Like most of its viewers, I watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine when I want to laugh. That is, after all, what a sitcom is for. Thankfully, I’m in the middle of yet another rewatch, and I’m still laughing at jokes I know by heart, and coming across things like visual gags that I’ve always missed. It’s obviously not the most layered show in the world, but it’s certainly one of the best in its genre. As a comedic spin on a police procedural, Brooklyn Nine-Nine can’t completely avoid some pretty dark themes. However, most of the time, even the more macabre twists are made to feel lighthearted.
That isn’t a universal rule, though. In fact, some moments should feel light and breezy, but are surprisingly graphic. There’s one quote in particular that I don’t remember being so evocatively gory. I still laughed at what was clearly intended to be a joke, but my laughter came through as a gasp rather than a standard smile. There have been tamer lines in body horror movies. I’m not saying it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever heard, but it definitely feels like it pushes the boundary of what can be included in a network sitcom.
Captain Holt’s Threat to Jake & Amy in “Halloween IV” Is ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Most Disturbing Line
NBC
The Halloween heists are one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s biggest traditions. Things always get ultra competitive, and injuries inevitably occur. Even Captain Holt (Andre Braugher), who was initially reluctant to let the squad engage in the heists for fear of their becoming distracted from their duties, eventually throws himself headfirst into proceedings. By the time of Season 4’s edition of the Halloween heists, his drive to win a second time is painfully evident. While he starts with the fairly benign threat of promising to “stomp on [Jake and Amy’s] dreams” of victory, Holt quickly escalates the intimidation factor with: “I will slit you both open from mouth to anus and wear you like jackets.”
Of course, I don’t believe for a second that Holt would do such a thing to his two best detectives. Or anyone, for that matter. Still, the imagery is…vivid. The tense atmosphere is only swept aside because Jake (Andy Samberg) quickly moves things along with a more traditional Brooklyn Nine-Nine line that jokes about the threat turning him on a little bit. Holt’s dialogue here is obviously crafted for shock value, and it works really well in that sense. It’s so objectively unfunny as a sentence that it becomes hilarious in the context it’s delivered. There is an unease about the laughter it elicits because it’s so out of place in a 21-minute sitcom episode.
Only Captain Holt Could Deliver a Threat Like This in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
NBC
When I make this claim, I don’t mean that other Brooklyn Nine-Nine characters couldn’t utter something like this. Minor characters, like some of the criminals, do speak relatively graphically while making threats they would probably follow through on. Still, they all pale in comparison to what Holt says in “Halloween IV.” The biggest difference is that Braugher’s character is one of the exceedingly rare deadpan figures in the entire show. The fact that he’s surrounded by intentionally cartoonish performances makes his immense stoicism even more prevalent.
That’s not really an issue in the earlier stages of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He is who he is at the start of the story, which is a police captain who has no time or patience for anything deemed traditionally playful or irreverent. As the episodes tick by, the antics of Holt’s officers start to rub off on him, but he retains the same levelheaded approach while expressing the new quirks of his personality. As such, the threat “I will slit you both open from mouth to anus and wear you like jackets” lacks the glint of jovial insincerity that would have been so obvious if someone like Jake had spoken the line. Coming from Holt, it sounds at first like a genuine threat, which is why it sticks out in Brooklyn Nine-Nine for being hilarious, but it’s only really so funny because of how boldly it smashes through the sitcom’s established boundaries.
Release Date
2013 – 2021-00-00
Network
NBC, FOX