Brooklyn Nine-Nine Review: Two Turkeys (Season 5 Episode 7)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 5 Episode 7, “Two Turkeys,” serves a double-portion of anxiety, with a dollop of acceptance and a side of just desserts.

Get comfy, because more feast analogies are cooking.

“Two Turkeys” take us through the Thanksgiving plans and experiences of the 99 family, and it even carves out a nice chunk of time for Hitchcock and Scully to shine.

By the end, the lead ensemble all reveal that their families are far from picture perfect, but it’s their love for their families that covers the flaws and makes everything gravy.

Holidays can make even the most cohesive couples come apart. Jake and Amy begin to unravel, as the tensions and competition between their parents grows. No amount of convo grease can save some ingredients from burning.

Amy makes the cardinal cranberry sin of insulting Jake’s dad at Thanksgiving. As Jake wisely explains, it’s different when it’s your dad.

Even though it’s a bit sad to see #Peraltiago fighting, it’s comforting to know that Brooklyn Nine-Nine keeps it real — Amy can be real bratty, and being in a fantastic ship doesn’t just erase all of her negative qualities.

The couple find their way back to peace, with a renewed and expanded vision of what their family is.

The #Peraltiago content is a bit on the dry side. The juiciest dish on the “Two Turkeys” table is definitely the stellar work by recurring guest stars.

Katey Sagal as Karen Peralta, Bradley Whitford as Roger Peralta, Jimmy Smits as Victor Santiago, Bertila Damas as Camila Santiago, and Marc Evan Jackson as Kevin Cozner all bring a cornucopia of laughs to the episode.

Highlights include Roger’s pantless greeting, Camila and Karen facing off on how good their husbands are at sex, and Victor’s twist towards the Cuban rum bottle.

My favorite of the guest star moments is when Kevin admits how he detests the pie, but loves the journey with his love, Captain Holt, to get it. The meaningful eye contact the couple makes when they realize they can take trips with no explicit purpose tenderizes my heart.

Surprisingly, Hitchcock and Scully also really shine in this episode where they prove themselves excellent detectives — when it comes to detecting pie bandits.

The episode airs on Tuesday, a couple days in advance of Thanksgiving in the United States. “Two Turkeys” has great timing.

The episode assures us that we don’t need to pretend that we’re over it, that we can deal with it, or that we have our pie together. The 99 doesn’t, and we don’t either. It is much easier to face our families, flaws and all, when we have seen Brooklyn Nine-Nine struggle through it.

Season 5 is presenting a nice balance and flow of episodes. Long arc storylines (like those featured in Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 5 Episode 4 “HalloVeen”) coupled with more punctuated stories (like those featured in Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 5 Episode 5 “Bad Beat”), work well to keep our attention and affection.

“Two Turkeys” is far from my favorite episode of the season — the guest stars and pie-heist carry it, but the calamity and gross moments don’t suit my tastes. But it fits well into the season. Brooklyn Nine-Nine in its fifth season is executing a high level of craft and quality.

What did you think of this episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on FOX.

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