The fifth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the last one to air on Fox before its untimely cancellation. It is ridiculous to even conceive the rationale behind this decision, considering that this season is one of the best in the series. No matter, fans won when NBC rescued it from potential destruction.
It begins with Rosa and Jake spending time in prison after Lt. Melanie Hawkins effortlessly entraps them, but as is standard for the plot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the story quickly morphs into its usual sketch-based humor. In general, Brooklyn Nine-Nine episodes are excellent, and, for the most part, Season Five is no exception.
Best: Safe House (Episode 12) — 8.7
With the Irish mob after Captain Holt's family, specifically Kevin, the captain stows his husband away in a safe house (keeping Jake in there with him.) Unfortunately, Raymond's mollycoddling begins to take a toll on his relationship after a couple of weeks.
The nine-nine find themselves hot on the trail of Seamus Murphy, finally identifying his hairdresser girlfriend. While Rosa pretends that she needs a new hairstyle in order to extract information, the others rifle through a vast chamber of destroyed documents, so they can locate their man. It really is heartening to see the whole team come together like this.
Worst: Nutriboom (Episode 16) — 7.9
A slower-than-usual plotline, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's resident BFF Charles and Jake find themselves dragged into the most common bane in business: the Nutriboom pyramid scheme. As much as they struggle, the company refuses to let them off their contracts.
As a result, the pair of detectives stalk the premises, hoping to find enough evidence (murder, for example), to defeat Nutriboom legally and permanently. Simultaneously, Sergeant Amy has a complicated time on her first day in her new position, as she learns how difficult it is to really deal with an Amy.
Best: 99 (Episode 9) — 8.8
This episode is the series' 99th, named in honor of the squad (and is also the 9th in the season.) The whole gang goes to L.A. to attend the funeral of their previous Captain, McGintley, but Holt needs to rush back to NYC when he discovers that he might be the next NYPD Commissioner.
However, it seems that they simply can't make it back in time — even after multiple attempts and Jake's stopover at Nakatomi Plaza. This is because Holt has been disrupting their itinerary as he is still nervous about his deal with Seamus Murphy. The best part: Rosa Diaz comes out as bisexual.
Worst: DFW (Episode 17) — 7.9
Jake learns that his father has multiple children in different cities (100% not a shocker), and asks one of his half-sisters, Katie, to come stay with him for a bit. Unfortunately, she seems to be an aggressively independent person, which basically means she lies, steals and does whatever the heck she wants.
At first, he and Amy try to pack her off to Texas, but stop when they realize that she'd be going back to a deadbeat, abusive partner. Still, viewers would have really liked it if more of Jake's siblings had been revealed.
Best: Jake & Amy (Episode 22) — 9.2
The most anticipated event of the season is the wedding between Amy and Jake, which inevitably falls to pieces when somebody calls in a bomb threat at the venue. The nine-nine tries to figure out which of Amy's previous conquests was responsible for this, but it is far too late to save the venue.
At the end, Charles saves the day by organizing an exquisite wedding outside the station (replete with a red-and-blue flashing lights theme.) The cliffhanger is just as amazing, as Holt peruses the email regarding his chances at becoming commissioner, but has no visible emotion on his face.
Worst: The Puzzle Master (Episode 15) — 7.8
This episode has a greater focus on Jake, Amy Santiago and their relationship than the rest of the squad. The puzzle creator, Vin Stermley (whose real-life version is coincidentally married to Melissa Fumero), is both intelligent and gorgeous, making Jake incredibly envious and insecure.
In the meantime, Captain Holt interacts his competition for commissioner, Captain Olivia Crawford, a woman who gives as much sass as is thrown at her. The rest of them have a feeble argument about the new squad car.
Best: HalloVeen (Episode 4) — 9.5
One of the best Halloween Heists occurs in "HalloVeen", not because there is no clear winner, but because Jake uses the opportunity to finally propose to the love of his life. The nine-nine goes through their yearly ceremony in a flurry of sabotage and pop culture references (like the swirling group of Handmaids.)
Jake then alters the text on the belt, "Amazing Human/Genius," one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Gina Linetti's inclusions, to "Amy Santiago, will you marry me?" As everyone cheers for them, the only one annoyed by the turn of events is Captain Holt, simply because he didn't win this time.
Worst: The Venue (Episode 6) — 7.8
On the hunt for the perfect wedding location, Amy and Jake stumble upon an incredibly beautiful manor, only to have it cruelly yanked out from under them by none other than Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Vulture. He claims that he has genuinely changed, and is in love with an amazing social worker, Jean Munhroe.
Of course, it's not like the Vulture to leave well enough alone, and he is caught cheating on his fiancée via dating app. At this point, it seems like a waste of comedy bringing him back into the story without having changed a single thing about his character.
Best: The Box (Episode 14) — 9.5
Although "The Box" is practically centered around Jake, Holt and a seemingly unsolvable murder, it's simple design and stellar climax make it one of the series' best. Peralta tries to get Phillip Davidson, a respected dentist, to confess to killing his partner, but the suspect is ten steps ahead of the detectives the whole time.
Luckily, Jake notices that Davidson takes an inordinate amount of pride in his work, and succeeds in eliciting his confession by playing on the dentist's ego. The fact that Holt says "oh, damn!" three times in a row is a testament to his newfound respect for his subordinate.
Worst: Return To Skyfire (Episode 8) — 7.6
There isn't anything wrong with this episode, per se, but having to rehash the whole "Skyfire Cycle" again made it a bit dull. Terry's childhood idol, DC Parlov, requests him to find the person who "stole" his new manuscript (which he blames on Landon Lawson, his fantasy epic nemesis.)
Nevertheless, when Jake hears Parlov call Lieutenant Terry Jeffords's own novel great, he realizes that both authors are lying. Simultaneously, Charles, Amy and Holt undertake a forensics crash course under the esteemed Dr. Ronald Yee, but even he is exposed for being a complete fraud.