For five seasons Brooklyn-Nine Nine has blessed us with a Halloween episode, what started as a battle of wits between Holt and Peralta, has escalated to become a yearly tradition full of increasingly ridiculous twist and turns. For one night a year every member of the Nine-Nine compete to outsmart each other for the title of Ultimate DetectiveHuman/Genius.
While I’m ecstatic that Brooklyn Nine-Nine was saved (thanks NBC!), there won’t be any new episodes until 2019, which means there will not be a Halloween heist episode this year. While this bums me out, it’s also the perfect excuse the re-watch the previous Halloween episodes. They’re all awesome episodes, but some installments are stronger than others, so here is a ranking of every Brooklyn Nine-Nine Halloween episode (so far).
# 5 “Halloween IV” Season 4, Episode 5
This is overall, a very funny episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but as a Halloween episode it’s not the most memorable. It has some great pairings, Amy and Rosa teaming up is a joy to watch as for once Rosa just accepts all of Amy’s quirks as strengths and Amy is delighted. Plus, it has Cheddar the corgi and any episode with Cheddar is a winner. It loses points because this one feels like a repeat of what we’ve come to expect from the Halloween heist episodes, fast-paced, full of twists and turns, with the ultimate winner being Gina, who the rest of the team had dismissed.
Winner: Gina, who changes the name from Ultimate Detective/Genius to Ultimate Human.
Memorable line:
“I will slit you both open from mouth to anus and wear you like jackets.” – Holt
“Wow. Is it weird that that just turned me on a little bit?” – Jake
#4 “Halloween 2″ Season 2, Episode 4
It’s Holt vs Peralta, round 2. Revenge is a good motivator for Captain Raymond Holt, who becomes increasingly more competitive, and dare I say, delightfully deranged during each heist. With his only win (so far), the Captain proves that he can take this heist as seriously as Jake. Andre Braugher smugly revealing his plan to Jake is just the best, with the added bonus that Captain Holt’s manipulation shows how much he’s learnt about Jake. Turns out, Holt is a bit of an evil genius. Also, Rosa’s somersaults will never get old.
Winner: Captain Holt
Memorable line:
“So how’d you convince the whole squad to betray me? What’d you offer them?” – Jake
“I asked them if they wanted to embarrass you, and they instantly said yes.” – Holt
#3 “Halloween, Part III” Season 3, Episode 5
To shake things off, this year Holt and Jake both try to steal the same object, a crown. Competition does not bring out the best in Holt and Jake, just ask Amy who gets completely shut out from this year’s heist because they can’t trust her to choose between her boss and her boyfriend. Amy, being the amazing gal we know and love, retaliates by taking the prize for herself and gets crowned the Queen of the Nine-Nine. The Amy twist is great; it’s funny, surprising and makes sense character-wise. I also love the running joke of the gang (purposely) not recognizing Charles’s Halloween costumes.
Winner: Amy, who is her own person.
Memorable line:
“If I die, turn my tweets into a book!” – Gina
# 2 “Halloween” Season 1, Episode 6
Look, it’s the one that started it all and sets the tone for the ones that followed, how can I not love it? Jake accepts, or you could say, creates a bet that he can steal Holt’s Medal of Valour from Holt’s office. What follows is a convoluted and very satisfying heist plot, that gave Jake his first win over Holt, a shift in their dynamic that benefited the show. This episode really cements the group dynamic that has come to define Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as everyone has to work together to help Jake win. It also has the honor of introducing one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s most iconic and long-running jokes, Jake naming the title of Amy’s sex tape!
Winner: Jake
Memorable line:
“Can you magically make everyone kind, sober and fully dressed?” – Amy
“Kind, Sober and Fully Dressed. Good news everyone, we found the name of Santiago’s sex tape.” – Jake
#1 “HalloVeen” Season 5, episode 4
Five seasons in, we know what to expect from a Brooklyn Nine-Nine Halloween episode, or so we thought. Jake surprises Amy and all of us, with the ultimate misdirection, the Halloween heist is an elaborate scheme for him to propose to Amy. It’s sweet, ridiculous (Jake has to enter a pyramid scheme in order to propose) and absolutely perfect for these two weirdos. In a lot of ways, this episode is similar to “Halloween IV,” but this installment really shines because of the emotional stakes of the episode. It also helps that it’s just a really funny; Terry, Rosa and Charles team up as “The Tramps” and visual gags of Terry lifting things are always welcome. Also, Holt and Cheddar might be my favorite pairing in the whole show.
Winner: Each and every one of us, #JakeandAmy4Ever
But yes, technically no one won.
Memorable line:
“This bitch? Please.” – Holt
What’s your favorite Brooklyn Nine-Nine Halloween episode? Hit the comments and tell us!
