"Ava" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television policesitcom series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It is the 53rd overall episode of the series and is written by Matt O'Brien and directed by Tristram Shapeero. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 22, 2015. 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. In the episode, Terry leaves to solve a murder case and has Jake watch over his wife, who is on late stages of her pregnancy. However, her water breaks, panicking Jake. All of this happens while the precinct suffers some problems after the Internet goes down. The episode was seen by an estimated 3.88 million household viewers and gained a 1.7/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the cast's performances.
Plot
With Sharon's pregnancy in advanced, Terry asks Jake to watch her while he and Rosa go to Rikers Island to work on a case. He also advises Jake to not let Holt intervene, as he would cause stress on Sharon. Bringing Sharon to the precinct, Jake finds that her water just broke and seeks Gina's help while Sharon refuses to go to an hospital after their bad reception in the last birth. Holt is also notified but upon learning about why they tried to avoid him, he decides to step aside and give them his office. While all of this happens, the precinct is suffering from late paperwork, as the internet is down, forcing everyone to do the papers themselves, all while a crowd protests in the precinct. Terry learns about the birth and heads back to the precinct after getting the information from the case. After failing to calm Sharon, Jake asks Holt to call his ex-boyfriend, Frederick, who is a doctor. However, Holt's and Frederick's relationship got tarnished when Holt threw Frederick's expensive duck off a bridge. After making amends, Frederick visits the precinct and tells Jake that she needs to go to the hospital. They convince Sharon to go to the hospital and take her. Terry arrives as well, initially angry for taking his wife there. After a few hours, the child is born, turning out to be a girl named Ava. Terry apologizes to Jake for his attitude and lets him meet his new godchild.
Reception
Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "Ava" was seen by an estimated 3.88 million household viewers and gained a 1.7/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This was a 44% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.69 million viewers with a 1.3/4 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 1.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 5 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, beating The Last Man on Earth and Family Guy, but behind The Simpsons, fourth on its timeslot and fourth for the night, behind The Simpsons, American Music Awards of 2015, and Sunday Night Football.
Critical reviews
"Ava" received positive reviews from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "So, speaking of fun and gimmicky as hell, Brooklyn Nine-Nines 'Ava' ticks both of those boxes. The episode leans into sweeps, without completely deconstructing or even really criticizing the entire concept, and it pretty much nails everything it has to do to be a sweeps episode." Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "After hosting a precinct-wide Thanksgiving at Amy's house in season one, Brooklyn Nine-Nine skipped the holiday entirely last year. This year, it's decided to split the difference, acknowledging Turkey Day without actually celebrating it." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "As always, you can't get through a 'Brooklyn' episode without a bunch of individually funny moments, but 'Ava' didn’t quite work overall." Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode an 8.6 rating and wrote, "'Ava' lets its characters be the best part of who they are, while flying through every holiday episode trope imaginable, but if the plot elements here feel familiar, they end up working because they're used in earnest. They're tropes for a reason, after all, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine historically makes good use of its clichés anyways; they're window dressing next to its character-based proclivities."
