Chelsea Peretti is front and center in Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s best episode of the season.

Looks like I jumped the gun last week when I suggested “The Tattler” might be the last we see of Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti). How silly of me to think that Gina would ever leave so quietly – of course she would require her own very special goodbye episode!

All joking aside, “Four Movements” is easily the best episode of the sixth season so far as the Nine-Nine come together to say goodbye to one of their own. Peretti is (rightfully) the main draw here as Gina appears in nearly every single scene and gets a patented “Gina Moment” with everyone, helping to deliver not only a number of emotional beats, but also a uniform throughline for the entire episode. After back to back entries with mixed to weak secondary plotlines, “Four Movements” feels like a breath of fresh air.

The first movement naturally involves Gina and Holt (Andre Braugher) – the pair with arguably the strongest connection aside from Jake (Andy Samberg). The chess match/trash talk session is the most dialogue-heavy sequence in the episode, but director Luke Del Tredici shoots and edits the verbal sparring match so effectively that it never feels less than dynamic. It doesn’t hurt that both Braugher and Peretti are both game for the linguistic gymnastics. Unsurprisingly this produces some of the best quips of the episode (though hearing Braugher repeatedly say “dumbass” isn’t as funny as one might expect). Naturally this movement ends with Gina cheating for the win and ka-kaa-ing away.

The ladies dominate the second movement, though it’s more Amy (Melissa Fumero)’s sequence than Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz)’s as the former struggles to control her emotions (the latter, naturally, has none). The combination of Amy’s sensitivity and her commitment to ridiculous scrapbooking memorabilia is a good combo and the Tweet book she produces for Gina is so ridiculously large that it makes a very effective visual gag. It does feel like a missed opportunity not to highlight a few pages, though, especially considering how bonkers the audience has been led to believe Gina’s social media presence is over the years. Of course the sentimentality of the threesome hugging being undercut by Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker)’s confusing and disgusting Burn Barrel is note-perfect for the show.

It’s not difficult to imagine the third movement being a fan favourite as it indulges in the show’s propensity for ridiculous undercover outings. The quick interaction between Jake and Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) debating the “steamy” vs “splashy” needs for Gina’s party is amusing, and the entire sequence when Gina and Jake dress-up as wealthy siblings to sneak into the Manhattan Club to court Mario Lopez teeters on hilarious parody (your drinking game, should you choose to accept it, is to drink each time the pair says “Daddy”. RIP your liver). Unsurprisingly the result – when Gina turns away AC Slater himself at the door because she only needs the squad – is also the episode’s most misty-eyed moment.

The final movement is the least successful – in part because it follows the strongest section, but also because there are fewer jokes and the pacing is a touch draggy. While Gina’s protracted exit from the work space over the week allows both the Squad and Brooklyn Nine-Nine to adjust to a world without her, there’s never any doubt that Gina is leaving. Also: the pay-off of a giant gold statue isn’t quite a strong enough comedic or emotional payoff, particularly Terry (Terry Crews)’s lacklustre “Gina Moment”. The result is a bit of a whimper of a close, but overall, “Four Movements” is a really fun and funny episode and a great send-off for a gifted comedian.

Random Thoughts:

• The recognition that Gina uses a stunt double in advance of her resignation is great because it acknowledges that audiences can spot the difference.
• Of course, Gina would name her Queen Rihanna and her King Beyonce.
• Gina’s job prospects may include: develop a new crypto-currency, write a YA novel on literally anything, discover a new type of melon. All of these efforts will naturally net her a million dollars.
• Things that make Amy cry include posters at the bank of elderly Asian men opening savings accounts for their grandsons.
• The Tweet book includes a personal foreword by Amy and $75 of her best archival glue.
• Gina-rama – the title of her going away party – could not be held at The Met due to the $12 M rental fee.
• Permission to adopt Pamplemousse LaCroix as my new drag name? It’s the new Anastasia Beaverhousen.
• In case you didn’t know, celebrities hate their fans and work for animal charities because animals have bad bodies so they’re no competition.
• As someone who is not a fan of Mario Lopez, this is the perfect amount to use (and abuse) him.
• Gina doesn’t need second things because all of her first thoughts are so good. Oh, to have that kind of confidence/delusion!
• Is Austrian yogurt really a thing?
• Welcome to The Spool! Alcohollywood is dead, long live The Spool!

Best Lines:

• Holt (when Gina asks if he’s willing to sacrifice his husband’s game proxy): “Yes, Chess Kevin means nothing to me.”
• Gina (noting that white plays first in Chess): “Commentary: the game is racist and you’re complicit.”
• Gina (when Holt delivers a pointed critique and wins the game): “Barf! Wrack them.”
• Amy: “I’m just going to go to the bathroom; not to cry, but to…take a big dump.”
• Rosa (at the ladies lunch): “Gina, since you’re leaving I’d like to make a toast: Bye.”
• Charles (when Jake declines his performance because they want splashy): “Steam is what you get when you add splash to fire.”
• Charles (when Gina suggests she’s weirdly closest to him): “Because I was your brother and your lover?”