Debbie (Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode)

Last updated
"Debbie"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 5
Directed by Claire Scanlon
Written byMarcy Jarreau
Produced by
Cinematography byRick Page
Editing byJason Gill
Production code705
Original air dateFebruary 27, 2020 (2020-02-27)
Running time21 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Jimmy Jab Games II"
Next 
"Trying"
Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 7
List of episodes

"Debbie" is the 5th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine , and the 135th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Marcy Jarreau and directed by Claire Scanlon. It aired on February 27, 2020, on NBC.

Contents

The show revolves around the fictitious 99th precinct of the New York Police Department in Brooklyn and the officers and detectives that work in the precinct. In this episode, the precinct investigates Debbie after she steals drugs and guns from an evidence room, intending to sell it to a mobster. Jake and Rosa then infiltrate and pretend to be part of the mobster's payroll in order to get his location.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.74 million household viewers and gained a 0.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Vanessa Bayer's guest performance although the writing received some criticism.

Plot

The precinct is under pressure after 20 bricks of cocaine and machine guns from evidence disappear and are sold off. And unknown to everyone in the building, Debbie (Vanessa Bayer) is responsible for this. Despite her attempts to hide her actions, Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) overhears her confessing to everything in the ladies room and the rest of the squad quickly deduce it from her odd behavior around them.

After arresting her, the squad discovers that she sold the cocaine and guns to a notorious mobster named Silvio Nucci. With Debbie refusing to testify against Nucci, Jake (Andy Samberg) comes up with a plan: a fake escape attempt, hoping it will lead to Nucci. Jake and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) pretend to be part of Nucci's gang to get Debbie out of the precinct and she takes them to her hotel room where she has the cocaine and drugs. However, Debbie starts using the cocaine, which complicates the mission. Debbie's shenanigans infuriate Rosa and she decides to blow her cover, but Debbie's cocaine use makes her stronger and she knocks Rosa out and takes them to the mansion where she is meeting Nucci. Meanwhile, in an attempt to investigate Debbie, the squad recovers her many detailed journals, with some even spanning just half a day. The mission soon turns into a competition for Holt (Andre Braugher) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) to see who can win in a speed reading competition.

Jake attempts to get Debbie's burner phone to get information on Nucci but he is tied to a chair along with Rosa and Debbie's mother (Christine Estabrook), who just visited the mansion and saw Debbie's operation. After watching Debbie and her mom argue, Rosa deduces that many of Debbie's poor life choices stemmed from how her parents treated her. She talks to Debbie and acknowledges the similarities to her own struggles, and promises to help her if she will let them go. Nucci arrives and despite Jake and Rosa pointing their guns, he is still not scared until the precinct arrives to arrest him. He tries to escape with Debbie, but she punches him and knocks him unconscious. Debbie is arrested and will be fired from the force and sent to jail, but Rosa and Jake agree they will help her get a lighter sentence by working with her to express remorse and provide full disclosure, thus restoring their own professional relationship.

Reception

Viewers

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.74 million household viewers and gained a 0.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. This means that 0.5 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [1] This was a 6% decrease over the previous episode, which was watched by 1.85 million viewers and a 0.6 ratings share. [2] With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the third highest rated show on NBC for the night behind Superstore and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , seventh on its timeslot and thirteenth for the night, behind Outmatched , a The Unicorn rerun, a Mom rerun, a Tommy rerun, Superstore, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Deputy , A Million Little Things , Last Man Standing , a Young Sheldon rerun, Station 19 , and Grey's Anatomy .

Critical reviews

"Debbie" received positive reviews from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" rating, writing, "'Debbie' is literally a different type of high from 'The Jimmy Jab Games II.' To be perfectly honest, nothing in this episode trumps Boyle's Greatest Showman bit or Debbie's song from that episode. But despite the possibility of being too overwhelming, it's still another hilarious episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine." [3]

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "We're only five episodes in, but that's more than a third of this abbreviated 13-episode season. Hopefully, we start getting some other kinds of stories with Jake, and soon." [4] Nick Harley of Den of Geek gave it a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been solid, if not stellar in its seventh season and second on NBC. So far there's been nothing that would crack our list of the all-time best episodes. There's still plenty of time though, and given the show's track record, I'm sure a classic will pop up here soon." [5]

Related Research Articles

"The Bank Job" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the 89th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Carol Kolb and directed by Matthew Nodella. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 23, 2017, back-to-back with the next episode "Crime and Punishment".

"99" is the 9th episode of the fifth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 99th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Andy Bobrow and directed by Payman Benz. It aired on Fox in the United States on December 5, 2017. Mike Hagerty reprises his role as McGintley, the former captain of the Nine-Nine.

"Return of the King" is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 127th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Phil Augusta Jackson and directed by main cast member Melissa Fumero, in her directorial debut. It aired on May 2, 2019 on NBC.

"The Therapist" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 123rd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Jeff Topolski and directed by Rebecca Addelman. It aired on March 21, 2019 on NBC.

"The Golden Child" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 121st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Neil Campbell and directed by Claire Scanlon. It aired on March 7, 2019, on NBC.

"He Said, She Said" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 120th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Lang Fisher and directed by cast member Stephanie Beatriz, making her directorial debut. It aired on February 28, 2019 on NBC.

"Casecation" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 124th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Luke Del Tredici and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller. It aired on April 11, 2019 on NBC.

"Ticking Clocks" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 126th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Carol Kolb and directed by Payman Benz. It aired on April 25, 2019, on NBC.

"Manhunter" is the season premiere of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 131st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by David Phillips and directed by Cortney Carrillo. It aired on February 6, 2020 on NBC, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "Captain Kim".

"Captain Kim" is the 2nd episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 132nd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Carol Kolb and directed by Luke Del Tredici. It aired on February 6, 2020 on NBC, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "Manhunter".

"The Jimmy Jab Games II" is the 4th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 134th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Vanessa Ramos and directed by Neil Campbell. It aired on February 20, 2020, on NBC.

"Pimemento" is the 3rd episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 133rd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Justin Noble and directed by Michael McDonald. It aired on February 13, 2020 on NBC.

"Trying" is the 6th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 136th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux and directed by Kim Nguyen. It aired on March 5, 2020, on NBC.

"Ding Dong" is the 7th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 137th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Jess Dweck and directed by Claire Scanlon. It aired on March 12, 2020, on NBC.

"The Takeback" is the 8th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 138th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Dewayne Perkins and directed by Michael McDonald. It aired on March 19, 2020, on NBC.

"Dillman" is the 9th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 139th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Paul Welsh and Madeline Walter and directed by recurring cast member Kyra Sedgwick. It aired on March 26, 2020, on NBC.

"Admiral Peralta" is the 10th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 140th overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Neil Campbell and directed by Linda Mendoza. It aired on April 2, 2020, on NBC.

"Valloweaster" is the 11th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 141st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by executive producer Luke Del Tredici and Jeff Topolski and directed by Matthew Nodella. It aired on April 9, 2020, on NBC.

"Ransom" is the 12th episode of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 142nd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by Nick Perdue and Beau Rawlins and directed by Rebecca Asher. It aired on April 16, 2020, on NBC.

"Lights Out" is the 13th episode and season finale of the seventh season of the American television police sitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the 143rd overall episode of the series. The episode was written by series co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici and directed by Goor. It aired on April 23, 2020, on NBC.

References

  1. Metcalf, Mitch (February 28, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.27.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. Metcalf, Mitch (February 21, 2020). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.20.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. Ferguson, LaToya (February 28, 2020). "A coke-fueled Brooklyn Nine-Nine gets into the mind of a loose cannon". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. Sepinwall, Alan (February 27, 2020). "'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Recap: Internal Affairs". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. Harley, Nick (February 29, 2020). "Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7 Episode 5 Review: Debbie". Den of Geek . Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.