"9 Days" is the 12th episode of Season Three of the FOX television show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It originally aired on January 19, 2016 to 2.37 million viewers.
Episode Synopsis[]
Captain Holt and Jake contract the mumps during an investigation and decide to be quarantined together. Rosa tries to help Boyle mourn, and Terry cleans up Hitchcock and Scully's mess.
Plot[]
Holt does not wipe away the stain on his tie
Captain Holt enters the bullpen crestfallen, not even caring to wipe off the spilled oatmeal that Jake Peralta points out on his tie. Terry Jeffords notes that Holt has been depressed ever since Kevin Cozner left for Paris and they wonder how they could cheer him up. Jake suggests that he work with Holt on a cold case from years ago, intending to lie that the case is active to distract Holt.
The doctor informs Jake and Holt that they have the mumps
Jake enters Holt's office to claim that a cold case involving Joey Girabaldi, a Mafia Lieutenant, is active again as he has heard "chatter on the streets" that Girabaldi is back. Jake asks Holt to help him with the case and the latter agrees to. Gina Linetti enters the breakroom and sees Terry practicing for the Lieutenant's exam. Terry is anxious about the exam as he cannot get a high score on the practice exams, while Holt's own test resulted in his examiner remarking that Holt's answers have resulted in a profound change in his life. Rosa Diaz enters the bullpen looking for Charles Boyle, who is curled up into a ball under his desk as his dog Jason has died. Rosa is unconcerned as she has to work a B&E case with him and suggests that he move on. The next day, Holt enters the bullpen to meet Jake to discuss the case. Holt notices that the same man is in every photograph with Girabaldi, whom Jake identifies as Girabaldi's personal trainer. Jake and Holt meet with the trainer, who still insists that he knows nothing and claims to have an emergency at the gym. Skeptical that the trainer would have an excuse to leave conveniently ready, the two follow him but see that the gym is indeed quarantined for an outbreak of the mumps. The two then go see a doctor, and learn that they themselves have contracted the virus
Holt and Jake work on the case while delirious
The doctor explains to Jake and Holt that the mumps is highly contagious and warns Amy Santiago, who is also in the room, to leave but she maintains that she will be fine as she is up to date on her vaccinations. The doctor further explains the various symptoms of the virus and that they need to be quarantined in their houses for the next nine days. Wanting to still be able to distract Holt, Jake suggests that the two of them be quarantined in Holt's house together so that they can keep working on the case. In the precinct, Terry tells Gina that since Holt has to be quarantined, he himself will be the acting captain. Terry informs the precinct in the briefing room of a long list of tasks he has for them to accomplish, and that he will ring a bell after each task is accomplished to boost moral. The presentation goes awry however, when the bell breaks during the presentation. In Holt's house, Jake and Holt have developed goiters around their necks as a symptom of the mumps. Holt notices that the same van is parked in the background of each photo of Girabaldi and Jake realizes that Girabaldi was under FBI surveillance, and decides to reach out to his contacts at the FBI for information. In the precinct, Rosa sees that Boyle appears to have cheered up, but is dismayed to find that Boyle has decided to focus his efforts on creating a memoriam video for Jason, while Terry tells them to "stop watching funny dog videos". Terry rings the bell to announce that a goal on the list has been accomplished, but the goal turns out to just have been to fix the bell. Hitchcock and Scully are fighting in the breakroom as only one meatball sub was delivered and they both lay claim to it. Terry suggests they either walk to the shop for another sandwich or simply cut the one they have in two, but they refuse and Terry instead takes the sandwich away and orders them to get back to work. Meanwhile, Jake and Holt are reviewing the surveillance footage of Girabaldi that the FBI have sent. They discover Girabaldi handing a chef a mysterious piece of paper, which they assume to be Girabaldi's secret hideout. They decide to leave the house in homemade biohazard suits but are stopped by Amy who shows them that the piece of paper was a recipe for baked ziti that they already had in their possession. Amy tells them that they have become delirious from the virus and suggests that they go back inside to rest, as Jake tells her that his legs have stopped working and collapses to the floor.
Terry accidentally destroys Holt's office by closing the door too hard
In the house, Amy suggests that Holt and Jake rest instead of trying to work on the case but they refuse. Amy tells Jake in private to stop wasting Holt's time but Jake insist that his plan is working as Holt has not felt lonely in the one week they have been working together. Amy points out that Holt has become delirious to the point of writing the word "case" over and over on the window, and Holt begins to spell "case" with a "k". Before leaving, Amy tells Jake that they need to stop before Holt overworks himself to death. Jake realizes that Amy is right and collapses to the floor again. In the precinct breakroom, Boyle is sealing Jason's dog toys into zip lock bags. Rosa arrives with a puppy named Arlo and tells Boyle that he can have Arlo to replace Jason. Boyle is offended as Jason was a part of his family and is irreplaceable to him, and angrily storms off, leaving Rosa to wonder if she is supposed to keep Arlo for herself. In the bullpen, Hitchcock and Scully refuse to do any work until Terry returns their meatball subs. Terry angrily tells them that he will do the goals he set by himself, and rants that he is the only person keeping the precinct together. Terry then storms into Holt's office and slams the door, which accidentally causes the office's doors, windows and ceiling to break. In Holt's house, Holt has developed a second goiter, but insists that he and Jake continue to work on the case. Jake then finally admits that this is a cold case he brought to Holt as a distraction, and that he lied about the case being active again. Holt is enraged but is very tired and informs Jake that he will confront him after he takes a nap. 4 hours later, Holt wakes up Jake and the two begin to argue. The two then have a brief physical altercation where they poke each other's goiters before collapsing to the floor.
Rosa tells Boyle she now understands him after adopting Arlo
Amy tells Jake and Holt that she has made baked ziti for them using Girabaldi's recipe. Holt is still upset about Jake's lie and insists to Amy that he can cook for himself. Amy tells Holt that no one was taking pity for him, but she and Jake did what they did because they care about him. Holt apologizes for his behavior and thanks Amy for cooking, but immediately spits out her food after a bite. Jake comments that Holt has learnt nothing about gratitude but also spits out the food as it tastes horrible. Amy is surprised as she followed Girabaldi's exact recipe and shows them the list, but Jake points out that the recipe asked to use 7 cups of salt, which is outlandish. They then realize that the recipe is a code for a phone number, before being alarmed that Amy followed the recipe's ridiculous instructions, which included 18 cups of oregano and 9 onions. In the precinct, Holt's office has been fully repaired and Terry tells Gina that he managed to get Hitchcock and Scully to get back to work by throwing popcorn onto the floor. Terry is upset that he has not accomplished any of the goals that he set, but Gina points out that Holt himself has not accomplished what Terry aimed to do as he was busy doing what Terry was doing, which was making sure the precinct ran properly. Rosa tells Boyle to follow her into the briefing room, where she has created a memorial service for Jason. Rosa gives an eulogy about how although she initially did not care about Boyle's loss, she now understands how Boyle feels after adopting Arlo for herself. In Holt's house, both Jake and Holt have made a recovery and Holt informs Jake that Girabaldi was arrested after the phone number they found was traced. Holt thanks Jake for not only helping him the past few days, but also for bringing him back the the precinct. Holt then gives Jake a bowl of sour candies as a show of gratitude, but Jake finds that the sour candy has a burning effect in his mouth due to the virus. Jake then fights through his tears to thank Holt for the candy.
Cast[]
| Actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Samberg | ... | Jake Peralta |
| Stephanie Beatriz | ... | Rosa Diaz |
| Terry Crews | ... | Terry Jeffords |
| Melissa Fumero | ... | Amy Santiago |
| Joe Lo Truglio | ... | Charles Boyle |
| Chelsea Peretti | ... | Gina Linetti |
| Andre Braugher | ... | Captain Ray Holt |
| Dirk Blocker | ... | Michael Hitchcock |
| Joel McKinnon Miller | ... | Norm Scully |
| Oscar Nunez | ... | Dr. Porp |
| Jeff Bosley | ... | Nick DiTullio |
| Larry Guli | ... | Joey Garibaldi |
Trivia[]
- Captain Holt wears the same dressing gown that he wore in The Mole which includes his initials.
- "Terry's tasks while Holt is gone" is as follows:
- Clean out evidence room
- Step up community service
- FDNY/NYPD joint exercise
- CPR certification refresher
- First aid certification refresher
- Digitalize pre-1979 mug shots
- Volunteer at Juvenile Detention Program
- Haz Mat training
- Testing of radio & emergency equipment
- Douglass Street house board
- Clear report back log
- Tactical shotgun re-certification
- Advanced rifle operator course
- Park Slope neighborhood watch
- Precinct-wide flu shots/mumps vaccination
- Arson & explosive investigation course
- Get new vending machine for break room
- Abduction response team training
- Computer search & seizure course
- Clean up locker room
- Dispose of pre-1990 interrogation footage
- Complete 675 forms
- File J90 reports with DA
- Coordinate rapid response with 79th precinct and added later
- Fix Bell.
- Amy refers to herself being a bad cook, which was revealed in Thanksgiving.
- Dr. Porp was played by Oscar Nunez, who previously starred as part of the main cast in The Office.
Soundtrack[]
- Scully sings Ave Maria at Jason's funeral.
