According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.73 million household viewers and gained a 0.7/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Despite a previous negative encounter with Parlov, Jake became a fan of the series after reading the books in jail while Terry discovered that he seemed to be a nice person.
Meanwhile, Holt (Andre Braugher) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) attend a forensics course by Dr. Ronald Yee (Reggie Lee) with the hope that their performance can get them a field lab in the precinct.
In its original American broadcast, "Return to Skyfire" was seen by an estimated 1.73 million household viewers and gained a 0.7/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the third highest rated show on FOX for the night, behind The Mick and Lethal Weapon, fifth on its timeslot and twelfth for the night, behind The Mick, a rerun of The Middle, Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Lethal Weapon, a rerun of NCIS, Chicago Med, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, The Voice, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and This Is Us.
Parts worked just because of the sheer enthusiasm of Samberg and Crews, and/or the interlocking sounds of Fred Melamed and Rob Huebel's voices (particularly when Parlov and Lawson debated the proper pronunciation of 'Smaug'), but it felt very much like diminishing returns on the original concept.