Halloween III (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In its original American broadcast, "Halloween III" was seen by an estimated 4.38 million household viewers and gained a 2.0/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a 70% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.57 million viewers with a 1.2/3 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 2.0 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, third on its timeslot and third for the night, behind The Simpsons, and Sunday Night Football.

"Halloween III" received critical acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "Sure, like last season's Halloween episode, the end result of 'Halloween, Part III' is pretty obvious. That's merely a symptom of knowing the Halloween episode structure thanks to the first one. But like with any sitcom — or television show in general — it's perfectly alright to be obvious and predictable, as long as it's well-executed. 'Halloween, Part III' is absolutely well-executed."[3] Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Though Peralta and Holt are much more buddy-buddy than when the tradition started, the rivalry is still intense."[4]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "In all cases, the spirit of competition forces people to act out of character and/or to be crazier than normal. As a weekly thing, it would get tired, but once a year? It's an absolute treat."[5] Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode a 9.2 rating and wrote, "And when you roll every aspect of 'Halloween III' together, you wind up with a joyfully hilarious half hour of television that ends by coronating one of its underappreciated female leads. Maybe her lip reading could use some work, but that's about it. She can sleuth and spoof with the best of them, and even if we're just talking about a holiday lark episode, it's about time Brooklyn Nine-Nine reminded us of her invaluability."[6]