The Slump

For the episode transcript, go here.

The Slump is the third episode of Season One of the FOX television show Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It originally aired 1st October 2013 to 3.43 million viewers.

Episodes Synopsis[]

Jake has a slew of unsolved cases that he can't seem to close, and the other detectives don't want his losing streak to rub off on them. Meanwhile, Holt asks Amy to run lead on the Junior Policeman Program for at-risk youth, and she enlists Rosa and Gina's help. Also, Boyle helps Sergeant Jeffords with a special case he cannot solve.^[1]

Plot[]

Amy explains to Charles, Rosa and Jake that the best cop movies are; Training Day, Lethal Weapon and Fargo. Jake claims she’s wrong and that Die Hard is the best movie of all time and that it’s the story of his life - one cop heroically saving the day. Charles pipes up that he likes Turner & Hooch due to the relationship of Tom Hanks and the dog. Rosa says Robocop as it contains everything she likes - gratuitous violence. Gina walks over and throws Bad Boys into the mix due to the fine actors. Terry rolls over in his chair adding Breathless by Francois Truffaut to the conversation, they all give him a look, he says he enjoys foreign films. Jake claims they are all wrong and to reveal the right answer he gathers everyone around his computer to see... Hitchcock getting kicked in the genitals by a hooker and leaving, she returns takes his wallet and kicks him again before going. They all cheer and laugh. (Credits run)

Morning Briefing 7:58am, Charles is wearing an unflattering brown sweater. Jake enters and quips that he’s the lady killer. Harley playfully goes along while Jake explains he actually is dressed like the lady killer Dean Holland on a wanted poster. Terry takes the podium and starts the briefing, he starts by asking Scully how far into digitising old files he is. He excitedly tells them 1%. Terry is unimpressed but Scully explains for each one he has 200 boxes on 50 different screens. Rosa tries to cheer him up with sitting down all day. However, Scully tells everyone of his anal canyon. Jake asks him why he was always telling them disgusting things about his body. It cuts to a different day with Scully showing Jake his left foot which is yellow across the bottom while Jake eats a sandwich. He tells Scully he can’t see anything and he explains it‘s because the whole thing is a wart. Jake retches and spits out his sandwich before walking away. Back in the briefing room he questions Scully’s relationship. Holt asks Jake about an update on the burglary on Adams Street. Jake fills him in that he is very close, with no evidence, suspects or leads. Holt also asks about the aggravated assault on Vickers Street. Jake says he still has nothing and the Colloway robbery is also unsolved. Gina interjects that he’s in a slump. Jake insists he isn’t, but Amy draws their attention to the scoreboard showing Santiago: 44, Peralta: 33. Jake insists he doesn’t slump, but does the opposite pmuls.

At Jake’s desk Holt walks towards him and Jake stops him before he can say anything, he tries to read his face to guess what he’s going to say. Holt gives a blank look. Jake guesses: someone died? Followed by: you won a prize! Before giving up. Holt tells him he’s worried about the amount of cases going on solved by Peralta. Jake tries to use a racing analogy to explain that he’s hit a few bumps but Holt knows more about racing and picks apart the analogy. Jake selects a case from his pile and says he’s about to close a case of a missing grandmother, Helen Sterrino. They picked up an elderly lady who fits the description and after being shown a picture of the grandson she said that’s her grandson.

Later, Amy joins Holt in his office at his request, he passes her praise from the DA on a recent drug bust, she’s flattered by the appreciation from Holt. He follows up the awkwardness by asking Amy to handle the at-risk youth group. She again embarrasses herself in front of Holt before leaving.

Charles is at Sarge’s desk asking him to fill out a lineup with his alias Scary Terry, Terry says how much he loves Scary Terry as he says what regular Terry is thinking. Cut to a previous line up where Scary Terry shouts that due to the time it’s taking he will miss the farmer’s market. But he declines as he’s too busy. Terry asks Hitchcock who immediately takes his shirt off. Charles tells him to stop always taking his shirt off, but he doesn't listen.

Amy approaches Rosa at her desk at attempts to flatter her into helping with the junior police program seminar, which Rosa sees right through. However Amy isn’t asking she has already signed Rosa up to help. Gina comes over with no invitation and says that she will help. She’s declined due to not being a cop so wouldn’t be able to help. Gina leaves stating she hates them.

Later on, Charles is walking Mr and Mrs Sterrino (the grandson and his wife who reported his grandmother missing) over to Jake’s desk where an old lady sits waiting with Holt standing nearby. The old lady stands upon seeing him and starts to walk towards him when the grandson states he’s never seen her before. Jake’s confused since she ID’d the picture of him, she tells him that the old lady is called Helen. The old lady asks who Helen is then spots her husband Solomon... It‘s Charles. Charles announces the the old lady is called Ethel Musterberg from the senior centre as he found her ID in her back pocket. Everyone questions why his hand was in her back pocket. Jake finally accepts his slump!

In the break room, Jake pretends that it is cool that everyone is in the break room. Rosa tells him that’s because he asked them all there. He asks for their advice about if someone was in a slump what they might do. Charles uses his past experience of his slump when he was getting a divorce, so his advice: get a divorce, after getting married first. Rosa suggests flying to Montreal going to a classy hotel bar to bone a stranger. Sarge’s suggestion is 10,000 sit ups. Jake asks for a back up as he can only do 3 as Holt enters and gives his advice, working a case until it‘s solved. Jake’s says he’ll do that right after Rosa’s suggestion.

Amy tries to get the at-risk youth to join up only to have them all heckle, including Gina.

Charles is walking down a corridor and hears Terry shouting from the records room, he enters to find him putting together a dollhouse for his daughters‘ birthday. Charles is stunned by the dollhouse as it’s the same as he had when he was younger. Charles offers his help but Terry insists he can do it himself. Although getting enraged at where to put the tower.

Jake is at Hitchcock’s desk trying to swap a case, he wants his guaranteed arrest case and tries to talk him into swapping by saying that he will have to do the large amount of paperwork that comes with it and he can have an unsolvable case that will have no paperwork. They swap. Jake and Charles are about to leave and Holt questions them saying he should stick with the missing grandmother case, they leave anyway.

Rosa tells Amy that the kids aren’t listening to her because shes not like them. Rosa tries to explain that they think they are badass but if they continue she’ll throw them in jail. They make a re-mix of her and start dancing and laughing. Rosa is stunned by what’s happening and the feeling of people laughing at her.

At the apartment of Jake’s suspect him and Charles kick the door down to reveal an old man in a robe practicing on a flute surrounded with birds. Jake continues to believe he is the drug dealer even suggesting the birds are mules. Charles checks the apartment and it’s clear. The old man suggests the calls were from the kids down the hall as they like pranking him. He insists the only drugs are for his heart, liver, kidney, salivary glands, penis and feet. Charles notices that a bird pooped on Jake’s head and it dripped onto his shoulder.

The Precinct 11:22am, Charles assures him it’s good luck but Jake is unconvinced at the same moment Hitchcock enters the bullpen with 4 guys in handcuffs. He explains he went to check out the crime scene of the unsolvable case and the guilty guy hands himself in and feels bad so helps him track down his accomplices.

In the men’s bathroom, Jake’s at the urinal when Gina enters, she tells him that the medical examiner‘s office called and some evidence was mishandled so they have to dismiss his last two arrests. Jake blames the slump and Gina disagrees - she thinks he’s cursed. He flushed and the pipe breaks spraying water all over him, he asks Gina for a paper towel and the dispenser is empty.

Charles and a wet Jake enter Holt’s office, Jake tells him about his curse theory explaining the events of today adding that 2 minutes ago he went into the records room tripped and knocked Terry into the almost complete dollhouse thus breaking it to pieces needing to be re-built. Holt tells them of a friend, Detective Smith “Smitty” in the 1-8 who thought he was cursed so then the whole precinct believed he was cursed. Jake interjects that then he was able to solve a case and and ended up happily married to Kate Upton? Holt continues, no one would work with him and he responded to a riot at a gym without backup and got beaten up by a girls’ volleyball team. Holt tells Jake he’s not to go back in the field and gives him the task of helping Scully digitise files. Jake has a counter offer of giving all his cases to, the now on a roll Hitchcock, and giving him 20 fresh ones with the hope that his luck will turn.

Amy and Rosa are forced to turn to their last hope: Gina.

Jake’s at his desk filling out check boxes on a screen bored stiff he asks Hitchcock if he can help out with the murder. Hitchcock denies and says he can’t even touch the file since he’s contagious. Holt demands Jake to leave him alone and Hitchcock leaves with his file. Holt pulls Jake to one side he says Smith gave him a lucky rabbit‘s foot for Jake. He gives it to him with the instructions of constantly rubbing It with his fore and pinky finger.

Back in the records room, Charles finds a whimpering, defeated Terry on the floor with his unassembled dollhouse. Terry proceeds to pick up the remaining part of the dollhouse and smash it on the ground.

Jake’s at his desk filling out the forms, with Holt watching nearby, something suddenly hits him and he tries to find a case file on his desk. He tells Holt he’s going to the bathroom and Holt reminds him to take the rabbit‘s foot with him. Jake hurries of with it and the file.

In the men’s room, Charles meets Jake and asks if this is finally their clubhouse? Jake tells him again that they don’t need a clubhouse. Cut to previous days, Charles poking out of a tent on the roof suggesting it as their clubhouse, the copy room suggesting it as their clubhouse and the morgue with a dead guy suggesting it’s their clubhouse. Jake instructs Charles to make some calls for him, as Holt can’t see him being involved, hoping that if his hunch is right he will end his slump.

Gina talks to the at-risk youth and turns on Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and tells them to find a passion. She then proceeds to dance awfully, to no avail. She adds that police earn a large amount of money each year, they get to carry around a gun and they don't have to stop at red lights. This gets eight hands up to join. As the youngsters file out, Gina remarks that she was in this program, and that it "does not work".

Charles brings Mr and Mrs Terrino into the bathroom, Jake bursts out the stall with dramatic flair. He proceeds to explain he knows what happened to his grandmother: nothing. The Terrino’s have made 5 missing persons reports in 5 different states saying they are probably after insurance fraud, but definitely can arrest them for filing a false report and obstruction of justice. Thus ending the slump.

In the bullpen Holt praises Amy for the 8 recruits for the junior police program but she insists Gina was the one that got through to them. Gina hopes for a raise but is instead gifted with no raise and promotes her to his personal assistant to work harder. Gina states she hates getting praised by Holt.

Jake strides into Holt’s office to tell him that the slump is over, and take a selfie with Holt. He explains that since he was so bored with the data entry his brain re-booted and inspired him on one of his cases. Due to Captain Holt’s smug face he realises this was his plan all along and questions the rabbit foot. Holt explains he was “messing witcha”. Jake delights in the fact him and Holt are becoming “homies”.

Sarge is looking deafest at his desk when Charles comes over and shows him the castle he built for him, due to many pats being broken he turned it into a police station castle with Terry’s face on the drawbridge, police cars and guards at the front. He also shows him the working siren which blasts throughout the precinct and everyone covers their ears.

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
Oliver Carter	...	8-Year-Old Charles
Pete Davidson	...	Steven
Cleo Fraser	...	Charles's Sister
Scott Michael Morgan	...	Judd Sterrino
Lindsey Sims-Lewis	...	Kari
Helen Slayton-Hughes	...	Helen (Ethel Musterberg)
Jack Walsh	...	George
Spice Williams-Crosby	...	Prostitute
Chris Valentine	...	Perp

Running Gags[]

Die Hard
Read full article on Die Hard

At the beginning of the episode, Jake says that Die Hard is the best movie of all time.

Topless Hitchcock
Read full article on Topless Hitchcock

Hitchcock starts taking off his shirt as soon as he hears that he needs to stand in a line-up. This is the first time Hitchcock displays his propensity for toplessness.

Cultural References[]

Training Day (2001), Fargo (1996), Lethal Weapon (1987), RoboCop (1987), Bad Boys (1995), Die Hard (1988), Breathless (1960), and Turner & Hooch (1989) are mentioned at the start of the episode as the characters discuss the best cop movies of all time. Terry Crews actually features as a background extra in Training Day.
The word "pmuls", sounds like the Dutch word "piemels" which means penises. Adding an extra element of humor for Dutch/Belgian viewers.

Trivia[]

This episode is tied with The Tagger , Sal's Pizza , The Ebony Falcon , and Fancy Brudgom as the lowest rated episode of Season One with a rating of 7.5 on IMDb.