Holt and Peralta - A Study in Dichotomy

One of the most common principles of writing an entertaining cast for any story is to have characters that are in some way mirror opposites of each other, particularly when it comes to the main character and the main secondaries. There's probably some technical term for this that I should know. I'd look it up but I'm busy watching Brooklyn 99. For those who don't know the show, here's some of the loglines:

"Brilliant but immature Brooklyn detective Jake Peralta must learn to follow the rules and be a team player when his squad gets an exacting new captain."

"Talented but laid-back detective Jake Peralta and his dysfunctional peers struggle to get along under their precinct's strict new captain."

"When tightly wound Capt. Holt takes over the precinct, carefree Det. Jake Peralta and his dysfunctional coworkers' lives get demanding."

To spell out the obvious, all of the show's loglines revolve around Jake Peralta and Captain Raymond Holt. They're selling the idea that it is all about those two. Selling it hard. That might seem a little weird given just how much of an ensemble show it is but it makes total sense, and not just because everyone tries to simplify ensemble stories when selling them. It makes sense because Jake is the main character - and Holt is the secondary character with the biggest dichotomy with Jake.

Of course, part of what makes B99 great is that all of the characters have their dichotomies with Jake, but Holt is more or less a total opposite to Jake in terms of maturity, formality, interests, temperament... almost everything. Placing him at the centre of everything with Jake as his boss brings out this contrast and is a constant source of both humour and drama. It's why, when Jake is completely separated from the rest of the group for multiple episdoes when in witness protection in Florida, Holt is with him. The numerous levels on which to contrast their personalities means they can carry far more of the show on just those than any other combination involving Jake other than maybe Jake and Amy (rival/crush/girlfriend/wife), and a crude but not inaccurate description of Amy would be "Holt as a young extremely attractive Latina". But it's not quite as good.

The why of that - what makes Jake and Holt tick as a character dynamic more than other - is that on one small but crucial level, they are identical. They both love catching bad guys and not just catching them, but doing so with cinematic, macho gusto as the centre of attention. Holt's partially grown out of this, but only partially. If challenged, or if driven to high levels of emotion (despair or elation) it comes surging back. See the many Halloween Heist episodes for the best examples, but the core of it perhaps comes from this quote:

"You wanna know why I was so angry all week? When those men came at me, I acted like I was a twenty-year-old. I took a stupid risk and I got myself stabbed. I was in pain and frustrated about lying to the man I love." 

In his heart, Holt is still a gung-ho thief-taker just like Jake. He has grown a different persona that is just as much truly him because he needs it to succeed in the world and who he wants to be, but that Jake-esque quality will be there. And of course, to complete the mirroring, Jake has his own journey towards being a more mature human being, one in which he connects with the core part of him that feels a sense of responsibility to everyone and can't put his own fun ahead of doing the right thing by them - which is in turn quite Holt-esque.

And the best thing? The writers lampshaded it by making Holt's middle name Jacob. His own hidden slice of Jake-ness. The thing that Amy can't complete with in terms of character dynamics (although also because their oppositeness compliments each other rather than leading to conflict) - she's just not Jake enough. Neither is anyone else.

Well. I lied. The absolute best thing about Holt and Jake's relationship is that Holt will, every now and again, leverage his dour reputation of him simply to mess with Jake.

Captain Holt: Do you want to know how I actually hurt my wrist?
Jake: Yes.
Captain Holt: I was hula hooping. Kevin and I attend a class for fitness and for fun.
Jake: Oh, my God.
Captain Holt: I've mastered all the moves. [Shows photos on phone] The pizza toss, the tornado, the scorpion, the oopsie-doodle.
Jake: Why are you telling me this?
Captain Holt: Because no one will ever believe you. [Deletes photos from phone]

And that's because a) It's hilarious and b) It's him being Jake. Nevermind calling himself Velvet Thunder or shouting "Wuntch time is served", him messing with Jake is ironically his most-Jake-esque moments.

I'm sure there must be better examples of this sort of dichotomy between a MC and a leading support character but right now I can't think of them. Maybe it's a genre thing; the only two examples I can think of similar right now are Vimes and Captain Carrot, and Falco and Helena Justina, both from comedically inclined crime series. Maybe it comes from detective series concentrating on a couple of people with a very tight relationship, but why can't that work in War stories, or Quests, or a dozen other things?

In any case, no idea is for every story. But I do think that the principle of having characters mirror each other is so common for a very good reason. The relationship of Holt and Peralta is simply carrying that it to its logical conclusion. In this case, it has produced outstanding storytelling.