terry Solve the Cat Burglar Case
Terry’s old precinct mocks him for a botched job when he was a rookie detective. But Jake, being a great friend and a great cop, wants to put that bullying to an end. He helps Terry solve an old case where once, flustered at the blunder, he yells that it was the cat that did the job.
Jake’s obsession with shoes cracks the decades-old case, as he notices the suspect’s soles are worn. But that doesn’t track with when the shoes went on sale and when the culprit supposedly had his debilitating accident. It helps Terry get over something major.
WORST: A Thousand Pushups
Back in their academy days, Jake and Rosa always bet each other a thousand pushups to follow one another’s hunches. They never performed the act, but rather used it as a code to say, “I trust you. I got your back.” But when Jake finally gets close to catching the Pontiac Bandit, he overrules Rosa’s claim of “a thousand pushups.”
In the end, Doug Judy turned out to be the bandit and played Jake like a fiddle. It lets Rosa’s guy escape too, a criminal she’d been tracking for months.
BEST: Charged the Deputy Commissioner’s Son With Vandalism
In only the second episode of the series, Jake proves he’s the best detective. Captain Holt shadows him on a case of catching a tagger that has been drawing obscene graffiti on cop cars. But the criminal turns out to be the Deputy Commissioner’s son.
Jake lets the kid go at first, afraid of what his superior will do to his career. But with Captain Holt’s support, Jake comes to the right decision and arrests the boy and charges him with vandalism. It’s a bold move for a cop to arrest his superior’s child.
WORST: Undermined Boyle as the Lead Detective
Jake and Boyle are usually the best of partners, but when Charles gets put as the lead detective on a case and Jake as the subordinate, he doesn’t take it well. He claims he supports his partner, but throughout the investigation, he steamrolls Boyle at every turn.
Worse, he starts a romantic relationship with the coroner on their case and delays the investigation as the two ignore their duties. It’s not Jake’s finest moment as a detective, nor as a best friend. Boyle is rightfully angry with him.
BEST: Solves Mr. Santiago’s Unsolved Robbery
Attempting to impress Amy’s dad, a former detective as well, Jake makes a binder to prepare for the visit. He notes the obvious suspects in the case, as the company was run by the father and sons. Mr. Santiago plays along only for Jake to find out that Amy’s dad already went down that route during the first investigation.
As the two argue in the car while Amy yells at them over the phone, Jake has an epiphany. He realizes it was the daughters that pulled off the job.
WORST: Taken “Hostage” by Doug Judy
Jake and Doug Judy, a.k.a. the Pontiac Bandit, have a complicated frenemy relationship. When the reformed thief gets into hot water with a former client, he robs a bank and holds hostages so he can contact Detective Jake Peralta.
Once more, Jake gets sucked into Judy’s lies and ends up messing up a case, letting both the diamond thief and the car thief escape. Rosa warned him Doug Judy would betray him, and she was right. He turned out to be the naive little frog stung by the scorpion.
