During Christmas season, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is informed by Deputy Chief Gerber (Mark Berry) that Holt (Andre Braugher) has received death threats.
Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) visits the safe house after Holt secretly sends him a message to bring him to his old precinct to investigate possible leads.
After an investigation, Holt discovers that the death threats came from a killer (Kirk Bovill) he arrested years ago who was recently released from prison, and the squad sets out to find him at a train yard.
In its original American broadcast, "Christmas" was seen by an estimated 3.66 million household viewers and gained a 1.6/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
It highlights what's great about the series—a game ensemble who gelled early in the series' life — and what doesn't work so well—a lead who is still not as compelling or as much fun to watch as everyone else around him.
"[4] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "So I spent a lot of the A-story feeling the same way I did with some of those earlier episodes: wishing we would quickly get back to the other supporting characters.
And that stuff was fun, whether Terry struggling with his fears in front of the shrink, Santiago scheming to get Diaz to smile or Boyle worrying about his flight, and then getting to play hero in an amazing and yet embarrassing way.
It is true that the uncapitalized-upon potential in this scenario is a minor failure by the writers, but more significantly it shows how much the success of the series thus far has come to rely on the supporting cast.