Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Halloween II Recap

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Halloween II (2×04)

Summary: In a follow up to last year’s Halloween episode, Peralta makes another bet with Holt over if he can steal the Captain’s watch. Meanwhile, Gina gets kicked out of Floorgasm over missed rehearsals.

Rating: ★★★★☆

It’s Halloween time again in the Nine-Nine! While I never had a proper recap of the previous ‘Halloween’ episode, I did put it in with my favorite Halloween episodes list. It was a supremely funny episode that featured Peralta trying to win a bet with Holt over if he could steal his Medal of Valor, Charles trying to convince Amy that Halloween is fun (and failing) and Jeffords trying to figure out why exactly Diaz left Catholic school.

While this year’s Halloween follow up was not quite as good in my opinion, it still managed to be a very entertaining episode with one central lesson: Raymond Holt is an evil genius.

As a follow up to last year’s bet, Jake bets that he can steal Captain Holt’s watch before midnight. If he wins, it’s the same terms as last year (Holt does everyone’s paperwork and says Peralta is a genius), but if he loses, Peralta has to work five weeks of overtime for free and say that Holt is a genius. After doing a cost benefit analysis, Holt agrees.

Peralta’s plan is similar to last years, with having a massive distraction fest in order to get the watch off of Holt by using a pickpocket named “Fingers” to get it done. The plan (which includes Sully singing ‘O Fortuna’ and Boyle dropping bouncy balls from the ceiling) seemingly goes off without a hitch. However, Fingers makes off with the watch and Peralta has to get it back.

What follows is a series of events that could be described as Jake Peralta and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Halloween. Peralta and Boyle go to meet Fingers, who informs him that he placed the watch in the glovebox of Peralta’s car. Which is immediately towed by the NYPD. Peralta and Boyle try to follow the truck, but they’re soon separated by drunken revelers and Peralta has to follow the tow truck on a party bus, where his wallet and badge are stolen. He tries to sneak into the impound lot to try and win the bet, but he loses when his car is prepared for crushing and he is arrested for trespassing.

Back at the station, Peralta explains what happened to Holt, but Holt reveals that it was all a part of his plan. Which he started on immediately after he lost the previous bet. Everything that went wrong was caused by his fellow detectives (minus Boyle) mostly because Holt asked them if they wanted to embarrass Jake. Peralta concedes, but he swears his revenge on Holt next Halloween. I swear, if this becomes a series of yearly escalating dares, I’m totally okay with that.

There was only one B-plot in this episode, which was focused around Gina and Jeffords. Jeffords is prepping the team to stuff safety treat buckets for the neighborhood, but Gina bows out because she has an “urgent matter” to attend to. Jeffords gives her the benefit of the doubt, but Diaz and Santiago aren’t buying it. It certainly doesn’t help when she comes back and says she has to leave immediately to practice with her dance troupe Floorgasm, which causes Jeffords to get really pissed at her.

Later in the day, Gina reveals two things to Jeffords. 1.) That Floorgasm just came by to kick her out of the group for missing eight rehearsals in a row, and 2.) that the reason she flaked on all those rehearsals and on work is that she has been going back to school to finish her undergrad. Gina mourns the fact that she won’t be able to go to school and dance, but Jeffords tells her that it’s awesome that she’s going back to school and that he’ll dance with her at her gig tonight. Oh Terry, what a guy!

The 99 also pitches in to help Gina go back to school so she can also have time to dance, which is also freakin’ lovely and shows just how much of a family they are. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS UNIT.

While this year’s foray into Halloween wasn’t quite as good as last years, it still delivered on giving a fun episode about my favorite holiday of the year as well as setting up a tradition between Peralta and Holt over the bet. Maybe it will get old at some point, but for now, I am all along for the ride.