Favorite Fictional Characters, #396: Amy Santiago

I need my rights read to me right now.

My family started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine after the series had completed its run, enabling us to binge watch with maximum efficiency. Which we promptly did, given the show's chaotic ensemble energy and deft comic writing. Much of that credit goes to creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur, who also count Parks and Recreation, The Office, and The Good Place among their programmatic output. The show is clearly a vehicle for the talents of Andy Samberg, whose Jake Peralta serves as lead sled dog. The other dogs on the team, though, are diverse and just as compelling: jacked and insecure Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews), angry and private Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), and of course hilariously monotone yet maniacal Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher). The only down note among the cast is the yawn-inducing narcissist secretary Gina Linetti, who is gratefully written off the show, though not soon enough for my taste...

From among this fun group, my favorite from jump street was Melissa Fumero's neurotic, ambitious Amy Santiago. Focused yet friendly, fierce yet feminine, Santiago harbors the usual insecurities that haunt the bright and driven. Am I good enough? Do people like me? Fortunately for Santiago, she is more than good enough, and people don't just like her but love her (Jake Peralta especially).

Count me among those. I love her attitude, her nerdy obsession with information and organization and procedure, her competitiveness, her willingness to engage in silliness. I'm not sure if I have a "type", per se, but if I did, she might well be it. I like a gal who can stand on her own two feet, take on the world, and then hold the hand of her partner and admit their fears. Amy Santiago is that rare unicorn among the throngs of TV leading ladies, especially in comedies: a textured and real person, flawed but evolving. Her romance with Jake follows suit - they're both unquestionably better together than apart, each supporting the other in ways that make each of them a better cop and a better person in a relationship of equals. Talk about life goals.