***Spoilers Ahead***
Two Turkeys
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| Joe Lo Truglio (center). Photo: FOX |
While it does not reflect the quality of the rest of the episode, 'Two Turkeys' gets off to a particularly disappointing start. The cold opening features Boyle strutting in with his signature turkey costume and exclaiming "Gobble, Gobble". For a first-time viewer or someone who isn't familiar with the series, that seems alright. But, the first Thanksgiving episode in season 1 emphasized how Boyle simply can not say this catchphrase without the third "Gobble". After the theme song, Kevin mentions "Turkey Day" while Boyle decides to use the phrase "Thanksgiving" instead. Once again, this seems fine until one realizes that season 2's Thanksgiving episode "Lockdown" focused on the fact that Boyle hated it when people called the holiday by its well-known name and preferred the bird-based one. While this all may sound like ridiculous nitpicking, one can't help but feel let down that the show that's usually great with continuity made such blatant mistakes. Regardless, 'Two Turkeys' is still a solid Brooklyn Nine-Nine Thanksgiving episode with a strong A-plot and an equally solid B-plot.
In the A-plot, Jake and Amy have Thanksgiving with their parents and try to create a bond between the two couples. Ultimately, this is a very cookie-cutter synopsis, but the competitive and hostile nature of their parents is what makes things interesting and engaging. Also, aside from Amy's mother, we have seen all these characters before in separate settings, so the story acts as a reward to the audience since we get to see them all interact for the first time. The fact that we have prior knowledge of all their quirks and know who these people are is what sets this apart from a generic "meet the parents" sitcom episode. Yes, the ending is also pretty predictable, but the jokes make up for it. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about how Jake has 3 half-sisters or the way that Santiago's dad and Roger trash-talked when they were carving the turkey. Overall, this story is nothing ground-breaking, but it accomplishes its job of establishing relationships and bringing some comedy to the dinner table.
Over at the precinct, the B-story focuses on Holt's missing pie and his attempts to find the culprit. If nothing else, this plot is further proof that Hitchcock & Scully are indeed good detectives when they actually try. Their food detecting skills were easily the highlight of this story. Also, Holt's complete impatience with the situation added an extra level of comedy to the interrogation scenes. Finally, Kevin's appearance made the episode a bit better since he has been in the after-life for a while and hasn't shown up since last year's 'Skyfire Cycle'.
'Two Turkeys' is a very enjoyable Brooklyn Nine-Nine Thanksgiving episode. The installment benefited from having two plots instead of three. This gave it more room to breathe and develop the separate stories. It may not hold up to Season 1's 'Thanksgiving' or Season 2's 'Lockdown', but it's still a worthy outing in its own right.
Stray Thoughts
- Seriously, Kevin has been sorely missed. He only made one cameo in seasons 3 and 4, so I guess this is the last we'll see of him unless we get a sixth season.
- This is the first episode where the squad hasn't celebrated Thanksgiving together.
- Peralta's dad now has white hair. He's really gotten old in the span of two seasons.
- I wonder if we'll ever see Amy's brothers. That seems like a missed opportunity.
Grade: B
