Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Debbie
February 28, 2020 10:55 PM - Season 7, Episode 5 - Subscribe

When cocaine and weapons are stolen from the evidence lock-up, the squad must investigate the Nine-Nine itself.

Following up on the events of the previous episode, we learn more of what makes Debbie tick, as well as more about her family. Plus, a small glimpse into Rosa's mysterious past.

AV Club write-up
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit (16 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Holt and Amy's speed-reading competition was so good—whether it's speed reading or a dance-off with her brother, her competitive streak is a lot of fun.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:00 PM on February 28, 2020 [2 favorites]


Damn, I think they did Debbie wrong. I just don’t buy this character turn at all. On the other hand, I enjoyed lots of small moments in this episode. Debbie has a certain Perdita quality, sure. And Mansion Girl Debbie could attract international sex symbol Mr. Bean.
posted by Monochrome at 2:08 AM on February 29, 2020 [1 favorite]


The weird thing is that they include a line like "finding out who killed my twin sister" as a motivation for Debbie early on, and then ignore it entirely.

No doubt it was an alt take they came up with on the day, and forgot about it when they got to shooting the episode. (Which was probably already halfway through production anyway.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:11 AM on February 29, 2020 [2 favorites]


I thought the avclub had a great point that while Debbie was great, it was nice to have a short arc and then move on, rather than having her wear out her welcome. Not that I didn't love the character, but she is definitely quite different than the rest of the crew.
posted by Carillon at 11:11 AM on February 29, 2020 [4 favorites]


No doubt it was an alt take they came up with on the day, and forgot about it when they got to shooting the episode.

I could swear it came up again somewhere else between last week's episode and the premiere, too.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:42 AM on February 29, 2020


Every time Debbie took someone out with hand-to-hand, I absolutely cracked up. They could've done that ten more times in this episode and it wouldn't have gotten old for me.
posted by grandiloquiet at 1:52 PM on February 29, 2020 [7 favorites]


Maybe she can solve the case....from inside the prison!
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:57 PM on February 29, 2020 [5 favorites]


As a twin, I’m always predisposed to liking twin storylines—even though they’re rarely done well—so I was super disappointed that they dropped such a juicy bit. I absolutely loved Officer Debbie and will hope that somehow they bring her back.

I howled when Amy said they didn’t have finger protection and Holt said they’d have to do it raw. Man, I read too much fanfic.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:31 PM on February 29, 2020 [7 favorites]


Holt: "I didn't know Brian had a hot tub. That does sound bad."

I loved Vanessa Bayer singing "mansion girl".

The room full of journals was a nice touch.

The Jared Fogle bit reminded me of when Boyle made a comment about his cousin Susan being famous.
posted by Emmy Rae at 4:41 PM on February 29, 2020 [6 favorites]


I think they were smart to do this the way they did. Vanessa Beyer was so good, that it's easy to want much more Debbie, but they ran the risk of pulling a Cousin Oliver with her, making the show essentially a different thing. I do hope hope hope she's back later in the season, however, having solved her sister's murder from prison, like jenfullmoon suggests.
posted by Navelgazer at 6:50 PM on February 29, 2020 [2 favorites]


Or you know, with Debbie out of the picture her twin sister can come out of hiding.
posted by fullerine at 10:04 PM on February 29, 2020 [15 favorites]


I really enjoyed this episode. It felt like the show when I loved it most.

Vanessa Beyer was so good, that it's easy to want much more Debbie, but they ran the risk of pulling a Cousin Oliver with her, making the show essentially a different thing.

And yet we keep getting Pimento back. (I am fine with the short Debbie plot, even though it made very little sense.)
posted by jeather at 11:22 AM on March 1, 2020 [4 favorites]


reoccurring guest star is totally a fine thing for an episode or two, but a full season of debbie would have been a downer.
posted by gryftir at 4:50 PM on March 1, 2020 [6 favorites]


The speed reading bits were great. I feel like a good number of Mefites are chest-thumping speed readers.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:54 PM on March 1, 2020 [2 favorites]


Holt and Amy are definitely the Mefites of that show.
I'm kind of disappointed Debbie blew up, they could have just trotted her out a few more times no? Not too many more but a few? I liked how she & Charles kind of connected because neither of them have any business being cops, unlike the rest of them who were born in cop school.
posted by bleep at 10:39 PM on March 3, 2020 [6 favorites]


Also just because she was double-crossing a drug kingpin and had a bizarrely indifferent mother and attention issues doesn't mean her twin wasn't murdered, in fact it seems even more likely.
posted by bleep at 8:43 AM on March 4, 2020 [2 favorites]


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