The Road Trip (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In its original American broadcast, "The Road Trip" was seen by an estimated 3.11 million household viewers and gained a 1.4/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 3.04 million viewers with a 1.5/4 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 1.4 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 most watched show on FOX for the night, beating Mulaney, and Bob's Burgers, fifth on its timeslot and eight for the night, behind CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Mentalist, Madam Secretary, Once Upon a Time, Football Night in America, 60 Minutes, and NBC Sunday Night Football.

"The Road Trip" received critical acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "'The Road Trip' really is another excellent episode for the ensemble, maintaining the strength of the series as a whole alongside the drama of the entire Jake/Amy relationship. Unlike the first few episodes of this season, Jake and Amy's past or present (or even future) feelings for each other don't come across as too much too soon ('Undercover') or tacked on for angst's sake."[3]

Jackson McHenry of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "I can't help but think of 'Road Trip' as a nasty, beautiful little joke. The episode promises big changes and seemingly delivers on them: Amy breaks up with Teddy, Jake learns that Amy used to like him back. The romantic spark is hotter than it's been in months. Jake and Amy drive back to Brooklyn together, the opportunity for a big moment gets set up... and then Brooklyn Nine-Nine doesn't pull the trigger."[4] Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine is on a roll right now, following up last week's hilarious 'USPIS' with another winner that actually has some emotional stakes behind it. The show has been far too timid about moving the ball forward on Jake and Amy's romantic story line, so isolating them in a romantic B&B was a perfect way to raise the stakes in what's got to be one of the slowest-burning will-they-or-won’t-theys in TV history."[5]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "Now that was more like it. After a couple of episodes with weak Peralta stories, 'Road Trip' was a half-hour where all three plots clicked."[6] Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode a 9.5 and wrote, "And that's what makes 'The Road Trip' so engrossing: the chance to see these characters battle against their own worst tendencies, whether it's Diaz's obstinacy, Holt's impatience, or Amy's perfectionism. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is all about the laughs for sure, but it's also about growth and development, and 'The Road Trip' brims over with all of these and more."[7]