"The Puzzle Master" is the 15th episode of Season Five of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine television series. It aired on April 8, 2018 to 1.74 million viewers. Viewers give it 7.6 out of 10 on IMDb.
Episode Synopsis
Jake Peralta surprises Amy Santiago with an investigation into a string of arsons connected to her favorite crossword puzzle author, Vin Stermley. Meanwhile, Gina Linetti helps Raymond Holt jazz up his commissioner candidate speech and Terry Jeffords, Rosa Diaz, Michael Hitchcock and Norm Scully argue over who is most deserving of the new detective car.
The show begins with Captain Holt announcing that Amy's Sergeant exam result has arrived. It is revealed that Amy has passed and is becoming a Sergeant. The detectives are awarded with a typical Santiago victory dance. Jake wants to make the last case he works with Amy as a detective as the best case ever.
So, he chooses an arson case that is connected to the Saturday puzzles. Guest actor David Fumero (Melissa's husband) guest stars as Melvin "Vin" Stermley, the smoldering hot puzzle-master / model. As the case progresses, Jake starts to feel the beginnings of jealousy. They solve the case at the end and Jake voices his feelings to Amy.
On the other side, Gina and Holt attend the meet-and-greet for the Commissioner election where they come to know that one of the three identical while males running has withdrawn to be replaced by a young female Captain Olivia Crawford. Crawford wants to eliminate precincts and constantly mocks Holt for his age, declaring each other their nemeses. In his quest to win the post, Holt tries to talk to the Chief and comes to realize that Olivia is not being considered as a "serious" candidate and is only in the running for PR reasons. He gives an opening speech where he threatens to withdraw if everyone in the running isn't treated equally. Crawford thanks Holt for standing up for her and they declare each other "frenemies."
- Charles says Jake sounds like Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games film series.
- The character is the host and commentator for the Hunger Games, who welcomes new tributes to the Quarter Quell.
- Parade magazine is mentioned, an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine that is distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States.
- Melvin mentions he and Anna_Kournikova were together in the past but broke up. Kournikova is a professional tennis player who gained attention more for her appearance than her sports career.
- Terry confesses that he rigged the car draw by freezing his slip of paper so that he'd select it. A popular conspiracy regarding the 1985 NBA draft lottery, which determined who would likely draft Patrick Ewing, was that the envelope for the New York Knicks - Jake's favorite team - was placed in a freezer and bent so that it would be easier for commissioner David Stern to select it.
- Amy saying "Shwing!" is a line/catch phrase from the movie Wayne's World
- Jake is angry with Melvin wearing a jacket over a tank top claiming he's not Ryan Gosling
- Gina jokes that the old guys at the event were talking about where to find Matlock reruns.
- Jake was bummed nobody was dressed like The Riddler from Batman at the puzzling event
- Charles sees a guy riding a Razor (scooter)
- Sam Jepsen was eating candy out of a bumblebee PEZ Dispenser
- Sam needs to run because he needs to get to the Javits Center
- The man who directed this episode is Akiva Schaffer who is a member of Andy Samberg's comedy trio, The Lonely Island
Cast
| Actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Samberg | ... | Jake Peralta |
| G. Grant Jewett | ... | Stunt double: Andy Samberg |
| Stephanie Beatriz | ... | Rosa Diaz |
| Terry Crews | ... | Terry Jeffords |
| Melissa Fumero | ... | Amy Santiago |
| Joe Lo Truglio | ... | Charles Boyle |
| Andre Braugher | ... | Raymond Holt |
| Chelsea Peretti | ... | Gina Linetti |
| Dirk Blocker | ... | Michael Hitchcock |
| Joel McKinnon Miller | ... | Norm Scully |
| David Fumero | ... | Melvin "Vin" Stermley |
| Will Shortz | ... | Sam Jepsen |
| Allison Tolman | ... | Capt. Olivia Crawford |
| Alan Brooks | ... | John Kelly I |
| Dan Lippert | ... | Timothy |
| Amir Levi | ... | Cy |
| Meghann Murphy | ... | Helen Gorbelson |
| Stewart Skelton | ... | Patrick Faricy |
| Kenner Shah | ... | Ed |
Trivia
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Running Gags Mentioned
- Charles Boyle Being Jealous of Every Friend of Jake Peralta
- Gina Being Bad At Her Job
- Hitchcock and Scully Napping on the Job
- Holt Hating Food
- Jake and Amy's Sex Life
References to Previous Episodes
- Jake proposed to Amy in the earlier Season 5 episode, HalloVeen, which is why she so freely says she wants to marry him.
- Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times since 1993, made a cameo as Sam Jepsen
- His name was mentioned in the Season 3 episode, The Mattress and the Season 4 episode, Mr. Santiago.
Videos
Images
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Behind The Scenes
- The new detective vehicle requisitioned by Terry is a Dodge Charger Pursuit, a make and model that took the position of best-selling police patrol vehicle from the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor following the Crown Victoria's discontinuation by Ford in 2011, though the Crown Victoria has been used by other detectives in this and many preceding episodes.
Known Filming Locations
| Film Location | Details | Scenes |
|---|---|---|
| The Studios At Paramount | The Plaza where they spy on Sam Jepsen The abandoned lard factory that Helen burns The Turnkey Bar | |
| CBS Studio Center | Stage 12 | Scenes that take place in the 99th Precinct |