Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: The Night Shift (Season 4 Episode 4)
Although FOX touted Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 4 Episode 4, “The Night Shift,” as the first half of a Brooklyn Nine-Nine/New Girl crossover event, the “crossover” part of the episode is actually pretty small.
The episode is more than halfway over before Jess from New Girl shows up, and she ends up being the only New Girl character to appear in “The Night Shift.”
She does fit into the world of Brooklyn Nine-Nine pretty well, and her appearance doesn’t seem forced. The scene only lasts a minute or two, so “The Night Shift” certainly isn’t just “the New Girl crossover episode.”
The weirdness of Jake’s months away from work continues to linger.
Like Jake, I wanted things to go back to normal once he returned to New York, but it’s satisfying to watch Jake be forced to acknowledge that after six months, some things are different. Some of it is temporary (his still-healing leg, the squad’s night shift duty), but other things aren’t.
Jake and Boyle’s friendship is always entertaining, and it’s obvious that they deeply care about one another, but a lot of jokes often stem from how highly Boyle thinks of Jake. It’s nice to see the moments when Jake shows how much he cares about Boyle. The moment when he finally goes to meet and spend time with Nikolaj shows the best side of Jake.
The fallout from the Figgis arc is also felt elsewhere in the episode, as Rosa’s vulnerable side is exposed because of Pimento’s continued absence. It’s heartbreaking to see Rosa near tears, and it’s also touching to hear Amy mention that Rosa was there when she needed someone to talk to while Jake was in witness protection.
It will be interesting to see if Pimento will return sooner rather than later, or if his absence will turn into an arc of its own that plays out over multiple episodes as the season goes on.
“The Night Shift” is a great first episode back after the show’s three-part season premiere. It proves that the Figgis arc did affect, and will continue to affect, the squad in a serious way moving forward. It wasn’t just a gimmick that the characters will quickly forget about or never discuss.
As far as the crossover is concerned, Jess popping up was entertaining for viewers who are fans of both shows, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans who don’t watch New Girl probably weren’t too confused or thrown by her appearance.
If you were hoping to see more interaction between the two shows’ characters, there’s a bit more of that on New Girl Season 6 Episode 4, “Homecoming.” Like “The Night Shift,” however, no Brooklyn Nine-Nine characters show up until about halfway through “Homecoming.”
The whole crossover concept might have been a little more fun if the two episodes’ plots had been tied together more. But if the writers’ goal was to create two episodes that could stand alone and be enjoyed regardless of whether or not you were a fan of both shows, it worked out just fine.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Sadly, I did not get my wish for the Nine-Nine to play True American.
- The cold open with Jake being unwilling to part with his frosted tips was perfect.
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy is such a tough category, but I’m still holding out hope that one year Andre Braugher will win an Emmy for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. All of his guilt-fueled attempts to cheer up the squad were hilarious.
- I was pleasantly surprised to see Lohank (Matt Walsh) pop up again. His mellow attitude was so funny, and his heart-to-heart with Jake was actually pretty sweet.
- Show of hands: who else had “All Night Long (All Night)” stuck in their head after watching this episode?
What did you think of “The Night Shift”? Did you want to see more New Girl characters during the crossover, or was Jess’s appearance enough? Share with us in the comments below!
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on FOX.
Katie Houlis
Katie is a recent college graduate who spent most of her free time at school binge-watching shows like Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fringe, and Hannibal. She has watched every single episode of Lost at least ten times each (yes, even “Stranger In A Strange Land”). Current favorites include a bunch of comedies, lots of superhero shows, and a few shows with quite a bit of murder in them.