The police detectives of the Nine-Nine compete in a series of mini-games, while Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords wage diplomatic war against Deputy Chief Wuntch.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

“There are several ways to make piaya.”

One of the hardest things about reviewing Brooklyn Nine-Nine is finding a great enough joke or phrase to share with you fine people. Not because they’re hard to find, but because there are so freaking many. Where other shows fail to use their cast’s comedic abilities in a genuine manner (ahem… Mulaney show…), Brooklyn Nine-Nine carries with it the same chemistry between the core cast members as it did in Season 1.

The main story of the episode is centered on a series of games that Jake Peralta invented when the King of Iraq, President of Iran Armen Jimmy Jab (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), came to New York in 2008. The Nine-Nine remained on call for nine hours in case of protests, and the primary function of the “Jimmy Jabs” are to pass time while the leadership are out of the building. This time around however, Peralta made a deal with Rosa that if he wins the games, she had to give him her friend’s phone number (and one of the few office chairs with no broken wheels). If he loses, he had to give her $200 and cannot ask for anything ever again.

Game One: The Mouth-a-thon; the team must eat as much of the month old Chinese food from the fridge as they can handle. Each of the six competitors got a nice one-liner about how terrible the food is, which is great because, like most of the dialogue, the games are best when they’re quick. The winner of the first game makes sense, but I’ll leave you to discover that for yourself.

Game Two: Bulky Bulky, Run Run, The Bomb Suit Race; this race works the best because the race isn’t all that important to the mix. Jake and Rosa had some quick banter about her friend Katie. But, it’s the injury that happened during the race that led to the third person being removed from the running that was the funniest part.

Game Three: Keep Your Cover; Rosa, Santiago, and Peralta had to make fake cover stories and talk to officers as long as possible without being discovered. The game worked because it showcases the neuroses of each character, with Santiago not wanting to be touched and Rosa getting pissed with the way the front desk clerk greeted her. For people joining Brooklyn Nine-Nine this season, the Jimmy Jabs did a great job to relay each character.

Game Four: The Obstacle Course; do I need to break that down for you? The final game served as a fun moment between Rosa and Peralta after the games ended. While that reveal was pretty much hinted at the entire time, what I wasn’t expecting was for Holt to be so nonchalant (he also could have been furious or excited, one can never tell) about the games taking place. It seemed he’s fully accepting of what his detectives are all about.

While the games were in full swing, Holt and Jeffords met with Wuntch to discuss getting updated field kits to detect a new form of ecstasy on the streets called “giggle pig.” Kyra Sedgwick placed a great female equal to Holt, sharing in his almost robotic demeanor. In the Season 1 finale, Holt turned the charm on a judge which caught Peralta and everyone else by surprise, so it was nice to see a woman who flat out doesn’t like Holt and in vice versa. It was more emotion than we usually get out of him, and he still had great one-liners to toss around. There was a nice back and forth dynamic between the two, and the consequences of the exchange were very real. Holt now had the money for a specific task force dedicated solely to the eradication of “giggle pig,” and if those arrests don’t happen, his department could face very real problems.

The Jimmy Jabs ended with a sincere conversation between Jeffords and Holt. I liked it a lot because Jeffords is built to be the bridge between the Captain and the Detectives of the Nine-Nine and it has been missing throughout the series. Terry Crews is a very imposing character, and having his “softer” side as a father showcased worked well for the humor, but we haven’t seen enough of his leadership in the series and I hope to see more of it as it continues.

My only complaint is that nothing really major happened in the way of story. Peralta is still pining for Santiago, and Rosa is trying to help him move on. But, aside from that and the new Task Force, nothing really changed. The show is still full of hilarious lines and moments, but I’m wanting more of an impact from a show that’s centered on a police department in Brooklyn, N.Y. Sure it’s a comedy, but they’re cops.

THE BREAKDOWN

The third episode of Season 2 has Brooklyn Nine-Nine sitting a little too comfortably in all of the things that make it an award winning TV show. The great chemistry of the cast and fantastic dialogue they kick back and forth is as great now as it ever was. The Jimmy Jab games were a fun platform to showcase the different character personalities while letting a few moments of story development shine through. While nothing major happened in this episode, it’s left open enough for such a light-hearted show to get a little serious.

Do you want more seriousness out of the show, or are you completely satisfied with having laughs all the way through? Jimmy Jab the comments below.

---

*We do not comment on anything relating to previews for the next episode and beyond.