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Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back with “The Crime Scene.” Jake becomes attached to the scene. Rosa has adventures in hairdos. Hitchcock & Scully just want hotdogs.
“The Crime Scene” was written by Brooklyn Nine-Nine supervising producer Justin Noble (Idiotsitter) and directed by Michael McDonald (MADtv). It takes place almost entirely in the crime scene but manages to give the Nine-Nine and Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) bedroom cameo appearances.
This is basically a clothesline episode. Each part of the joke starts with Rosa’s (Stephanie Beatriz) new hairdo via her girlfriend Jocelyn, who is practicing her hairdressing game. My favorite style was whatever you call the one that looked like it could have been in the movie Grease or a biopic about Napoleon Bonaparte.
The next part of the clothesline was Jake trying to solve the murder by using methods you’d find on a USA Network detective show or any show on CBS. My favorite turned out to be the running joke of Jake talking to the room. The room eventually gets its own voice in Jake’s head even though it refuses to talk back to him. Classic.
Next, there would be a cameo from another cast member. The stand out was guest star Michael Mosley (Ozark) as Franco. He was Horatio from CSI: Miami. Assertive, barely intelligible, and tagged everything he said by taking his sunglasses off for dramatic effect. The mutual disdain between Franco and Team Jake and Rosa was great.
Special mention to Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) playing a dead body for Jake at the Nine-Nine. This included allowing himself to be sprayed with nearly a half gallon of ketchup by Jake. Scully and Hitchcock thought all the ketchup was for hotdogs. When they discovered it wasn’t, the devastation was real.
The button part of the clothesline was Jake hitting a dead end. It was quickly followed by a title card saying “Case #DG078PHS97 Day 52.” That’s right. This case went on for two months. By the end of it, Jake looked ready to join the season three cast of True Detective. You can’t stop this rocket.
I love it when sitcoms use something like a clothesline and weigh that sucker down with jokes of kinds. My personal favorite was “Jake and Rosa’s First Impressions of the Case!” closely followed “Jake and Rosa’s Final Impressions of the Case!” This was a giggle-fest episode.
I Promise
This wasn’t just an episode mocking a murder investigation. It was fueled by Jake promising the victim’s mom that he would find the killer. Everyone tells Jake this is a rookie move. Anyone who has watched a procedural knows this is a television cop faux pas. But Jake starts texting the mom more promises. He starts promising randos on the street that he will solve this murder.
Eventually, Rosa hands the case over to Major Crimes. Even though he tries to work the case on his own time, Rosa talks some sense into him. It’s time to tell the mom that they can’t find the killer.
But, when they sit the mom down and tell her the sad truth, Rosa breaks down and promises the mom that they will find the killer. What? Why? Because the mom reminded Rosa of her own mom. They haven’t spoken since Rosa came out to her as bisexual.
And that’s what Brooklyn Nine-Nine does so well. It will take a classic comedic outline, beat you over the head with jokes, honor the subject matter, and then make you get deep into your feelings. At the end of the episode, Rosa’s mom, Julia (Olga Merediz), shows up at the Nine-Nine. They go off to talk with each other. They’re clearly happy just to be in the same room with each other. The episode that started off with a murder ends in a reunion.