Game Night (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

Plot

During a briefing, Rosa comes out to the precinct as bisexual. She tells Jake she has not told her parents and asks for help. To thank him, Rosa invites Jake to dinner at a restaurant, but he does not know her parents Oscar and Julia will also be there. At dinner, Rosa and Jake feign being in a relationship, but their cover is blown when Jake's fiancée Amy calls him.

Rosa's parents are relieved, preferring her to be someone's mistress rather than bisexual, causing her to storm off. Later, she and Jake visit her parents for a game night to discuss again. Everything goes fine, but her parents continue disapproving her sexuality, deeming it a phase, angering her. The next day, Oscar visits and apologizes, telling her he loves and accepts her, but Julia will take time; their game nights might be postponed.

The precinct decides to hold a weekly game night at Rosa's apartment. Meanwhile, the Cyber Crimes division moves next door and uses all the bandwidth, causing internet problems. After failed attempts to persuade them, the precinct calls Gina for help; she intimidates division leader Devin into returning the bandwidth. Gina explains she is not coming back, wanting to start a business to raise her daughter, but after a good-bye speech from Amy and Boyle, she decides to return while continuing her side business.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, Game Night was seen by an estimated 1.81 million household viewers and gained a 0.7/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This was a 7% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.94 million viewers with a 0.7/3 in the 18-49 demographics. With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the second highest rated show on FOX for the night, behind Lethal Weapon, fifth on its timeslot and twelfth for the night.

The episode received acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A grade and wrote that Brooklyn Nine-Nine treated its 99th episode like most shows treat their 100th, and that even a regular episode can be special, comparing it to the episode's namesake. Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote that Game Night feels more special because it feels very personal in a way the series does not often, noting that Stephanie Beatriz came out as bi not long ago and was terrific here, and that the episode never attempts to wrap things up neatly, with Rosa's dad eventually coming around but still not understanding, and Mrs. Diaz keeping her distance.