S04.E05: Halloween IV

[formerlyfreedom]

It’s Halloween in the Nine-Nine, which can only mean one thing: heist time. This year, the squad members pull out all the stops in their quest to win the new defending title of “Ultimate Detective Slash Genius.” Lines are drawn and plans are made, but there can only be one reigning champion.

[Primetimer]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine's fourth Hallowe'en heist is a twofer: while the squad fights to steal the 'Ultimate Detective / Genius' plaque, a faux Boyle makes off with all his scenes.

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[ClareWalks]

Of COURSE Amy's childhood Caboodle would be so pristine and clean. Mine was caked with melted Lip Smackers and free lotion samples.

I thought Terry would be the heistmaster but Gina pulled off a brilliant con.

[MaryMitch]

All the twists and turns! They had me going!

[Trillium]

This episode had everything. Caboodle, air horns, a brass band, fake Boyle (please return Bill), Cheddar, Holt saying "bingpot", The Babysitters Club. 

The only thing that ruined it was the Fox promo department put the last scene with Gina wearing the crown in the promo and I was inadvertently spoiled. I blame Fox for that, not B99. Massive fail Fox. 

[peeayebee]

I'm glad I avoid promos.

I was so happy to see Cheddar again, except he didn't get enough screen time.

Holt saying, "Bingpot," was great. He also had funny pronunciations for a couple of words: CinnaBONE and CabooDALE? I wasn't sure about the last one.

Boyle: Am I just a piece of meat to you?
Holt: Yes. Now put on a smile, pork chop.

I liked Bill, esp when he said "Cabbage," his safe word. He looked so much like Boyle.

Oh, and I LOVED Holt's entrance with Ride of the Valkyries. 

[thuganomics85]

I called it being Gina early on since Terry was an obvious red herring and I thought it was weird that she would randomly get taken out of the equation for so long.  But despite that and not being a massive fan of the character, I loved pretty much every minute of this episode.  I just love how these heists/bets make everyone go insane on this show.  Holt in particular, is never not amazing when he is in competitive mode.  Hurling a computer through his office window and his "I will slit you open from mouth to anus and wear you like a jacket!" line was classic Holt becoming more unhinged and crazy, when he is in the thick of competition.

Favorite part though was easily Amy and Rosa teaming up.  I love that Rosa was fully invested in trying to get Amy a win and read all of Amy's plans and guide, including all The Babysitter Club stuff.  Which, yes, Amy would be a fan of those.  I really hope the show continues to explore more of this duo in this season.

Also enjoyed Holt and Boyle, who are always fun at being polar opposites in a lot of ways, but still finding common ground.  Even if it involves Holt sinisterly calling Boyle a pork chop.

Bill ended up being a surprising highlight in what could have been a throwaway character.  Jake's reactions every time he realized just how off the wall Bill was, was excellent.  Hope they find some way to work him into a future episode.

Finding out that Terry always says "Insert item/person/etc. is dumb!" was a hoot.  As what seeing Holt deliberately causing Amy to go into a "needs a smoke" panic attack, just to find her hidden lair.  Good use of the flashbacks in this one.

Holt and Amy picking Young Al Gore over Jake... ha!

Cheddar!!! 

Really, any episode that has Holt marching into the squad room to Ride of the Valkyres before the opening credits, was destined to be a classic! 

Edited October 19, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Mama No Life]

Quote

Holt and Amy picking Young Al Gore over Jake... ha!

Glad someone else enjoyed this.....her knowing smile to Holt was perfection.

I love this show.

[tennisgurl]

Oh heist episodes, I love you so very much! This was basically perfect, even if it meant a win for Gina, my least favorite character (although I still like her a lot). 

Cheddar! More Cheddar please! Everything is better with Cheddar!

The Babysitters Club! And yes, Amy is a totally Mary Ann, but she also has a bit of Kristi in her. Not that I was a big Babysitters Club dork or anything...

I always like the Holt and Boyle team up, because its one of the rarer character mesh ups. Oh Boyle, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! 

I swear, I hope someone has already giffed Holt walked into the station to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries. That alone made this one a classic. 

Edited October 19, 2016 by tennisgurl

[Traveller519]

These are always great, even if you can see the outcome coming from a ways out.

I really liked the way Gina was played in this one too. Though I'm a fan of her typically, because she brings something different to the ensemble. It was fun to see the earnestness beneath all of the bravado that we've only had glimpses of before. Her walking back "this is just like segregation" was a fun bit of emotion we don't normally see from her.

[iMonrey]

What on earth is a caboodle?

I swear I spent half the episode trying to figure out if Joe Lo Truglio was playing both Boyle and decoy Boyle, Bill. They looked so much alike I couldn't decide if it was a split screen or a different actor who just bore an uncanny resemblance.

I loved that Gina was able to be invisible just by wearing an Amy suit.

[DeepPoet117]

According to IMDb, Winston Story played Bill. They do look eerily similar. The very first Halloween episode was the first ever episode of B99 that I watched, so I really love that they do one every year, and that the rest of the squad (minus Terry) gets so into in and wants to win too. As a huge fan of The Babysitters Club, I was dying laughing at all those references. I need more of Amy and Rosa together, please. I also adored Holt's use of Cheddar! He trained him for a month to find plaques? I wonder what Kevin thought of that?

[vibeology]

23 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

What on earth is a caboodle?

A cosmetic case popular with tween and teen girls back in the 90s. I owned two. I don't think mine looked as clean as Amy's even when it was brand new. If all the jokes, Amy's Caboodle was my favourite. That and the BSC because those books were my jam.  

[Traveller519]

1 hour ago, DeepPoet117 said:

According to IMDb, Winston Story played Bill. They do look eerily similar. 

I looked him and his credits up too. It's funny because he's definitely been in other things that I've watched (most notably as the exasperated counter clerk at the Frozen Yogurt shop Gretchen and Lindsay occasionally go to in "You're the Worst".

[April Bloodgate]

3 hours ago, vibeology said:

If all the jokes, Amy's Caboodle was my favourite. That and the BSC because those books were my jam.  

Yes! I loved so much about this episode, but the Caboodle and BSC jokes played right to me.

[VCRTracking]

God, how I love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE this show!

The Halloween episodes are now something I look forward as much as I did the ones on Roseanne.

Just so many favorite moments:

The cold open was fantastic. Holt's announcement of the heist was the best. Jake saying "What a dork" and Amy "So cool!"

Holt quoting Willy Wonka's "You lose, good day sir!"

OMG Boyle's creepy body double had me in stitches.

Amy and Rosa bonding over the "Babysitter's Club"

"When pizza is on a bagel you can eat it any time!"

Amy and Holt crushing on "young Al Gore"

Hitchcock saying to Terry "You don't have a mistress? But you're so good looking! What's the point?"

"Pizza Dark Thirty" Heh.

I know people who hate Gina are going to not like her winning but I loved her becoming invisible by wearing Amy's clothes!

Damn, Terry does say "*insert word here* are dumb!" a lot!

Edited October 19, 2016 by VCRTracking

[peeayebee]

42 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

I know people who hate Gina are going to not like her winning but I loved her becoming invisible by wearing Amy's clothes!

Did anybody go back and rewatch the ep to see if Gina was in the background of the scenes?

[dkb]

51 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

Did anybody go back and rewatch the ep to see if Gina was in the background of the scenes?

I rewatched it and didn't see her. But they never really showed that part of the precinct where she was sitting with Amy's clothes (I assume she moved around). When she is retelling the story it seems like she was sitting near whichever room Amy and Rosa were using as their HQ, I think the break room. When Amy comes out of the break room when the pizzas arrive the camera is focused straight at the door and her, and I think Gina would have been to the left of the camera.  

[Ikki]

I have to echo all those who voiced their love for the Baby-Sitters Club references. When I was a kid and reading those books, I had a phase where I tried to dress like how Stacey was described as dressing, because she was from New York and fashionable. But like, imagine an eight year old in the early 2000s getting fashion advice from a fictional teenager from the 80s/early 90s. That was me.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

[Panopticon]

I hate Gina and hated her getting another opportunity to monologue about how she's smarter than the detectives and everyone else is a loser. BUT even the triumphant monologue wasn't a total loss since it had the flashback to Gina using dish soap to convince Holt that Jake is helpless without Boyle.

Because it can't be said enough: the Baby-Sitters Club running gag was absolutely brilliant.

I love that this show has stuck with doing a Halloween episode every year. They're always a highlight.

[dusang]

So many things to love!!

Cheddar!! Babysitters Club!! Freaky Boyle clone!! 

I don't always love Gina but I did enjoy her plan and I loved her walking back "this is worse than segregation!" line because it's actually almost out of character for her to be aware enough to pull back.

[Scott]

I also enjoyed that the four pizza delivery people with lines were named (according to the end credits) Pete Za, Andy Chovy, Deepa Dish, and Brad Stick.

[beadgirl]

And the evidence piles up: I really am Santiago without the competitive streak.  I had a caboodle, and I too would have freaked out if Holt started to say something to me, paused, and said "never mind."  (God help my husband whenever he tells me "never mind.") Loved loved loved how into the team-up Diaz was; I second seeing more of their relationship.

Normally I like Gina in small doses, but it helped that they softened her (so to speak) 1) when she walked back the "just like segregation" bit and 2) at the bar when she talked about how much she loved the rest of them.

Fake-Boyle was the gift that kept on giving. Holt training cheddar to retrieve plaques, Holt and Santiago agreeing over a young Al Gore's looks, pizza dark thirty ... you know what? If I list every thing I loved about the episode I'd end up with the entire transcript.

[Schweedie]

19 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Holt quoting Willy Wonka's "You lose, good day sir!"

That line got one of the biggest laughs from me. In the split second after "You get nothing" I realised what was coming and cackled so hard I actually missed the rest of it, but still.

Best episode of the season for me so far. Loved every bit of it! (Although I was also spoiled by that stupid promo still, which bugged a little.) Really loved how Rosa uncharacteristically got so into the whole Babysitter's Club thing (and yes, I also read those) and her "Mary Anne's better than that."

[peeayebee]

20 hours ago, dkb said:

I rewatched it and didn't see her. 

Aww, that's disappointing. It would have been cool if she'd been in the background in different scenes. Her face didn't have to be visible -- so we couldn't have caught on early -- but just having her in the grey suit would have been great.

BTW, it appears that Chelsea Peretti really has a bridge for her front teeth, just like Ed Helms is really missing one (or more?) of his teeth.

[Princess Sparkle]

I loved so much of this episode, but for whatever reason, the small moment that cracked me up was Jake musing, "You know, maybe I just didn't go to that party" when Gina was describing how she lost her two front teeth.  Though Holt's, "It could not be more clear that I was talking to the dog" made me howl.  

Edited October 20, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[Pamela]

Loved this episode, and the Caboodle bit was brilliant. I didn't have a Caboodle, though -- I had a Sassaby. Still have it, actually.

[jah1986]

Like everyone else, I really loved this episode even though I'm not a big Gina fan. But they had me at the cold open with Hitchcock's "no more alimony baby", the delivery just cracked me up.

[Texasmom1970]

I love this show I would marry it if I could, this episode was hilarious from start to finish. 

Hitchcock saying he would be watching Terry's ass, omg, I found that disturbing and funny!

I need my own Cheddar so adorable.

Holt's pronunciation of Caboodle.

Boyle having food catered for a heist, spot on.

When the black lights came on and Scully and Hitchcock's desks looked like a crime scene, loved it!

[ZootSuitWyatt]

So Scully said "if I don't make it, tell Gina I love her" in the cold open -- was this Linetti, or does that mean that Kelly was a dog?

[wknt3]

On 10/19/2016 at 10:25 PM, dusang said:

I don't always love Gina but I did enjoy her plan and I loved her walking back "this is worse than segregation!" line because it's actually almost out of character for her to be aware enough to pull back.

I don't think it was any sort of self awareness, but the obvious and immediate intense reaction from Jeffords and Holt that caused her to pull back. That's why it took a couple beats.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, wknt3 said:

I don't think it was any sort of self awareness, but the obvious and immediate intense reaction from Jeffords and Holt that caused her to pull back. That's why it took a couple beats.

I wouldn't call their reaction intense, they just were like "no" but in other issues where others or even Holt and Terry have told her she was wrong she didn't back downl

[snarktini]

Seen-ay-bone I get, but ixnay on the cah-bood-lay. There's no accent on the E! (An accent aigu, to be precise.) Holt is too educated and precise to get that wrong. 

OTOH: "Yes, Pork Chop, yes!" and "bingpot". That makes up for a lot.

Edited October 22, 2016 by snarktini

[mansonlamps]

We're Chelsea and Andy referencing an actual party from their childhood?  Since they are friends since then in real life, I kind of thought that was an inside joke.

[PepperMonkey]

I'm probably the only one who totally cannot stand Gina and would not care at all if she were gone. Having said that, I love Chelsea. I just don't like Gina.

I can tolerate, though, because everyone else is so perfectly made of win.

If Andre Braugher does not win an Emmy, there is no justice in Hollywood.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, PepperMonkey said:

 

If Andre Braugher does not win an Emmy, there is no justice in Hollywood.

There will most likely be non justice in Hollywood.

[DXD526]

"When pizza's on a bagel, you can have pizza anytime!"

I can't believe Jake said that! For those too young to remember, that was a commercial, back in the day. I always found the wording strange; starting with "when" is an odd choice, and telling me I can have pizza anytime? I'm an adult and can already have pizza anytime, I don't need some commercial's permission! The whole thing always irked me and apparently, some B99 writer felt the same. To see it dredged up and addressed all these years later, it gives me a happy, nerded-out feeling, like Amy with a binder!

[choclatechip45]

Loved the Babysitters Club mentions. Amy is a total Mary Anne Spier.

[ClareWalks]

I see Amy as more of a Kristy. She is quite bossy and competitive, with a super-organized streak.

But there you have it, in just two sentences I feel like I have overthought this. If Amy were a Sweet Valley Twin, she would definitely be Elizabeth, at any rate.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

We didn't see Boyle's Halloween costume. I always look forward to that. 

[Danny Franks]

So I've just caught up with the show, after being disillusioned first by Mantzoukas and his tedious schtick, and then by the news of a crossover New Girl. Fortunately, Mantzoukas has yet to rear his head this season (which he will, I only hope it's brief) and the New Girl crossover was a single scene.

This was a good episode. I like how the whole squad, barring Terry, is completely on board with the Halloween Heist tradition. Even Holt gets into it. I guess this is how traditions get started, a lot of the time. People just do something for a laugh, or to compete, then they do it again, and before you know it, it's time-honoured and respected.

Adored all the Amy/Rosa scenes. They feel like real friends now, instead of Rosa being standoffish and tolerant of wonderfully dorky Amy. I feel like in previous seasons, her reaction to Amy picking her would be an eyeroll or something, but now it's just "dope" and a thumbs up. There was no mockery or spite between them, just honest affection. And it seems like they share an interest in the Babysitters Club. I've never read them, but even without knowing the first thing, I know they're something Amy would love. Just like, if Jake was a reader, he'd love The Three Investigators. The binder jokes never get old, either.

Meanwhile, Amy and Jake continue to be adorable, even when their relationship isn't explicitly mentioned. Him having access to her prized childhood caboodle, and her not being (too) upset that he was using it. I'd like to see them pairing up together in next year's heist.

Holt's ruthlessness is using Charles was excellent. There's a devious mind at work under that tranquil expression. And of course, he even relied on the fact that he knew Charles would not be able to resist telling Jake the truth.

Gina's had some good lines this season, and I'm not quite as sour on her character as I was (mainly because Mantzoukas has shown me how bad it could be), but I do get so tired of her winning all the time, and proving the squad wrong. I know that they wanted a new winner for the heist this year, but Gina just didn't feel earned.

[PatternRec]

11 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Meanwhile, Amy and Jake continue to be adorable, even when their relationship isn't explicitly mentioned.

I love that someone made the decision on this show that it was a workplace comedy, and as soon as Jake and Amy were coupled, stuck to workplace stories. 

 

edit: in other words, I love them as a couple, but like that the show didn't go the usual route of having the "Sam and Diane" unpack all their personal baggage at work. 

Edited October 26, 2016 by PatternRec

[festivus]

On 10/22/2016 at 7:45 PM, PepperMonkey said:

If Andre Braugher does not win an Emmy, there is no justice in Hollywood.

I'm telling ya. He is the funniest person on TV. I couldn't stop laughing when he came in with that marching band in the opening scene. This episode was brilliant, I laughed all the way through so I won't list everything but I think bingpot! was my favorite. And Cheddar. I love that dog so much. The only thing I didn't get was the Babysitter's Club stuff because I've never read them but I liked how Rosa was totally into helping Amy win which included reading the whole binder. I do still have my Caboodle though and it looks just as good as Amy's did. What, it's very useful!

[peeayebee]

I really really want AB to win an Emmy, but I was so torn with the last one because there were so many great nominees. I was happy to see Louie Anderson win, but I would have been happy if AB had won. BTW, his face when Louie's name was announced did not look pleased.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I've been binging through the whole series for the first time and wasn't going to comment, but decided why not, since I have a few thoughts on my mind.

I will say that I have not been a fan of Gina at all. Yet, so far in these last four episodes she's been in? I've not only not hated her, I've actually laughed at her antics. Maybe it's because she's getting more physical comedy to do and she's not just being incredibly mean spirited with some signs of actual human empathy. This episode had me actually chuckling at her because, besides a few snipes at Amy, I actually liked the reason for her wanting to win and at least the change of the plaque was general enough where anyone could win it, and not something Gina-specific. I also enjoyed her walking back on her segregation comment. A rarity for Gina to go back on a mistake. I'm extremely surprised at myself on how little I dislike Gina so far this season. It could change by the next episode, but I've actually gotten genuine laughs from her, when I've barely mustered up a chuckle in the last three seasons. 

This isn't my favourite of the Halloween episodes, but it was still really good. I got a good chuckle out of Cheddar, the pizza gag, and Bill. 

Also, poor Terry. He legitimately just wanted to get work done but nobody was allowing that to happen. I actually love the twist of him actually not being involved, after all. 

Finally, all the Babysitters Club talk from Rosa and Amy just makes me want to get out my books and reread some of them.