"Unsolvable" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of the American televisionpolicesitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It is the 21st overall episode of the series and is written by co-executive producer Prentice Penny and directed by Ken Whittingham. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 18, 2014. The show revolves around the fictitious 99th precinct of the New York Police Department in Brooklyn and the officers and detectives that work in the precinct. Jake Peralta is an immature yet very talented detective in the precinct with an astounding record of crimes solved, putting him in a competition with fellow detective Amy Santiago. The precinct's status changes when the Captain is retiring and a new commanding officer, Cpt. Raymond Holt is appointed as the newest Captain. This creates a conflict between Jake and Holt over their respective methods in the field. In the episode, Jake decides to take an 8-year-old case that is deemed "unsolvable" and as such, seeks Terry's help in solving it. Meanwhile, Amy continues with her relationship with Teddy. The episode was seen by an estimated 2.50 million household viewers and gained a 1.1/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Andy Samberg's performance.
Plot
When Jake is allowed the weekend off because of a hot streak in solving cases, he decides to take on an 8-year old cold case that everyone believes is unsolvable. With the help of Sgt. Terry, the two try to crack the case once and for all and, thanks to Jake pulling an all-nighter, he finally solves the case by working out that the supposed murder victim isn't even dead. Meanwhile, Amy plans a romantic trip with new boyfriend Teddy, but an unexpected event with Holt, which Amy unwittingly volunteered for beforehand, jeopardizes it. Under Gina's suggestion, she attempts to lie to Holt, claiming she has a dental appointment. However, Holt personally takes Amy to a dentist, causing Amy to reveal that she had plans and lied to Holt, disappointing Holt. The dentist then reveals that Amy's brushing technique has caused seven cavities, to Holt's satisfaction. Gina and Rosa let a downtrodden Boyle in on one of the best-kept secrets of the precinct, their secret bathroom named Babylon, demanding he be silent about it. But Scully and Hitchcock do some of their best detective work ever to figure out what Boyle is hiding.
Reception
Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Unsolvable" was seen by an estimated 2.50 million household viewers and gained a 1.1/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.49 million viewers with a 1.2/3 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 1.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the second most watched show on FOX for the night, behind Glee, fifth on its timeslot and eleventh for the night, behind Glee, ', The Goldbergs, Person of Interest, Growing Up Fisher, Chicago Fire, About a Boy, ', NCIS, and The Voice.
Critical reviews
"Unsolvable" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.5 out of 10 and wrote, "Another strong showing from the B99 team as we head towards the Season 1 finale. To some degree, the focus has been on Boyle and Peralta's romantic woes over the last couple of weeks, and I assume that will play a big part in the closer." Molly Eichel of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "'Unsolvable' combines those two spheres — workplace comedy and the cop show—exceedingly well. Other episodes have done so, and done it well, but 'Unsolvable' in particular feels like a mature episode structurally. The major plot arcs — namely Boyle's possible move to suburban Ottawa with fiancé Vivian and Peralta's long-simmering crush on Santiago — largely stay stagnant. That's totally okay. Both ideas are touched upon in order to create their own self-contained narratives, and there's only so much movement that can happen before their inevitable end, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine needs to save something for the final two episodes. Yet, 'Unsolvable' feels like the work of a show mature enough to move into an even more confident second season than its already thoroughly enjoyable first." Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode an 8.8 and wrote, "After the gang took a break from busting crooks, following up on leads, or doing anything remotely resembling police work last week in 'Fancy Brudgom,' they’re back—well, most of them, at least — to acting like they're cops with 'Unsolvable,' which means that all of the heartfelt, character-oriented goodness that's come to define the series' overarching quality gets pushed aside in favor of hilarity in law enforcement for most of the episode."
