21 times Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99 made us believe in love
Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) from Brooklyn 99 may be one of the cutest on-screen couples of all time. Unlike many TV couples who get together and break-up over and over again throughout the series, Brooklyn 99 does a great job of showing their cute and healthy relationship that naturally progresses throughout the seasons from friendship to love. So here are twenty times Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99 made us believe in love. Warning — spoilers from season 1 to 7 ahead!
1. The bet (season 1, episode 13)
In season one, Jake and Amy make a bet to figure out who’s the better detective based on who gets the most arrests. If Amy wins, she gets Jake’s car, but if Jake wins, he gets to go on a date with Amy. When Jake wins the bet, he has a huge plan to take Amy on an embarrassing date involving a bad dress, cheap seafood restaurant, a youth choir, and more. But when Jake and Amy’s date gets interrupted as they are forced to go on a stakeout, they end up having a really nice time together just eating snacks and getting to know each other better. While Jake could’ve been a jerk and accepted a relief team so they could go back to their embarrassing date, it is clear that Jake respects and cares for Amy enough to continue to their fun stakeout.
2. Jake and Amy’s first kisses (season 2, episode 23)
While Jake confesses he has feelings for Amy at the end of season one and Amy reveals she likes Jake early on into season two, Jake and Amy do not kiss until the end of the second season. While undercover as a newly engaged couple, Jake and Amy are forced to not only say what they like about each other, but they also kiss twice to prevent their cover from being blown. While they agree to just keep things professional, eventually, they stop fighting their feelings and kiss for real in the evidence locker by the end of the episode.
3. Jake and Amy’s first date (season 3, episode 1)
While it may have started off awkwardly, Jake and Amy's first date is cute and pretty realistic as it can be awkward to date someone you’ve been friends with for years. With a few shots though, the two get back on track and end up having a noice time.
4. “Screw light and breezy” (season 3, episode 1)
After accidentally giving their new captain a heart attack and getting yelled at by Terry (Terry Crews), Amy wants to break things off with Jake. At the end of the episode though, Amy comes to Jake’s apartment and tells him that she misses him, and instead of just being colleagues or just being a “light and breezy” couple like they planned, she wants to be with him. Awww.
5. A sticker just for waking up (season 3, episode 4)
Sometimes, love doesn’t always need to be about big romantic gestures. After Jake and Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) get suspended after screwing up on a case, Jake is feeling really depressed. Jake admits to Gina (Chelsea Peretti) that Amy is trying her best to cheer him up though, even giving him a sticker just for waking up. When Gina says, “Ew, it’s like you’re dating your teacher,” Jake replies by saying, “I know. It’s so hot.” While Amy may not be in the scene, it is so cute to see her care about Jake in her own fun-loving, nerdy way.
6. Mattress shopping (season 3, episode 7)
In “Th Mattress,” Jake and Amy fight for most of the episode about how Jake refuses to buy a new mattress so Amy can sleep without pain in his bed. However, after having a conversation with Captain Holt about love and sacrifice, it is so cute and sweet to see how Jake finally takes the leap and buys a new mattress for Amy.
7. The first “I love you” (season 3, episode 13)
Let’s be honest, Jake is not the most emotionally mature guy. So when Amy says, “I love you,” as they are salsa dancing on their cruise, both Amy and the audience are disappointed at first when Jake says, “Noice, smort.” But when Jake stops dancing and says it back, your heart can’t stop but melt.
8. Back in sync (season 4, episode 3)
After months apart as Jake was forced into witness protection, things are a little rocky at first when Jake and Amy are reunited. From constantly saying the wrong things to accidentally hurting each other, Jake and Amy have trouble getting back on the same page. By the end of the episode though, Jake and Amy get back in sync and it is so nice to see.
9. Moving in together (season 4, episode 11)
After being together for a while, Jake and Amy decide they want to move in together, but can’t decide whose apartment they’ll move into. In class Jake and Amy fashion, they decide to have a bet where whoever catches the most convicts gets to keep their place and the loser has to move in with the winner. Catching the last escaped convict at the same time, Jake decides to let Amy win because she’s awesome and her “happiness is worth more than winning some stupid bet.” Aww.
10. Babysitting Terry’s daughters (season 4, episode 16)
“Moo Moo” is a really heavy episode that focuses on important issues like racial profiling and police brutality. While these issues are the main part of the episode, the storyline also touches on Jake and Amy and how much they enjoy babysitting Terry’s daughters. While there are lots of cute moments between the couple throughout the episode, it is so cute to hear them talk about how cute Terry’s daughters are with their tiny shoes and tiny hands.
11. Jake supporting Amy’s dreams (season 4, episode 18)
Right from the start of the show, Amy’s a competitive and ambitious detective who wants to rise through the ranks and become the youngest captain in the history of the NYPD. So when she freaks out about taking the sergeant’s exam, Jake sets up a practice exam for Amy. After running off after her practice test, Jake and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) go on a wild goose chasing looking for her. When Jake finds Amy on the rooftop where they had their fun stakeout back in season one, she admits to him that she’s worried that everything is going to change between them once she’s promoted. Jake explains to her that he always knew that Amy would be his boss and that she cannot be afraid to be successful. This is a really sweet moment between them and while some guys may have been intimidated by their girlfriend’s success, it is great to see how Jake is nothing but supportive.
12. Jake goes to prison (season 4, episode 22 + season 5, episode 1)
Season four has a shocking ending when Jake and Rosa are wrongfully accused of bank robbery, found guilty in court, and are then sent to jail. Both before and during his time in prison, Jake and Amy have some deep conversations where Amy explains to Jake that she will wait for him and continue to fight for his innocence no matter what.
13. Jake’s proposal (season 5, episode 4)
Every Halloween Heist is different, but season five’s heist was unlike anything else. While Jake and Amy trash-talk each other throughout the heist, the episode ends with Jake’s super creative and romantic proposal that makes my heart melt every time I watch it.
14. Jake and Amy’s wedding (season 5, episode 22)
What was supposed to be a perfect wedding day resulted in a chaotic disaster involving a bomb squad, a ruined wedding dress, and a destroyed wedding cake. While Jake tells Amy that it’s okay and that he would marry her in a dumpster, Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) plans a smaller, last-minute wedding ceremony at the police precinct. What starts as a disastrous day ends with Jake and Amy having a nice ceremony and exchanging super touching vows.
15. Evolution of Jake’s names for Amy (various)
Jake’s names for Amy change throughout the show. From Santiago to Amy to Ames to babe, it is cute how Brooklyn 99 shows the slow natural evolution of their relationship from childish rivals to lovers to husband and wife.
16. Appreciating other’s differences (various)
Jake and Amy are very cute together, but form before they were dating, they were opposites. Amy’s a competitive, brilliant and nerdy detective, whereas Jake is a charming class clown. While they may have different interests as Amy is a big Harry Potter nerd and Jake’s a big Die Hard fan, they try to enjoy each other’s interests. While Amy doesn’t like Die Hard as much as Jake does, she does pretend to like the movies for him, orders him a Nakatomi Plaza wedding cake, and even dresses up as Holly Gennero on their honeymoon. In season four, episode 11, Jake tells Amy that he started reading the Harry Potter books because Amy loves them so much, and then they have a sweet bonding moment. Jake also asks their wedding florist if Amy’s bouquet can be wrapped in crossword puzzles and dresses up as one of Amy’s heroes, Melvill Dewey, during their honeymoon. They may be different, but they appreciate each other for who they are.
17. Jake and Amy investigating a sexual assault case (season 6, episode 8)
“He said, she said” is a hard episode to watch as it looks at the #metoo movement and sexual assault in the workplace. After taking on a sexual assault case and trying to find justice for the victim, Amy works to the bone, desperately trying to find anything to help her solve the case. When Jake starts to worry about her well-being, Amy explains that this case is very important to her as she and many other women she knows have experienced some form of sexual assault or harassment at work. It is an emotional scene to watch and while some of Jake’s jokes in season one may have been a little problematic, it is nice to see Jake being a supportive ally and helping Amy solve the case in any way that he can.
18. 1 year of marriage recap (season 6, episode 12)
Many TV shows end with the lead couple having a big wedding and living happily ever after. But in Brooklyn 99, Jake and Amy have a wonderful life even after their wedding day. When Jake and Amy are working and hanging out at the hospital and talking about their first year of marriage, it so cute to hear about the highlights of the year they’ve had together. From accidentally switching contact lenses for a day to Jake putting socks on Amy’s cold feet at night, the show really captures how Jake and Amy still have really cute moments together even after marriage.
19. Jake’s ready to be a dad (season 6, episode 12)
From the beginning of the show, it is clear that Jake has some serious dad issues. So when Amy learns that Jake actually does not want to have kids, the couple gets into a big fight about children and staying together. After dealing with a massive bomb threat, the episode ends where Jake finally feels ready to be a dad and together they brainstorm baby names.
20. “We are a family” (season 7, episode 6)
After months and months of trying for a baby, Jake and Amy are exhausted and disappointed, a very real thing that many couples face. After all the scheduling and the regimens they are following, Amy thinks about just giving up on trying to start a family. Jake explains to her though that getting pregnant is just a thing they cannot control but no matter what, they already are a family. Whether they keep trying, adopt, try treatments, or stop trying altogether, Jake is happy because he’s with her. Aww.
21. Jake and Amy giving birth (season 7, episode 13)
After a long time of trying to get pregnant, it is really sweet to see Jake and Amy finally get pregnant and give birth to their son, Mac. With Jake constantly getting delayed with needing to stop crime during a city-wide blackout and Amy forced to run the precinct even after her water breaks, it is so sweet to see the season end with Jake and Amy so happy as they hold their little boy in their arms.
Final thoughts
While there are many cute TV couples like Jim and Pam from The Office, Betty and Jughead from Riverdale, and Jane and Rafael from Jane the Virgin, Jake and Amy are couple goals as they are both strong and smart detectives who may have their differences, but love and respect each other all the same.
Check out my full review of seasons 1–7 of Brooklyn 99 here.