"Terry Kitties" is the 19th episode of Season Three in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine television series. It originally aired on March 15, 2016 to 1.95 million viewers. Viewers give it 7.6 out of 10 on IMDb.
Episode Synopsis
After being sent a box of kittens from Terry Jeffords' old precinct, Jake learns about an old case of Terry's and proves that he’s not a joke. Adrian Pimento moves in with Charles Boyle, to horrifying results. Amy Santiago brings her competitive streak to a bomb diffusing class with Raymond Holt and Rosa Diaz.
Jake comes into work to find Terry with a large package. Terry opens it to reveal kittens and is surprisingly upset by them. They’re a prank from his old precinct, the 65th because of something that happened in 1995. The detectives had a hazing rule that he couldn’t do anything until he solved a case. So Terry chose the biggest one he could find, a string of robberies on the top floors of high-rise buildings. Confident he had solved the case with an ex-acrobat suspect, they went to make the arrest. After bursting through his door they discovered the suspect was wheelchair-bound from an accident. Flustered and desperate to prove himself, Terry blamed the cat sitting next to the suspect for the robberies instead.
Boyle and Gina discover Adrian has been living in the break room. Charles offers to let him know if he can help which Adrian takes literally, inviting himself to live at Charles'.
A bomb diffusing class ignites a competition between Rosa and Amy. They make a $20 bet that Rosa will do better than Amy.
Jake tries to relate with a story of being bullied in high school with an upset Terry who explains that his over reaction is due to his dad. Jake, triggered by the mention of daddy issues, offers advice of standing up to him like he did with his father. Seeing as Terry’s dad died in 1988, Jake encourages him to stand up to the detectives instead. 45 minutes later Terry comes back defeated with more kittens.
The next morning Jake convinces Terry to steal the files from the 65th precinct and solve the case.
At work the next morning Pimento arrives with Charles, refreshed from a great night’s sleep. Charles tells Gina about the horrors of having him as a roommate and they exchange thoughts on whether being an alpha or a beta will work best for getting rid of Pimento.
Jake steals the file from the 65th precinct and they interview one of the victims who is now elderly. Terry finds a lead while in the elevator of her building and they follow it to the Club International of Brighton Beach International Club. The detectives from the 65th Precinct bust them for investigating their case and trigger Terry who goes off about the suspect being a cat again.
At the bomb diffusing class Holt reprimands Rosa and Amy for their smack talking.
Charles gives up and asks Gina for advice on how he should be an alpha which he tries out to terrible results.
Holt finishes diffusing his bomb before Amy or Rosa, revealing that he was more competitive than either of them.
The 65th precinct detectives join Terry and Jake on their investigation of the suspect Zerb Gudanya and when they go to bust him in the bathroom they discover him sneaking red meat on the toilet.
The next morning Jake reveals that he’s solved the case from the pictures the detectives used to bully Terry. The suspect’s sneakers were released in 1995 one year after his apparent trapeze accident. The incriminating part being that said sneakers were dirty, meaning they had been used.
Holt reveals that he, Rosa, and Amy all failed the bomb diffusing class because they didn’t take it seriously. Hitchcock and Scully, however, passed.
Gina witnesses Pimento taking advantage of Charles and confronts him. He acquiesces and she tells him to thank them and pay Charles rent for the night he stayed there. Thinking she prevailed as the alpha, Charles makes the point points that he beta’d her into doing what he needed.
Jake tries to get Terry to plan a retaliation for his win over the 65th precinct, which Terry declines. Jake already dropped off a box of rats at the 65th precinct.
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 |
| Jason Mantzoukas | ... | Adrian Pimento |
| Matt Besser | ... | Detective Holderton |
| Sasha Goldberg | ... | Russian Guy |
| Denell Johnson | ... | Stu |
| Michael Klesic | ... | Zerb Gudanya |
| Andrew Oliveri | ... | Dmitri Kuzkho |
| Jason Sims-Prewitt | ... | Eric Dirph |
99th Precinct
The 65th Precinct
Trivia
- During the "Dr. Goor Productions" card after the end credits, a cat's mew is heard instead of "shh."
- Jake was bullied in high school because he lit his crotch on fire in Shop Class. It blistered and hurt like the dickens.
- Terry’s father passed away in 1988.
- Charles’ spirit animal is a caterpillar that’s been stepped on.
- Gina’s spirit animal is a wolf. She's wearing a sweater with wolves on it for the entire episode.
- Jake is scared of bees and snakes. He didn’t know he was afraid of heights until going out on the ledge of the 10th story.
- Gina was an assistant manager at a sunglasses kiosk for 4 years.
- As a loyalty test, Jimmy Figgis cut off Pimento's little toe and made him eat it.
- Gina made Adrian pay Charles rent for the time he spent at Charles' apartment.
- Terry talking about the kittens using weapons and Jake telling them they're a part of something much bigger than themselves is a nod to the Lonely Island's series, Laser Cats.
- The actor Terry Crews really did have a flat top hair style in the 90s.
Running Gags Mentioned
- Amy embarrassed in front of Holt
- Jake Secretly Liking Taylor Swift
- Charles Boyle's Femininity
- Jake's Daddy Issues
- Strong Terry
- Die Hard
Featured Relationships
- Jake Peralta & Terry Jeffords
- Rosa Diaz & Amy Santiago
- Amy Santiago & Raymond Holt
- Rosa Diaz & Raymond Holt
Videos
Images
Behind The Scenes
- Melissa Fumero was in various stages of pregnancy during the filming of this episode. The ways they hid it include:
- The director of this episode, Michael McDonald, portrays Madeline Wuntch's nephew in Season 7's Ding Dong.
- The writers in this episode portrayed:
- Tricia McAlpin - Maggie in season 3's Adrian Pimento
- Phil Augusta Jackson - Trent in season 3's New Captain and Jeremy in Captain Latvia
| Filming Location | City, State | Details | Scenes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYPD 78th Precinct | Brooklyn, New York | Building exterior | Establishing shots meant to represent the 99th Precinct |
| South 5th Street | Next to river, beneath Williamsburg Bridge | Ensemble walking down the street in the Title Sequence | |
| CBS Studio Center | Studio City, California | Stage 12 | Scenes that take place in the 99th Precinct |