"The Big House, Part 1" is the premiere episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's fifth season.
Following the events of Season 4's finale, Jake is now in a South Carolina supermax prison and cellmates with a cannibal. Desperate for more regular contact with the outside and needing protection from the rest of the prison's population, Jake ingratiates himself to Romero, who runs a contraband operation, in order to get a cell phone and later joins the man's gang. Jake's already tenuous safety and position becomes even more dangerous when he finds himself forced to become the warden's snitch.
Meanwhile, Rosa has been imprisoned in Connecticut and regularly visited by Holt and Terry who want nothing more than to make sure she's as comfortable as possible. Their goodwill is tested, however, when Rosa asks them to do endless favors that are both time consuming and intimate.
Also, Gina is on maternity and doesn't make an appearance in this episode.
This episode provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: Romero angrily tells Jake that his advice on making Ramen noodles was the most disrespectful thing he'd ever seen. But then he admits that he tried it, and raves about what a brilliant idea it was.
- Black Comedy: Caleb records Jake getting beat up by a guard with a phone. But Caleb accidentally had the phone on selfie mode. The second time he accidentally puts on a Fiesta filter on the video. Hilarity Ensues. Jake's subplot, in general, heavily plays into black comedy, particularly when it comes to Caleb's past.
- Continuity Snarl: Jake has grown some respectable facial hair, despite multiple claims in the past that he was physically incapable of doing so.
- Darker and Edgier: Given the circumstances and the setting, yes. Even the comedy is darker than usual.
- Dead Baby Comedy: Caleb killed and ate at least nine children, then bemoans that he has no street cred because it's really easy to kill kids. Of course, since inmates are notoriously violent towards criminals that hurt children, he should probably be more worried about someone killing him.
- Daydream Surprise: The Cold Open. At first it seems that Jake was exonerated and is back on the precinct. Sadly, it was just Charles dreaming about a perfect reality where Jake only has time for him and everyone else cheers him on.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Charles dyed his hair blonde because it turned gray due to the stress of Jake being in prison.
- False Reassurance: "Everything's fine. I'm talking to you."
- Hair-Trigger Temper: The prison guard beats Jake into a bloody pulp at the slightest hint of insubordination.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Romero asks Jake to kill a guard to prove his loyalty. Jake manages to bargain it down to getting the guard fired.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Caleb is in prison for cannibalism of children.
- Long List: Rosa gives Holt and Terry a few lists of things she wants them to do such as: take her motorcycle out, cancel her cable, do her taxes, send Pimento an erotic e-mail, and pick up her grandmother from the airport and tell her everything. It turns out that she doesn't want any forced sympathy from Holt and Terry and was using the tasks to try and get them to stop treating her with kid gloves.
- Mood Whiplash: Jake happily greeting his inmates is cut short when he sees that one of them hanged himself.
- Serious Business: Ramen noodles, in this prison. To be clear, ramen is readily available in the prison commissary, but any flavors that aren't officially sanctioned are highly sought after by the inmates and treated like dangerous contraband by the authorities. Jake's expertise in ramen preparation turns out to be key to making nice with a powerful gang leader.
- Snap Back: Completely subverted. The last season ended with Jake and Rosa being sentenced to prison. The Cold Open for this episode shows Jake triumphantly strolling into the precinct and announcing that the real criminal had been caught and he was exonerated, so everything is back to normal. This turns out to be a recurring dream Charles was having to cope with the fact that his best friend is in prison for real.
- Odd Friendship: Jake has made friends with a woodworker (not a cannibal) named Caleb during his time in prison.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Caleb would much rather be called a woodworker rather than a cannibal. That said, he constantly, apropos of nothing, brings up his cannibalistic past.
- Police Brutality: Poor Jake gets beaten up by a guard 3 times.
- Prison Riot: Rosa said she started one, which landed her in solitary confinement.
- Wardens Are Evil: The warden turns off the cameras every time a guard beats a prisoner.
- Weird Currency: The prisoners use ramen to pay for contraband instead of money.
