Parks and Recreation 7x12/7x13 "One Last Ride" [Contributor: Jaime]

"One Last Ride"

Original Airdate: February 24, 2015

I started watching The Office near the end of its second season, when I was twelve years old.  It soon became my favorite TV show, to the point of obsession: I would watch anything that the actors were in, research the writers to learn everything about all if their previous work… It was bad.  So of course, when it was announced that Greg Daniels and Mike Schur were creating a spinoff of The Office that was going to star Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones, it was a pretty big day for me.

Of course, Parks isn’t and never was a spinoff.  From the beginning, the heart of the show has been its characters, and the work they do together.  It’s not necessarily a goal-oriented show – new obstacles and opportunities come up constantly, but the show isn’t about watching people succeed and seeing what new stones they can step across.  It’s about the journey – watching everyone band together to run Leslie’s campaign, watching everyone come take over the final episode of Andy’s show.  Of course we care about these people, and want them to achieve the things they want to achieve, but none of the conflicts, none of the stakes that have ever been created on this show would mean a thing if it wasn’t for the relationships the audience has developed with the characters.

In my weekly reviews of season seven, I’ve consistently gone back to discussing the structure of the season, and how it’s functioning as a final season.  If you’ll remember, way back in my first recap, I said this season was more like an epilogue than an additional season of an ongoing show.  It’s a luxury that most shows don’t get: knowing exactly when it’s going to end, so it can take the time to build to a proper and worthy ending.  And really, the last five or so episodes have worked as a goodbye to the characters – building their season-long arcs, ramping up the conflicts, and finding some sort of resolution, one that, if not a full resolution, at least ties things up enough that we can move on and not feel as if we’re missing some vital piece of information.

So going into the series finale, there weren’t a ton of balls in the air that needed to land.  Instead, it was all about saying goodbye to the characters as they said goodbye to each other – it’s their last day together before Donna moves to Seattle and April, Andy, Ben, and Leslie move to Washington, D.C., so to honor the occasion, Leslie has gathered everyone together in the parks and rec office two hours before it officially opens, in order to regale everyone with a lengthy and jam-packed presentation about their history in the department.

While they’re there, a man comes by to complain about a park near his house that has a swing that’s been broken for months.  Donna quickly points out that none of them actually work there anymore, which in a weird way, is one of the most emotional moments of the episode.  This is Parks and Recreation; these characters met working in local government, working directly to address public need, and now, none of them are in local government.  None of them need to cater to the whims of Pawneeans anymore.  It’s such a simple way to show how much has changed, and obviously this is an element that couldn’t have worked outside of the final season or maybe even without the time jump.  Because there was so much going on with the initial transition to 2017, and because so much of what was going on was still grounded in government practices, it was easy to forget that parks and recreation was no longer a foundation of the show.

But it’s the final episode, after all, and finales are all about parallelism and going back to one’s roots.  So Leslie decides that the group will tackle this issue, giving them one last project to work on together.  The first step is getting a particular form signed, which Donna is able to provide thanks to a scrapbook Leslie made of departmental paperwork.

There are two recurring plot devices in this episode that spur the action.  The bigger one, and the more obvious one, is the repeated flashforwards, cued by Leslie touching one of the characters, thus bringing us into glimpses of their future.  The other device is this ongoing quest to get the swing fixed, which is represented in the first half of the episode by this form they need to get signed and processed.  This works on more of a narrative level; every scene in the episode set in the present is furthering the journey of this form or the swing, and goes hand-in-hand with the jump to the future.  Each step Leslie takes, she takes with a different member of her team, and along the way, creates physical contact with everyone that incites the flashforwards.  It’s such a brilliant microcosm of the show itself – obviously, it’s huge that Leslie connecting with her friends is what induces the sequences, and the show lingers on the physical contact in a way that mirrors one of the most important themes that’s run throughout all seven seasons: the effect Leslie has had on everyone, and how her enthusiasm and drive has inspired them all to act.

And in finding a moment to create physical contact, the show also creates opportunities to give Leslie a personal moment with each character to thank them for what they’ve done to her and say goodbye individually.  Now, it’s not that the episode is focused on Leslie’s goodbyes; it says so much more about the characters she’s speaking to than it does about herself.  They’ve left a mark on Leslie just as much as she’s left a mark on them, which isn’t necessarily something we’ve seen as much throughout the show.  It’s been there, of course, but the prominent focus has been on watching everyone grow with Leslie as a centerpiece.  Here, she turns the focus on everyone else, and makes it abundantly clear that they’ve all inspired her just as much as she’s inspired them.

The first flashforward we see is Donna’s.  We know that she and Joe are getting ready to move to Seattle, and in 2023, they’ve happily adjusted to their lives there.  She’s a successful realtor, and after getting a large commission check, she tells Joe that she wants to use it to fund a vacation to the Amazon.  Basically, she wants them to go on another adventure.  But after Joe tells her that his school has cut the math club – and teaching math in general – she contacts April.  Instead of going to the Amazon, she’s going to user her money to start an education program through April’s foundation that will fund afterschool programs and allow teachers to be able to teach whatever they want.  Its name?  Teach Yo’ Self, of course.

Joe loves the idea, but he’s quick to remind Donna that it’s her money, and she should spend it however she wants.  But this is exactly how she wants to spend it: she’s had tons of adventures in her life, and she wants to start a new kind with Joe.  It’s such a different side to Donna, compared to the person who used to surround herself with men and her Benz and the occasional cigar in a shady club.  But now she’s focusing on her future with Joe, and in fact, has become passionate about the same things Joe’s passionate about.  What’s even greater is that this isn’t really an arc that only ran throughout season seven; it began when we first met Joe in season six.  Immediately, it was obvious that there was something different about him, and that he meant something to Donna that no one or nothing has ever meant.  So even then, it feels like a given that a relationship between the two of them would bring out new elements of Donna’s character, and here, we’re finally getting to see them in their full light.

The next step in their attempt to fix the swing is getting the form signed by the director of the parks department – Craig, who conveniently arrives for work just when they need him.  His future?  After singing in Tom’s Bistro in 2019, something I imagine Craig does often in an abuse of his power, Typhoon buys him a drink and, ultimately, the two get married.  Personally, I was hoping for a Craig/Jean-Ralphio endgame, but I really can’t complain.  And decades later, the two have grown old together, and tell each other they have no regrets about how they’ve lived their lives.  Well, okay, it’s Craig, of course he has some regrets about some things, but he doesn’t regret anything about his life with Typhoon.  Ultimately, it’s just a really nice sequence, lacking any conflict, that just serves as a nice wrap-up for Craig, a character who joined the show in season six and therefore we haven’t spent much time with, compared to the original cast.  So it’s okay that his story doesn’t have the same complexity most of the others do, because it simply allows us to get one final, happy glimpse of a character whose function was always to entertain and make the audience happy.

After getting his signature, Leslie has to bring the form up to the fourth floor to be processed.  Of course, the fourth floor is famously gross and terrifying, so April naturally jumps at the opportunity to visit it one last time.  While they’re up there, Andy mentions how he hopes D.C. will have some of the things he loves about Pawnee – you know, like Taco Bell, KFC, things like that.  Oh – and Leslie.  She quickly points out that, yes, D.C. will have all of those things, even her, and that she and Ben will be there for the two of them whenever they need.

Having that link into April and Andy’s flashforward is such a beautiful connection, because it really gives a context for the arcs of the two couples and shows how, while having so many differences, April and Andy still have a huge amount of respect for Leslie and Ben as people and as a couple.  So in 2022, when Andy approaches the subject of having kids and April feels unsure about what to do, they both turn to Ben and Leslie for advice.  Ultimately, Leslie tells April that she can’t be the one to decide whether or not April and Andy have kids; no matter what, there is no right time or right moment, and it’s just a decision you have to make when you already have something great and want to make it even better.  Exactly a year later, April and Andy’s son is born – on Halloween, with April in full zombie make-up, while “Monster Mash” plays.

The whole sequence is so sweet and so indicative of how far April and Andy have come.  But it also shows the function of the flashforwards within the episode.  It’s not just about saying goodbye and getting to feel warm and fuzzy that your favorite characters are happy; it’s a way to show that even though the arcs we saw throughout the season (chiefly April’s job search) have been resolved and these characters have moved on, they’re not done growing.  They’re not free of challenges or obstacles just because the main narrative of the show, and the show itself, have ended.  In fact, it’s exactly like I said way back in my review of the premiere, when I described this season as an epilogue.  The season six finale served as an ending to so many of the arcs that began way back in the pilot, and ran throughout the show.  But it also served as the beginning of things, the first step in many ways for these characters.  Then the time jump happened, meaning that we didn’t get to see those new arcs in their entirety; we came back as they were ending, meaning the characters had undergone changes that we didn’t get to witness, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen and that they weren’t huge or meaningful.  The exact same thing happens here.  Just because we’re not really going to know who Andy and April are in 2022 or 2023 doesn’t mean that what they’re going through doesn’t matter, or that it’s not a vital part of their overall characterization; moreover, it doesn’t mean that this is the end of who they are, or of who they’re going to become.  This show and its characters are always, always, always evolving, and even though we don’t really know who Andy and April are or what they’re going through past 2025, it’s obvious that they’re still in the middle of becoming who they’re going to be.  The end of the show might be only a few minutes away, but the end of these characters is much further off than that.

Back in 2017, Leslie enlists Tom’s company in going to the Maintenance department to submit the request for the swing’s repair.  On the way, they run into Jean-Ralphio (the love of my life), who’s sitting in a wheelchair.  Don’t worry, he’s fine, it’s just an insurance scam.  He’s devastated to hear that Leslie is leaving, but don’t worry; judging by what happens to him in the future, he gets over his pain.  In 2022, he fakes his death (with Mona Lisa’s help, of course) in order to receive insurance money that they then use to start a casino in Tajikistan.  Of course.  And while we don’t know how that panned out, there is a small clue in Craig’s story that further hints at Jean-Ralphio’s future.  There’s a champagne bottle with Jean-Ralphio’s name on it, implying that he’s started his own line and actually found some success in, you know, a more legal and above-the-line sort of way.

Leaving Jean-Ralphio behind to manage his grief over Leslie leaving (don’t worry, he’s fine), Leslie and Tom continue to the maintenance department – only to remember that it’s closed on Fridays.  But never fear, kids: Tom’s going to find a way to get it open.  And then we see his future: in 2019, he makes plans to expand his restaurant, after seeking advice from Ben, Ron, and Donna.  Ben even notes how well researched Tom’s proposal is; for once, Tom knows exactly what he’s doing, and is making responsible, informed business decisions.  So…cut to some unknown amount of time later, and Tom’s lost everything.  His money, his restaurants – all he has now is a documentary that he made about his failures, that he can’t stop watching.  Tom’s failed before, but this time, it’s different.  This time, he didn’t do anything wrong, and because of that, he can’t move on.  It sucks, plain and simple.

Some undisclosed amount of time later, Tom is finally able to move on to something new: a book about his failures, and how they led to success.  The book is a hit, and finally, Tom is happy again.

Tom’s story was the only one that felt kind of unsatisfying to me.  I love the idea that this time, his failure absolutely wasn’t his fault, but it just doesn’t seem like a good ending for him.  We spent so much time watching him build the bistro, and watching him finally become responsible, that for him to lose it and then find success in another venture in the span of ten seconds just didn’t have the same meaning that the other stories did.  Maybe if we’d gotten to see the decline of the bistro over time, and spent more time with Tom’s depression then ultimate decision to write about it, it would work better, but it just happened way too quickly for it to really fit him as an ending.  Going back to what I said earlier about how these sequences are the middle of these characters’ lives, not the ends, I think part of why Tom’s story didn’t work is that seeing the bistro go under is the ending to a story whose beginning and middle we didn’t see.  It wasn’t like his storyline this season was dealing with the difficulties of running a restaurant, so all we get is the aftermath of a story with huge emotional stakes that we didn’t get to experience.  In that sense, Tom is the only character whose storyline felt cheated by the shortened season.  I mean, what was his arc this season?  It mostly focused on Lucy, but there was no real conflict there.  They spent one episode settling into their relationship and worrying about how serious it was, then we were told they were ready to get engaged.  It was just something that was happening, not something that was growing.  I love Lucy and Tom together, I do, but I wish their relationship had just been some ongoing thing rather than the main focus of his storylines this season, because ultimately, it just didn’t lead up to a proper and fitting ending for him.  And it just stands out so much more when he’s really the only character whose ending wasn’t proper and fitting.

But at least Tom is as loyal and helpful as ever, so in 2017, he makes good on his promise and makes a call to the most powerful man in Pawnee to help them get into the maintenance offices: Mayor Garry Gergich.

As it turns out, Garry loves being mayor, even though he knows it’s only ceremonial and that it’s only going to last a few more weeks, until the recall election is held.  But, after holding Leslie’s hand, we find out that Garry actually wins that recall election – and every following election for the next couple decades.  It turns out that the town Garry has loved his entire life loves him back, and after getting reelected at least ten times, Garry celebrates his 100th birthday with his family by his side (his wife and daughters looking as young and beautiful as ever) and then dies peacefully in his sleep that night.  Because of course he does.

The final step in fixing the swing is – you know, actually fixing it.  What, you thought I was going to have a better metaphor than that?  It’s Ron’s turn to join the battle, and after fixing the chain and telling Leslie he’ll send her the $38 bill for his labor, the two sit on the swingset.  Leslie asks if he’s going to stay in Pawnee after everyone leaves, which he probably will; he’s always lived there, after all, and Ron Swanson isn’t exactly one to embrace change.  Leslie reaches over to grab his hand, which is probably one of my favorite images ever from this show.  Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson on a swingset, hand-in-hand…Hang on, I’m gonna get some tissues.

In 2022, Ron quits his job at Very Good Building and Development, to the calm acceptance and understanding of his brothers.  Then he goes to visit Leslie and Ben in D.C., and after catching up (including sharing a picture of his children, which just goes to show how far Ron has come.  Remember earlier this season when he showed Leslie a picture of John, only because she made him, and then he immediately ripped it up?), Ron shares that Ivy has been accepted to Stanford.  Luckily, he and Diane aren’t going to be stressed financially; on Ben’s advice, he sold some of his gold and bought 51% of Lagavulin Distillery.  Because of course he did.

But money isn’t what brought him to the Knope-Wyatt home; he’s there because with his kids growing up, he feels like his time working indoors has come to an end.  He wants to do something where he can provide a service, but doesn’t know what – so instead of dealing with it on his own, like he did back when he wanted to ask for a job in the National Parks Service, he made it a point to come visit Leslie and seek her advice.  Leslie promises to find him the perfect job, and of course she comes through: she recommends him for the position of superintendent of Pawnee National Park, the land they worked together to obtain, and then accepts it on his behalf before even telling him about it.  Ron is stunned, and doesn’t even know if he’s qualified – something Leslie immediately shoots down, telling him, “You’re Ron Swanson.”

Ron meets the park rangers who will be reporting to him, and after instructing them on how their job is to protect the land and keep it beautiful, he informs everyone that even though they’re going to be working together, he’s not looking for any new friends.  But after seven seasons of watching Ron and his workplace proximity acquaintances become friends, I just can’t believe him.  He then climbs into a canoe and paddles across the lake, finally in his element.

After leaving Ron on the swings, Leslie tells Ben that she regrets every decision they’ve made and that she wants to stay in Pawnee.  She’s not getting cold feet, it’s just that she doesn’t want to leave their friends because she doesn’t know when they’ll all be together in the same room again.  Of course, Ben understands her concerns, and acknowledges that it might be a while before they’re all reunited, but so much will happen between then and now that it’ll be worth it.

So what’s Ben and Leslie’s future?  Well, for one thing, Ben wins the race for the seat in the House of Representatives, and by 2025, they’ve become pretty familiar with the Bidens, and have become frequent dinner party guests.  And of course, Leslie still panics every time she’s around Joe Biden, but she seems better.  That’s what we call character development, kids.

At the Bidens’ dinner party, Leslie is approached by someone who tells her that the governor of Indiana is stepping down, and that the DNC wants Leslie to run – just as Jen Barkley finds Ben and tells him that she thinks he should run.  Leslie excitedly tells Ben about it on their way home, and he’s thrilled for her – but then tells her that he, too, wanted to run.

Leslie makes a list of pros and cons, but ultimately, either of them running would have the same exact pros, and the only con is that the other wouldn’t get to run.  It’s an impossible decision to make because neither of them has even the slightest edge, so Leslie suggests they put the issue on hold for a week while they go back to Pawnee.

One of my favorite moments in the finale was when they went back to Pawnee’s City Hall and, on the outside of the building, there was an advertisement for people to sign up for that year’s Harvest Festival.  And when I say it was one of my favorite moments, I mean I saw it, gasped at an obnoxious volume, and then wept for like three minutes.  The Harvest Festival is the perfect reminder of how far everyone has come, especially Ben and Leslie.  That was the project that made Leslie respect Ben, and without that, they absolutely would not be where they are now.  Moreover, that was the first time everyone really came together for a huge undertaking, and the first time their hard work went largely without opposition.  There was nothing standing in the way of the Harvest Festival except this team’s ability to make it great, and of course they succeeded.  To see such a strong reminder of where everyone has been, and how far they’ve all come both professionally and in their relationships with each other, was the perfect visual to help the finale strike all the necessary chords.

It turns out that Ben has arranged for all of their friends to meet them in City Hall when he and Leslie arrive – even Ann and Chris.  Leslie bursts into tears the moment she sees everyone, because, as she puts it, “We’re all together in the same room.  In this room.”

While we saw other characters within a specific one’s flashforward, this segment is really the only one that splits the focus.  We get to catch up with everyone and see what they’ve been up to since the time covered by their segment – Andy and April have a two-year-old and she’s pregnant again, Tom is writing his second book, Donna’s been working full-time at her foundation (but, of course, still finds time to treat herself)…Oh, and Ann and Chris are moving back to Pawnee, because Chris is going to run admissions at Indiana University.  It’s so important to me that it’s Leslie and Ben’s sequence that opens up to include focus on everyone else – they’re still the focal point, sure, but it’s because of Leslie that everyone else is able to converge and reunite.  It’s her influence that created these jumps into the future and her influence that brings everyone back together in the same room – the only thing she wanted from the future.

Leslie approaches Ben about the campaign, telling him that she’s decided she doesn’t care who runs.  No matter what, there will be other opportunities for the person who doesn’t run, and they’ll still have each other.  So she suggests they flip a coin.  That’s right – Leslie Knope, the highstrung scrapbook-maker anxiety-ridden ball of ambition, wants to leave it up to chance.

They go to announce to their friends that one of them is going to be running, but before Leslie can say that, Ben announces that Leslie is running.  After all, she wrote about wanting to be governor in her kindergarten dream journal.

The list of reasons I love Ben and Leslie is limitless, but one of my favorite things about this couple who were initially kept apart by work is that work has never come between them since.  Leslie runs for city council?  Ben supports her.  Ben runs for Congress?  Leslie supports him.  And by 2025, they’ve been married for, what, twelve years?  They’ve built so much together, and everything they have comes before any career goals they may have.  But because of what they have with each other, there’s no need for them to sacrifice anything; work or family has never been an issue because no matter what, they can make anything work.  And more importantly, their own ambition never gets in the way of their relationship, or of the other’s dreams; Ben has no ego about giving up the chance to be governor because he knows without a doubt that his wife would make an amazing governor.

With everyone gathered together, Leslie makes a speech about all the work they’ve done together, and how no matter what, for all the amazing things they accomplished, it’s even more amazing because they did everything together.  After telling her friends, “What makes work worth doing is getting to do it with people that you love,” it briefly jumps ahead to 2035, where Leslie, a two-term governor, accepts an honorary doctorate from Indiana University.  She once again reiterates the importance of working with a team filled with people you care about, and finding work that’s worth doing.

And then, with that moral weighing heavy, it goes back to 2017.  The swing is fixed, meaning their final project together is over.  And, of course, the man who petitioned them to do it in the first place?  Yeah, he doesn’t care.  But that’s the thing – all the work they did as government employees, it was never about appeasing the public.  It was about finding tasks to take on together, about working together and alongside each other, about figuring out how to put differences aside and build up each other’s strengths.  It has always been, and will always be, about the people.  After all, work is third.  Friends?  They come first (except sometimes waffles are first).

Fittingly, in the last scene of the show, Garry asks everyone to take a group picture.  As they all stand together, side-by-side, Ben turns to Leslie and asks if she’s ready.  Her response?  Yes.  Yes, she’s ready.

Some other moments from the stellar episode:

• Leslie and Garry’s song about the coffeepot, complete with Garry dressed as coffeepot just for Tom to comment, “Come on Garry, you’re the mayor now.  Have some dignity.”
• “I came in ninth in Italy’s Got Talent.  I served on a NASCAR pit crew.”  Clearly Donna is thriving in the future.
• Leslie’s beautiful goodbye to Craig: “You know, Craig, when I first met you, I thought, ‘There’s a man who loves his job.’  And then I thought, ‘Oh wow, he’s intense.’  And then I thought, ‘Oh no.  He’s insane.  That person is psychotic and I need to call the police.’”
• Ron was Typhoon’s best man!  You guys!  Ron was Typhoon’s best man!!!
• Andy’s overly romantic plea to get April to consider having a baby: “I want to put a babe in you, babe.”  I’m swooning.
• Okay, but the picture of April, Andy, and Champion in her delivery room that is so reminiscent of their picture in “Summer Catalog”.  I cried.  I cried a lot.
• April and Andy’s ideas for baby names: Burt Macklin, Jr.; Demon Spawn Baby Satan Dwyer; and the winner, Burt Snakehole Ludgate Karate Dracula Macklin Demon Jack-o-lantern Dwyer, Jack for short.  I was a mess at everything during the episode, but the fact that they named him Jack was the first moment that really got me, because he was so obviously named after Chris Pratt’s son Jack.  This show, you guys.
• That moment between Leslie and Jean-Ralphio, though.  He’s always loved her.  I’m not convinced that they aren’t the real love story of the show, but then again, I’m biased because, as you all know, Jean-Ralphio Saperstein is the love of my life.
• “Leslie?  I’ve always loved you.”  “I know.”  SEE?
• The fact that Garry’s name is spelled wrong on his tombstone is just…so perfectly Garry.  Even more perfect?  Leslie commenting, “Ugh, close enough,” after Ben pointed it out.
• Leslie shooting down any oppositions Ron may have had about taking the job at Pawnee National Park: “Your job would be to walk around the land alone, you’d live in the same town you’ve always lived in, you’d work outside, you’d talk to bears.”
• “I’m gonna take this energy and I’m gonna go crush Joe Biden in charades.”
• “Hey Jen, I didn’t know you were here.”  “I’m everywhere.”  “What?”  In an alternate universe, Jen Barkley is president of everything.
• Ben’s outrage that Jen considers Cones of Dunshire to be a potential issue for his campaign when it’s the ninth highest selling multi-player figurine-based strategy fantasy sequel game in history.  She just doesn’t get it.  Ugh.
• Leslie’s pure joy at seeing Ann made me weep.  And weep and weep and weep.  She loves her precious unicorn so much!
• Ann and Chris are wearing wedding rings, so it’s safe to assume that they got married somewhere along the way.  HAPPY ENDINGS EVERYWHERE, YOU GUYS.
• ANN NAMED HER DAUGHTER LESLIE.  ANN AND CHRIS HAD ANOTHER KID AND NAMED HER LESLIE.  I HAVE NOT STOPPED TALKING ABOUT THIS SINCE THE EPISODE AIRED.  ANN NAMED HER DAUGHTER LESLIE.
• Leslie giving Chris a list of compliments to pay Ann because let’s be real, no one could ever love Ann the way Leslie does.
• Andy forgetting Chris’ name.  You GUYS.  It was hilarious, and kind of a subtle reminder that for as much as all of these people love each other, not everyone in this group has spent as much time with each other.  Chip Trager, you guys.
• Leslie and Ann’s joy over Oliver and Sonia spending time together and hopefully falling in love.  Because of course they’re going to fall in love, right?  After all, with Ann and Chris back in Pawnee, you know those kids are going to be spending a lot of time with each other.  I can see it now: Sonia Knope-Wyatt-Perkins-Trager.
• The fact that Tom’s first book includes a section of personality quizzes that correspond to each of his friends is one thing, but his total confusion when Ben says he got Tom the last time he took the quiz was everything.  Ben and Tom’s dynamic has always been one of my favorites, so I’m so glad that they got one last moment together.
• The fact that when in addition to bestowing an honorary doctorate upon Leslie, Indiana University also names a library after her was everything.  Because sometimes life just isn’t fair, and no matter how hard you work, no matter how had you accomplish, you just can’t escape those punk ass book jockeys.

That’s it for “One Last Ride,” and, tragically, that’s it for Parks and Recreation.  I hope you all enjoyed this final season as much as I did, because for me, it truly cemented the show’s statuses as one of the best in history.  I have loved every second we’ve spent with these characters, and the fact that it’s all over now is such a huge loss.

With that, I’m gonna go fake my death and use the insurance money to open a casino.  See you in Tajikistan, nerds!

Read More

Parks and Recreation 7x10 ("The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show") & 7x11 ("Two Funerals") [Contributor: Jaime]

"The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show" & "Two Funerals"

As you’ll recall, last week in my Parks recap, I talked about how difficult it was going to be to say goodbye to the show when this season has been so wonderful and such a consistent showcase for all of the things that make this show so great.  Now, I always knew that it was going to be hard to say goodbye…but after “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show,” holy crap.  I honestly don’t think I’m going to be able to survive in a world without Parks and Recreation.

"The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show"

Because seriously, any show capable of producing an episode like “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show” is a show worthy of being remembered as a classic.  The episode was strange, meta, heartfelt, hilarious – and, mot obviously, a huge change in format.  If this episode had happened at any other point during the show’s run, it would have absolutely changed the show and what limitations it set on its storytelling.  But the thing is, this episode absolutely could not have happened before season seven.  It’s too much of a departure from the usual format that it just wouldn’t have worked – but more importantly, this episode was meant to function as a goodbye.  Coupled with last week’s episodes, which focused on April and her relationships with Leslie and Ron, it seems pretty obvious that “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington,” “Pie-Mary,” “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show,” and “Two Funerals” were meant to direct our focus to particular characters and let them shine one last time.  I mentioned last week how those two episodes were probably the climax to April’s story; she’s still going to be around on the show, but her particular season-long arc came to an end.  Therefore, her presence in these two episodes, as well as next week’s finale, probably aren’t going to be particularly stressful; she can just be the April we know and love, so we’re able (but certainly not willing) to say goodbye to her.

Similarly, this episode was our goodbye to Andy.  Unlike the other main characters, Andy hasn’t really had a season-long arc.  April had her job search, Tom has Lucy, Leslie and Ben have their various political storylines…But Andy hasn’t really had that.  Instead, he’s kind of been a supporting player in everyone else’s storylines.  He supported Leslie in her National Parks campaign for the Newport land, he inspired Tom to go after Lucy, he’s helped April in her search for her dream job…And finally, thanks to Johnny Karate, I realized what Andy’s arc this season has been.  He’s there to support people, just as he always has.  He’s there to help his friends in whatever way they need, without a second thought, without reservation.  So for this episode, the last time we get a spotlight on Andy Dwyer, of course it’s going to be about his friends are there for him.  Of course the climax to Andy’s story is going to be watching his friends support him as enthusiastically as he’s supported them.

The entire episode is filmed, and shown to us, as an episode of Andy’s show.  In fact, it’s the last episode of the show, since Andy and April are moving to Washington, D.C., in a few weeks.  See?  Didn’t I tell you it was meta?  But instead of doing something special, Andy treats it like a regular episode (something I suspect Parks’ series finale next week will also do).  So first, he goes to sing his welcome song – but he can’t, because someone’s stolen his guitar.  But never fear: Burt Macklin is on the case, ready to kick crime’s butt.  The chief of police (played by Donna) find a piece of cloth near where the guitar is kept that points them toward the thief.  Since he needs the guitar to play the goodbye song, Burt swears that he’ll find the culprit by the end of the episode, and put them in the Funky Monkey Dunk Tank.

After telling his audience that this is his last show, he brings April out for her segment, April’s Animal Corner.  She brings in a goliath bird-eating tarantula, but soon realizes that it’s missing from its cage – because Andy was playing with it.  This leads to another one of the show’s segments: Loose Animal in the Studio.

After that, Johnny Karate sings about the five karate moves to success, which make up the structure of each of his episodes: make something, learn something, karate chop something, try something new, and be nice to someone.  So first, he goes to make something with “Carpenter Ron,” which is too adorable to even describe.  Carpenter Ron tells them that they’re going to build a shadowbox frame, and then goes on to thank Andy for everything he’s done for the children of Pawnee.  Andy declares this a Hug Moment, with an accompanying graphic on the screen to confirm it.  Ron does not agree.  It…gets tense.

Then he goes to learn something with Professor Smartbrain (Ben, naturally).  Professor Smartbrain wants to talk about geography, and focuses on how long it would take to travel to Washington, D.C., by train, plane, or car.  Things very quickly get derailed when Andy suggests that teleportation would actually be the fastest way to travel.  I mean, he’s not wrong, but, like, he’s not right, either.

This episode is already proving pretty difficult to recap, because it just doesn’t work the way episodes are supposed to work.  It’s not so much a collection of storylines, but rather, a spotlight on the themes that have always been at the core of Andy Dwyer.  So it’s not particularly important to the plot of the episode that he goes to make something with Carpenter Ron; what’s important is that Ron, and Ben, and everyone else, has a recurring roles on the show.  And we know from previous episodes that Andy is basically making this show himself – he wasn’t getting paid well until Tom took care of his salary negotiations.  So when Andy’s friends appear on the show, it’s solely as a favor to him.  The fact that these segments are so settled, and that different clips of them appear in the show’s opening credits (which, instead of the usual Parks credits, were the Johnny Karate credits with the characters’ names) makes it pretty obvious that Carpenter Ron, Professor Smartbrain, Mailman Barry, etc., have been part of the show since it began – because of course they have.

The other main theme in the episode is Andy’s love for April, because when it comes down to it, that’s his other defining characteristic.  I already talked about how this episode serves as our goodbye to Andy, but it’s just so, so important that instead of saying goodbye through watching him get his dream job, or watching him settle down, it’s through watching him just be himself.  Andy Dwyer has always been this huge bundle of emotion and energy, and more than any other character on the show, comedy and story can be created by dropping him into any situation and watching how he reacts.  So that gave the writers a lot of room in this shortened final season; they could focus on wrapping up the storylines of other characters without worrying that Andy wasn’t getting his due.

And the thing is, Andy’s already working at his dream job.  He’s already settled down with the person he loves.  And for someone who’s so happy and content all the time, it’s not like something that can suddenly come along that’ll make Andy’s life better.  His life has always been great; he knows all he needs for things to be awesomesauce is to be surrounded by the people he loves.

But the problem with having someone in your life like Andy is that it can be so easy to take advantage of that.  People who are affable, who adapt easily to change, who don’t have demands in their own lives that can’t mesh with your own – it can be easy to forget that they have things they enjoy, and things they don’t want to give up.  So while April is excited about her new job in D.C. (and Andy’s thrilled for her), in this episode, she realizes just how much Andy’s giving up by moving to D.C. with her.  After all, he loves doing his show, and the kids who watch the show love him.  After spending the entire episode visibly upset, April finally runs out as Andy’s wrapping things up.  He goes after her and she tells him how horrible she feels that she’s the one keeping him from what he loves.  It’s such a sweet moment, one that feels especially earned given Andy’s constant status as everyone’s support system.  No one’s ever really told Andy he should be free to do what he wants, or even that he should be focusing on improving his life.  The only person who’s said that to him is April.  But the thing is, Andy loves April – that’s the thing that makes him happiest, and that’s what he wants in his life.  He doesn’t care where they live, or what job he has; as long as he and April are together, he’ll be happy.

It’s also so meaningful that after April runs out, Andy immediately goes after her.  He doesn’t acknowledge the audience, doesn’t worry about finding someone to come take his place so the show can go on – he just goes to see what’s wrong with April.  And her overwhelming support of him, and of how much he loves doing the show, is so sweet, and shows just how far they’ve come.  Remember all those years ago when Andy got upset that Mouse Rat wasn’t April’s favorite band?  Well, now, April calls him her favorite TV host, even above Tom Snyder, without hesitation.  Because she knows how much he loves doing it and how happy it makes him – so it makes her happy, too.

After talking to April, Andy checks off the last item on the list of his Five Karate Moves to Success: be nice to someone.  Earlier, he and the children karate chopped something (Mailman Barry, naturally), and tried something new, with the help of Leslie.  Which, okay, the fact that Andy’s friends constantly appear on the show is adorable enough, but the fact that Leslie is in charge of the segment about trying something new, even if it scares you?  That’s just so sweet to think about, especially since in Andy’s song about the five karate moves, he mentions that you need to try something new even if it scares you.  Just imagine Andy sitting down and figuring out how his show was going to work, and coming up with segments that could feature his friends.  It says so much about how he sees them: Ron is capable, Ben is smart, and Leslie is brave.

That’s one of the best things about this episode.  Because The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show is completely shaped by Andy, this episode serves as an uninterrupted look at Andy and how he thinks.  So while it’s already endearing to see the way he views his friends, it’s even sweeter when you think of Andy viewing them in their most basic components.  He might find Ben boring, but he believes that Ben is smart and trusts what he has to say; Ron might not embrace hugs but he’s able to work alongside Andy.  He’s able to look past other aspects of their personalities, that might otherwise be negative or contradictory or just somehow complex, and narrow it down to their most important characteristics: the things that make them valuable people and good friends.

Like I said, when you’re the friendliest friend, the one who’s a constant source of support and affirmation, it can be easy to be overlooked.  It’s not that those people aren’t loved deeply; it can just be easy to forget that sometimes, you need to turn your attention onto them in return.  So for the last episode of The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show, the new thing that Leslie tries is hosting her friend’s TV show.  She takes Andy’s hosting duties away so that, instead of him going to everyone else and putting them in the spotlight, he becomes the guest of honor on his own show.  After all, as Leslie points out, if he hadn’t broken both his legs from falling into the pit (while he was super drunk, as he inappropriately points out in front of the audience of children), she never would have known about its existence, and basically everything that followed in her life wouldn’t have happened.  And it’s true – she wouldn’t have met Ann, and she wouldn’t have developed her first real passion project that got her attention.  The show literally would not – could not – have been the same without Andy, a fact that means even more when you consider that originally, Andy was only supposed to be a recurring character in the first season.

And truly, that’s the mark of a great character.  A show or film can be focused on one central character, but the cast around that central character needs to be there for a reason.  That’s why so many romantic comedies are so flimsy – because the only people who truly need to be there are the two main characters.  Any friends or coworkers they have, more often than not, are just there to flesh out scenes involving those two characters; they don’t actually affect the plot themselves.  But on Parks, every character matters.  Their existence, and what they added to this weird cartoonish world of Pawnee, kept the show from merely being the story of Leslie Knope.  Thanks to Ron, Andy, April, Tom, Donna, and (gag) Jerry, this became the story of a family.

So this is it, the last time we’re going to spend this much time with Andy Dwyer.  And how do we spend it?  Watching him hang out with his friends, support his wife, and having as much fun as he possibly can.

Some other moments from the episode (which focused heavily on jokes over plot, so there are a lot of things to mention here):

• The kids in the audience and their unrestrained adoration of Andy was just so cute.  Even cuter: the kids dressed as Burt Macklin.  Who would have thought that what started as a one-off joke in, what, season two or three would have led to kids dressing up as Bury Tyrannosaurus Macklin?
• “You’re the best agent I’ve seen.  And I’ve worked with James Bond.”
• The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show credits in place of Parks’ regular credits was so great, and along with the fake commercials that aired, made it feel like we were watching a local Pawnee TV station.
• April Ludgate-Karate-Dwyer!  She’s April Ludgate-Karate-Dwyer!  Is that not the cutest thing you’ve ever heard in your entire life?!  The familiarity she had when she came out for her animal segment was so cute, too, as was Andy constantly gushing over her to the audience.  I’m imagining a world where they stay in Pawnee and cohost the show together and honestly, it’s a world I want to live in.
• Those fake commercials, though.  That Paunch Burger commercial especially was absolutely something I could see airing on television; I saw a ton of tweets afterwards from people who thought it was a real commercial until Paunch Burger was mentioned.
• The disclaimer for Loose Animal in the Studio scrolled by too quickly to read it, but a few people have transcribed it or screencapped it.  You can check it out here; it’s definitely worth reading, just for the mention of Greg Pikitis.
• “I was not going to eat it, Carpenter Ron.  I was going to lick it.  Always remember, kids, when you find something new, you must lick it before you eat it.”
• The fact that Andy has a boring buzzer for his segment with Ben, and Ben’s exasperation with it.  
• Throughout the episode, Andy would occasionally roll on the floor as he entered the frame, and it makes me wish this were something that happened throughout Parks’ run.  Up until this episode aired, I wouldn’t have thought that Parks was missing anything, but now I know that it could have been so much more if they let Chris Pratt roll into frame at least once an episode.
• Pretty early on during the episode, I had a thought that this is what the entire show would have been like if Andy were the main character instead of Leslie.  And please, let’s all just take a few moments to stop, slow down our crazy hectic lives, and just imagine what that show would have been like.
• I wasn’t the only one who teared up a little when Mailman Barry said he had over five hundred letters from kids asking Andy to stay, right?  We’ve seen Andy interacting with his fans before, and it’s no wonder they love him so much.  If I were a kid growing up in Pawnee, I would be obsessed with Johnny Karate.
• “Remember, never attack a real postal employee.  We’re allowed to attack Mailman Barry because he volunteered to help us with our karate moves.”
• “Wamapoke Casino: Slowly taking back our money from white people one quarter at a time.”
• “’Phenomenon’ means ‘to explore a cave.’”
• The reappearance of the fourteenth Earl of Cornwall-upon-Thames Sir Edgar Covington was amazingly unexpected, as was his knighting of Andy.
• But, okay, nothing can top Ben eagerly getting knighted as well, with his pronouncement, “Winter is coming for Ser Ben Lightstorm.”  The way he stared at his hands in the background of the shot after he was knighted might be my favorite bit of background comedy…ever, probably.
• Andy getting an honorary badge from the Pawnee police department was such a nice touch.  It was a great reminder of what was probably his most long-term and serious storyline, and a sweet moment to show us just how far he’s come – while reminding us how versatile Andy is.  He was so passionate about becoming a police officer and it didn’t work out, but now he’s so happy to be Johnny Karate.  It was okay that he didn’t get to live his dream because he made a new dream – so when he tells April that he’ll be happy in D.C., we know that he means it.
• The karate uniform dedication to Johnny Karate, with Donna and Ron providing musical accompaniment.  I was slain, you guys.
• Did anyone else notice that Sir Edgar Covington was singing along to the Johnny Karate goodbye song?  You can’t convince me that he isn’t Johnny Karate’s biggest fan.  I bet he never misses an episode.

That’s it for “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show”!

"Two Funerals"

The second episode, “Two Funerals,” returns to Parks’ usual format, which means I’ll actually be able to talk about, like, plot and whatnot.  And it’s a pretty huge episode – for one thing, Leslie’s promotion is official, so she and Ben need to find a place in D.C.  Of course, we already know that Andy and April are moving there, too, and Donna drops the bomb that she and Joe have bought a house in Seattle.  Oh, and Garry’s retiring, but this is about people who are moving, so no one cares.  Leslie points out that bad news comes in threes, so the fact that all three are leaving must mean that good news is coming soon.  Of course, as soon as she says that, a news report comes on that announces Mayor Gunderson, the mayor of Pawnee, has died.  Stupid Garry jinxed them.  Dammit, Garry.

At Mayor Gunderson’s funeral, Ben asks for April’s help in finding an interim mayor.  See, as city manager, that’s Ben’s responsibility – and since his other responsibilities basically have him running the town as it is, April suggests he just appoint himself interim mayor.  Instantly, he refuses; after all, he’s already been mayor, and look what happened.

I don’t have numbers to back me up here, but it feels like we’ve gotten a lot of references to Ice Town this season, possibly more than we have in any other season.  And it makes sense – this season, we’ve seen Ben more ambitious than ever before, and it’s reasonable that the spectacular failure he was as a mayor is haunting him now that he restarts his political career.  And the thing is, it doesn’t matter how much time passes, or what else he accomplishes.  He can work hard at being a good city manager, a good husband, a good father – but that doesn’t erase the fact that he was a terrible mayor.  So instead of giving himself the chance to prove that he does know how to be a good mayor, he’s positive that he would mess it up again, and instead looks to someone else within Pawnee to take the job: someone over thirty, who somehow serves as the face of the city.  He, April, and Garry meet with a few different candidates – first Bobby Newport, who we have to assume still has never had a real job in his life.  But tragically, Bobby is preparing to go to space, and cannot take on mayoral duties.  After their other options – including Joan Callamezzo and the Douche – don’t work out, April tries again to get Ben to take the job.  This time, she refuses to accept Ice Town as an excuse; he’s the right person for the job, and taking this opportunity would allow him to erase Ice Town.

But right before he signs the paperwork naming him mayor, Ben realizes something: he doesn’t want to erase Ice Town.  Sure, he messed it up, but that mistake is such a huge part of his past.  Without it, he wouldn’t have come to Pawnee, wouldn’t have met Leslie, wouldn’t have the life he has now.

And he’s right: every choice a person makes determines who they are.  Even the life-ruining ones.  Because, after all, if your life is ruined, doesn’t that mean you have to start a new one in the aftermath?  And that’s the thing, the magical thing that happens on any long-running TV show.  We’re going on a journey with these characters, and seeing them change and adapt and grow.  So everything they do, everything that happens to them, we get to see the consequences of that, and see how they react to it.  And that’s kind of what makes this final season so great – we get to see what the next step for everyone is, but everyone’s next steps are things that were on a whole different staircase back in season one.  Everyone’s storylines are ending, but the characters aren’t over – and we were there for their beginning, and have watched them earn their accomplishments and developments every season.

And speaking of earning accomplishments, no one has earned it more than Garry Gergich.  He’s been the butt of everyone’ jokes for years.  Really, the only time he got any respect was when he retired.  So it’s fitting in a lot of ways that in this episode, when he announces his retirement for the second time, everyone once again bands together to celebrate him – not because of his retirement, but because Ben offers him the job of interim mayor.  It’s only for two months until they can hold an emergency election, but you guys, Garry is mayor.  What a crazy, crazy world.

But of course, the mood isn’t completely celebratory.  After all, the town’s long-term mayor has died, and people are moving away.  Leslie’s saddened by all of the endings going on, which just seem so much darker without any new beginnings.  So when Tom tells her that he and Lucy looked at engagement rings, she immediately dedicates herself to helping Tom plan the perfect proposal for Lucy.  After all, life is short, as she’s reminded by Ethel Beavers’ eulogy (where she reveals that she and the mayor had been sleeping together for decades), and it’s pointless not to go after the things you want.

When you combine Leslie’s unwavering enthusiasm and Tom’s never-ending cache of larger-than-life ideas, you get…an interesting proposal.  Tom decides to film it for Lucy, since she’s away in Philadelphia, and stages it like an action movie where, after going to a jewelry store to purchase her ring, he has to fight off a group of criminals (including the love of my life Jean-Ralphio).  It’s all very much something you would expect Tom to concoct.

But the thing is, it’s all about Tom, not about Lucy.  He realizes that when he goes to pick her up from the airport and tells Leslie the whole thing is off – instead, he gives her a list of items and tells her to meet him at the Snakehole Lounge.  There, he reenacts his first date with Lucy and proposes.  Naturally, she says yes.

I realized during “Donna and Joe” that, adorably, every main character (save Tom) is married.  And now, with Tom engaged, all of the characters are officially settled down.  Which, okay, on some shows could come off as very hokey, like marriage or a long-term relationship is the only possible happy ending a character can have.  But on Parks, it just feels…sweet.  The show has always been about love – particularly, the love between a family.  But when that family is makeshift, and has been formed by people bonding and choosing to become family, it just wouldn’t make sense if new members couldn’t be added along the way.

Moreover, having every character in a relationship gives them a life outside of the viewpoint of the show, which can be difficult to achieve on a show centered on a workplace.  And the best part about it is that all of the relationships are handled so, so differently – Leslie and Ben are not April and Andy, who in turn are not Ron and Diane.  These characters have all found their soulmate, their perfect match.  But when the cast on this show is populated by people whose personalities, at least on paper, don’t mesh at all, it makes it even more poignant that they’ve all found someone who complements them.

I’ve talked a lot in my recaps about why this is such a great storyline for Tom.  And if you’ll recall what I was saying earlier, how “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show” is our opportunity to say goodbye to Andy, then “Two Funerals” is our opportunity to say goodbye to Tom.  Sure, the episode isn’t as focused on Tom as “Johnny Karate” was on Andy, but we were given the chance to see Tom as part of a mature, stable relationship, and see him making selfless and caring gestures for the woman he loves.  Basically, Tom has become an adult.  Like our trust that Andy could be happy in Washington, D.C., the way Tom has been used this season has allowed us to feel confident that things are going to work between him and Lucy, and that even though he’s still as ridiculous as ever, we don’t have to worry about him.

A huge theme of this season has been change.  Changes in careers, in relationships, in dynamics – there’s been a lot going on, both in the gap from 2014-2017 and even just from within 2017.  And there has to be, right?  It’s like Leslie says – you need a balance of beginnings and endings.  Things start, they happen, they end, and then something else starts.  It’s just how life works.

This, of course, is not how Ron Swanson operates.  He’s a man stuck in his ways, so when he finds out that his barber Salvatore (who famously did Leslie’s hair for the banquet in season one) has died, he’s crushed.  He’s been going to Salvatore for over forty years, getting the same exact haircut, paying the same exact amount, and having the same exact conversations (that is to say, they do not speak to each other).  Ultimately, Donna brings him to her friend Typhoon, whose hatred of Europe and bicycles is appealing to Ron, making him able to accept Typhoon as his new barber.

In a strange way, Ron might be the most accurate audience surrogate this season in terms of his reluctance to accept change.  He doesn’t want April to leave just like we don’t want these characters to grow apart; he doesn’t want a new barber just like we don’t want the show to end.  But endings have to happen; if you’ve been paying attention, we know that endings have to happen so something else can begin.  And remember what Ron said to April last week?  What’s important is that he trusted her.  The important thing in forming any connection is that you were able to connect – that something real and important was created.

Some other great moments from the episode:

• BILL MURRAY, you guys.  BILL MURRAY IS MAYOR GUNDERSON.  Mike Schur has ben talking about wanting Bill Murray to play Gunderson since season two, and I kind of thought it would never happen.  It’s almost a week later and I’m still freaking out about how great that reveal was.
• “As per his final wish, his body will lie in state in the city council chambers for a day.  Which is just a real cool thing for a public space.” 
• “Well, I was a mayor once before.  We all remember how that went.”  “Oh yeah, you completely disgraced yourself and destroyed an entire town.”   “Yeah, I said we all remember.”  I’ll never forget you, Ben/April.
• Ron collapsing when he hears about Salvatore
• “Was he killed by a younger, stronger barber?”  I want Andy to be a journalist.  He asks all the hard-hitting questions that everyone is thinking.
• Ethel Beavers revealing her long-standing affair with Mayor Gunderson was great on its own, but the slow pan over to Gunderson in his coffin was a brilliant punctuation mark on the joke.
• The name of the banner store: Sign-tologist.  I’m going to miss you so much, Pawnee.
• Ron putting a $10 in Salvatore’s coffin and then commenting, “As you know, I don’t believe in tipping, so I will collect my change from your wife.”
• “Look at how raggedy my hair is.  What am I supposed to be, some sort of rock star?”
• I have been waiting for six weeks to see my beautiful sweet prince Jean-Ralphio.  I was so thrilled to finally see him, and even more thrilled that one of the first words out of his mouth was “Haver-fraud” when his character greeted Tom in the jewelry store.  Bless you, you beautiful idiot.
• And of course, no Jean-Ralphio appearance is complete without Mona Lisa.  I love watching what happens when Jean-Ralphio and Ben get together, but watching Ben interact with Mona Lisa might even be better.
• Ron Dunne reappeared!  And Ron Swanson still hates him!
• “Whenever my hair feels it has completed its journey, it simply sheds itself off.”  “I hate you so much.”  “And I love you, my brother.”
• April screaming like she was being tortured after Ben announced Garry was going to the be interim mayor.
• Tom’s little “yay” after Lucy says yes was SO CUTE and so very Tom.
• “So what’s your story again?  I mean, like, how married are you?  Are you down to clown?”
• “Why are you like this?”  “PILLS, baby!”
• Tomegranate Juice is my new favorite nickname.  BRB, going to make a friend named Tom just so I can call him that.
• “More good news – I finally found someone to be mayor.  Garry.”  “Ugh, I’m so glad we’re leaving.”

And with that, we’re almost at the end.  Parks’ series finale is coming up way too soon; how do you think it will end?  And a bigger question – how many times do you think I’ll cry?  Let me know what you thought of “The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show” and “Two Funerals,” and how you’re planning on celebrating the finale!

Read More

Parks and Recreation 7x08 ("Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington") & 7x09 ("Pie-Mary") [Contributor: Jaime]

"Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington" & "Pie-Mary"

Original Airdate: February 10, 2015

This week, Parks and Rec delivered yet another hour-long installment that made it even harder to accept that, in just two weeks, the show will be over.  Is it just me, or were you a lot more prepared to say goodbye before the season premiered?  Now that I’m seeing just how strong every episode is, and how well it’s servicing the characters and the love the audience has for it, it’s getting so much harder to imagine the idea of not seeing more every week.

But, sadly, the end is coming, and both of this week’s episodes seemed to be huge set-ups for the eventual endgame of the show.  It’s going to be really interesting once the season is over to go back and look at how all of these plotlines have been structured.  Right now, while we’re in the middle of the action, it’s kind of hard to tell what each plot development is doing – for example, in this week’s first episode “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington,” is this the climax of April’s season-long arc?  Will the last four episodes be resolution?  Since the storylines of Ron and Leslie’s estrangement, and the fight with Gryzzl for the Newport land, were resolved much quicker than I had anticipated, I’ve given up for now on trying to figure out exactly what the structure of the season has been, or what it’s going to be.  Instead, I’m content to just sit back and watch the characters I love and the show that I love fire on all cylinders.

So let’s talk about “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington”!

Read More

Parks and Recreation 7x07 ("Donna and Joe") [Contributor: Jaime]

"Donna and Joe"

Original Airdate: February 3, 2015

As the midpoint of the thirteen-episode season, Parks only aired one episode this week.  But, like the rest of the season, it was such a stellar episode, one that brilliantly managed to weave its three plots together while also possibly being one of the funniest episodes ever.  There’s a lot going on in “Donna and Joe,” so let’s get to it!

As you may have guessed from the episode title, Donna and Joe’s wedding is approaching, so the episode takes place over two days, featuring the rehearsal dinner and then the wedding the following day.  After the rehearsal, Donna gives her maid of honor, April, one job: keep her family from fighting.  Things get explosive when the Meagles get together, and they’ll ruin her wedding over the tiniest grievance.  So at the rehearsal dinner, April enlists Andy’s help to keep the factions of the family under control.  The ones who won’t listen?  They’re dragged off to the kitchen, where April yells at them to get it together.  And yes, this includes Ginuwine, who doesn’t seem to understand that this is Donna’s night.  Shame on you, Ginuwine.

Given the structure of the episode, and the fact that the characters are in the same place for most of the episode, there’s a lot more overlap than we usually see on this show.  It’s subtle, but it’s brilliantly done; somehow, the writers managed to strike a great balance between each storyline independently and yet letting all of the characters mingle and influence each other.  So it’s a little counterintuitive in this case to recap the episode plot-by-plot.  Looking at my notes, the storyline of Donna’s wedding had the least amount of development and events; rather than being a huge focal point, it’s moreso the setting around which everything else occurs.  It’s good that way, though – I can only imagine the sorts of drama that could occur at Donna Meagle’s wedding, so keeping it relatively low-key helps it remain a sweet, evocative event, rather than just a plot point.

And actually, giving Donna’s wedding the level of focus that it received helps create a really lovely memory of Donna’s character.  I mean, we still have six episodes to go, it’s not like this is the last we’re going to see Donna, but like Tom’s ongoing storyline with Lucy, it’s just really, really great to see these two characters, who normally are the sources of so much outrageous comedy, have these relatively calm, mature relationships.  It only goes to prove that the main fuel of the show isn’t the comedy itself, but the emotional attachments we’ve formed with these characters, and that they’ve formed with each other.

So given how these storylines are all sort of moving at the same pace in this episode, and how they come together during the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, I’ll jump to discussing Ben and Leslie and catch them up to the rehearsal dinner.  They’re planning on staying at a hotel after the dinner, their first night away since having the triplets, and while they pack, their nanny Roz (played by the amazing Rachel Dratch, who I can’t believe is only appearing on the show now) is slowly being driven insane by the triplets.

They get a call from Jen Barkley, everyone’s favorite campaign consultant, but given that they’re in the middle of packing, they elect to ignore it.  After all, Leslie says, she probably wants to approach Leslie with some opportunity to run for office, and Leslie just isn’t interested.

And then Jen shows up at their house and reveals why she’s been trying to contact them: because she wants Ben to run for a seat in the House of Representatives.  Their current representative is doing a pretty terrible job, and as the person running the largest city in their district, Jen thinks he’d have a great chance at winning the election.

I think it’s clear from my recaps that I’m loving season seven, but I think this opportunity for Ben might be my favorite thing to come out of the season.  The show kind of came under some flak in the last year or two because of how often Ben was switching jobs.  It wasn’t that they didn’t know what to do with him, but that Ben really didn’t know what he wanted after he stopped working as a campaign manager.  It was really telling that he connected so much to that job, which was the most direct involvement he’d had in politics since he was the mayor of his hometown, something like twenty years before.  But instead of continuing his career as a campaign manager, he chose to come back to Pawnee and marry Leslie – but the thing is, it’s not an either/or situation.  And I think both Ben and Leslie kind of thought that it was for a while – either they get a family or they become involved in politics.  Moreover, neither of them ever considered Ben running for office, but what’s so great about Leslie, as we see in this episode, is that just because she never imagined him running doesn’t mean she doesn’t want him to run.  In fact, she’s all for Ben running – immediately, she thinks it’d be a great idea.  And actually, they’re both immediately ready to run a campaign: as soon as they get the call from Jen and Leslie mentions how chaotic a campaign would be on top of their existing responsibilities, Ben doesn’t care.  He’s all for her running, without even know what she would be running for, if it’s what she wants to do.  And Leslie?  Please.  She’s so turned on by him acting congressional.  She’s all for it.  That’s support.  That’s love.  That’s what makes them one of the best couples on TV – because no matter what, they’re there for each other, and they’re pushing each other to be better, even if it doesn’t seem like things can get any better.

But while Leslie is all for Ben running for Congress, she knows she can’t push her opinion; this has to be something he decides on his own.  So she comes up with an idea to help him figure out what he wants to do: at the rehearsal dinner, he should act like he’s running.  Be friendly, be personable, be charismatic – just like a political candidate would be.  And then, the next day at the wedding, he should act like he’s not running, and then decide which feeling he likes better.

Turns out, Ben is pretty great at acting like a political candidate.  He’s crushing it – he has a conversation with everyone he meets, and they’re all laughing at his jokes.  What’s his secret?  He’s drunk.  That’s right, kids, Drunk Ben is back!  But this time he’s not talking about how his teeth are blueberries.  This time, he’s here to celebrate love.  So he makes a speech about Donna and Joe that wavers between being sweet, touching, and hilarious, and then once he wraps it up (“I’m Ben Wyatt and I approve this message!”), he begins dancing.

April’s eyeing him the whole time to make sure he doesn’t veer out of control, and when he starts dancing, she checks if Donna wants her to shut it down.  After all, she takes her job very seriously.

Ben’s speech is one of the moments where all the storylines necessarily come together, given the shared space and occasion of all the characters.  So while that moment is all about Ben, and how his storyline has gotten him to that point, there’s another layer added by watching Donna and April observe him.  Personally, I would have loved to see April drag him off to the kitchen but what do I know.

The third storyline in “Donna and Joe” is Tom’s relationship with Lucy.  Ron, inspired by the romantic atmosphere leading up to the wedding, is in a mood to celebrate romantic love, so he uncharacteristically tells Tom how well he thinks he and Lucy are suited for each other.  Tom agrees, saying that everything’s going well and that he’s incredibly happy with her.  Awwww, the mogul’s in love!

Basically, Tom and Lucy couldn’t be happier…until Ron then shares with Lucy how happy he is that the two are doing so well.  And happens to mention what Tom said about how he’d marry her tomorrow.  Out of context, it…doesn’t sound too great, and Lucy is clearly freaked out about it.  When Tom finds out, he demands that Ron fix the situation, and explain himself to Lucy – and until he does, the waiters aren’t allowed to serve him.

So, hungry and desperate for mini cheeseburgers, Ron goes back to Lucy and explains that Tom only said he’d marry her tomorrow as context to explain how much he likes her, not that that’s literally something he wants.  But then he says that Tom has imagined marrying her and living on an island with their kids.  It’s not really better, so much as…well, worse.  It’s just worse, plain and simple.

Now, Ron Swanson clearly isn’t the kind of person who gets involved in the romantic entanglements of others.  But the justification for it, that Donna and Joe’s wedding is inspiring him to root for romantic love, was sweet, and shows how having his own family has changed him.  Sure, he’s barely changed in the last three years (or, you know, at all), but if you were to define the arc he’s had throughout the course of the show, it would be his willingness to let people into his life, and his acceptance of what they mean to him.  But even in the first season, when he was at his most stubborn and standoffish, he always valued romantic love.  So now, when he’s actually accepted that Tom is his friend and that consequently he wants good things for his friend, of course he’s going to get involved with his love life.  For as unwilling as Ron is to get involved in other people’s affairs, I think he’s even more unwilling to inadvertently hurt one of his friends.

The next day, Ben and Leslie wake up super hungover, and, even worse, to the news that Jen has announced Ben’s running for Congress.  He’s furious, but quickly realizes that he called Jen the night before and told her he would run.  I mean, hey, we’ve all done things we regret when we’re drunk.  I’ve thrown up in like two different garbage cans.  I completely understand what he’s going through.  Waking up next to your garbage can and the news that you’re running for Congress?  Hoo.  Been there, buddy.

Leslie also called 867-5309 a hundred times, but, like, that’s a separate thing.

They meet with Jen at JJ’s Diner (which seems to be in the same location it’s always been?  I’m still not sure how it tied into their plan to set up Gryzzl’s headquarters in April and Andy’s neighborhood), and Ben angrily tells her that she should have checked with him before announcing his run.  Except, it turns out that he didn’t just call her once – he called her four separate times, and even talked about his plans for his platforms.  The main issues he wants to tackle?  Education, fiscal reform, and 867-5309.  Okay, that last one was Leslie’s contribution.

Before the wedding, Ron is living his dream – he gets to be in a beautifully constructed church, and even finds someone from the church to explain to him where the limestone from the church’s façade came from.  It’s a big moment for Ron.  But then he sees Tom and Lucy awkwardly interacting with each other, and he realizes he needs to intervene and clear up this mess.  So, reluctantly, he leaves his conversation about limestone behind and tells Tom and Lucy, very simply, that there’s no shame in being honest with the people you care about, and that they need to talk about the thing that they’re not talking about.  Then, after being denied food and limestone, he heads off to embrace this public celebration of romantic love.

Finally, Tom and Lucy are honest with each other.  He explains that while he’s not trying to rush anything, and that he understands she just got out of a serious relationship, he’s all in when it comes to her.  She smiles and rests her head on his shoulder, clearly agreeing with him.  Awwwwww.

After the wedding, Leslie and Ben have to head out to their car to search for their kids’ stuffed zebras.  Apparently Roz called them to let them know that the triplets were having a zebra-related meltdown.  While they’re outside, reporters show up, asking if it’s true that Ben’s running for Congress.  When he doesn’t answer, they push him more, asking what makes him qualified, since the only other time he held political office, he was eighteen.  Ben tries to get rid of them by pointing out that he’s in the middle of a crisis, but then quickly spins it – he’s always solving crises, he says, in his role as city manager, and all of the positive changes he’s made within Pawnee prove his capability.  And then he officially announces that he’s running for Congress.  It’s probably, like, one of the top 5 greatest things that has ever happened to Leslie.

During the reception, Donna thanks April for all her hard work, and while she’s grateful that April managed to keep the Meagles under control, she wishes there had been just a little drama, just to keep things exciting.  So April and Andy get LeVondrious, Donna’s oft-mentioned estranged brother, to show up.  It turns out the source of their rift is over the ownership of a microwave – which LeVondrious brought with him.  Which he promptly picks up and smashes on the ground.

But it all has a happy ending, because Donna is thrilled that her wedding had some drama after all.  Because, come on.  Donna Meagle cannot have a perfect, beautiful, problem-free wedding.  That would be the most boring thing ever.

Some other great moments throughout the episode – and this is a condensed list, because holy crap, was this episode full of great moments and lines:

• “Please avoid my trigger words: flowers, schedule, vows, bride, groom, food, love, happy, church, event, wedding, and Craig”.
• “Legally, no more than three Meagles are allowed on an international flight together.  But they give great gifts.  Gotta get that flatware.”
• We already learned that one of the triplets’ names is Sonia.  But as my lovely friend Kelly pointed out, if you watch the end credits, they list the names of the kids: Sonia, Stephen, and Wesley.  They’re probably there in every episode featuring the triplets, and mostly I’m just ashamed it took me this long to figure it out.  But the mystery is finally solved!
• I briefly mentioned my shock that it took this long for Rachel Dratch to appear on the show, but I loved how she was used.  I love this ongoing thing that the triplets are terrors, because of course any child of Leslie Knope would have limitless energy.
• “I love you more than Ben.  I do.  If Ben left me, I would be sad, but I would get through it.  But if you left me, I would never recover.”
• “CONTROL YOURSELVES, GERGICHES.”
• Jen’s reaction to the triplets, and her smugness over the fact that she doesn’t have children, was one of my favorite bits throughout the episode.  “Your life is gross.  My life is amazing.”
• “The words that they say sound passive but seem aggressive.  I feel like there should be a term for that, like…nicey-meany.”
• “I would be a congressman.  Or woman, equal rights, but that doesn’t apply.”  Ugh, could Ben Wyatt be any more perfect for Leslie?
• “Ben should be the royal archduke sultan emperor of all inhabitable lands on Earth.”
• Drunk Ben: “Condifent.  Con – I feel condifent.”
• All of Ben’s speech was perfection, but my favorite part was, “What?  It’s you!  I love you!  You’re my sexy roommate!  We love each other!”  “WOO!  He’s talking about me!”  “Yes I am, baby doll!”  Yeah, maybe I swooned when Drunk Ben called Drunk Leslie baby doll.  You don’t know me.
• I didn’t notice it the first time I watched the episode, but when Ben checks his phone and sees that Jen announced his campaign, one of the other headlines reads, “Bellchick on ‘RobotGate’: ‘None of our players are robots.’”  Amazing.
• It’s small, but when Leslie and Ben wake up in the hotel, they’re matching “Willy Wonka and the Policy Factory” shirts.  THESE NERDS.
• “Knope, you’re a softie, but on the inside, you’re a straight-up boss.  April, you’re the exact opposite.  Y’all inspire me and I love you.”
• Everything Donna said to Michelle, her childhood friend who’s one of her bridesmaids, was gold.  It was a hilarious, subtle way to point out that we don’t see any of these characters’ friends besides each other, so of course Donna is going to give April and Leslie a heartfelt speech that expresses her appreciation of them…and then not do the same for her other bridesmaid.  And yes, today absolutely is a test for Michelle.
• “The doctors once told you you were never gonna walk again, so this should be easy.”
• “Oh my god babe, that was so hot.”  There are fewer things in the world I love more than the recurring joke of Leslie and Ben getting turned on by each other’s political aspirations.
• The BEAUTIFUL moment when April questioned why Terry’s place card at the wedding said Garry, and everyone’s subsequent decision to call him Garry from now on – something that Donna did on purpose.  Garry’s talking head afterwards absolutely slayed me.  “After thirty years, my coworkers are finally going to call me by my real name.  I’m blessed.”
• Everyone needs to watch the reception scenes again and watch Ginuwine’s reactions – first when April yells at him, then when he thinks Craig is introducing him to sing.  Can we go back in time and make Ginuwine a regular on the show?
• Questlove as LeVondrious.  I was done.

What did you all think of “Donna and Joe”?  Will you be voting for Ben Wyatt for Congress?  Let me know in the comments!  Oh, but please try to avoid any of my trigger words – they’re “show,” “Leslie,” “Parks and Recreation,” “blog,” “writing,” and “Ron”.  Thanks so much.

Read More

Parks and Recreation 7x05 ("Gryzzlbox") & 7x06 ("Save J.J.'s") [Contributor: Jaime]

"Gryzzlbox" & "Save J.J's"

Original Airdate: January 27, 2015

This week, Parks and Recreation delivered two incredibly solid episodes that I think might be up there on the list of the show’s best episodes ever.  Both were so strong, relied heavily on the show’s wonderful ensemble, and were consistently funny throughout.  And one featured the return of Treat Yo Self, so, yeah, overall, it was a pretty great night of television.

Sadly, Donna and Tom’s day of self-worship took place in the second episode, so we’ll have to wait to talk about it.  But “Gryzzlbox” was just as fun and exciting, and a huge step forward for the Leslie vs. Gryzzl storyline that so far has anchored every episode this season.  And when I say it was a huge step forward, I basically mean this episode brought it to its climax, that was then pretty much completely resolved in “Save JJ’s”.  So, you know.  Lots of things to talk about today.

"Gryzzlbox"

 

“Gryzzlbox” begins with Leslie and Ben reevaluating their case against Gryzzl.  Leslie Knope, the eternal optimist, has finally given up.  There’s nothing she can come up with to convince the Newports to donate their land instead of taking Gryzzl’s millions of dollars, and nothing she can do to convince Gryzzl to abandon their plans. 

That is, until a Gryzzl drone (sorry, a “skypal”) arrives at her front door, carrying a present for her.  It turns out other people have gotten them too, including Donna, whose box contained sugar plums and honeybears, which are the nicknames she and her fiancé use for each other – except they only use those nicknames on the phone or through text.  There’s no way someone could have known that and chosen those specific items to give Donna.  When Leslie opens her box and sees that it contains Joe Biden’s book (“Biden the Rails: 1001 Poems Inspired by My Travels Through Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor”.  Honestly, I’m just glad to know that even in 2017, Leslie still loves Joe Biden as much as ever) and a poster of the Supreme Court in the style of a famous Friends poster, Ben realizes that Gryzzl is data mining – they’re taking people’s personal information that they share on their Gryzzl devices and using that to create profiles.  But when Gryzzl installed their free wifi in Pawnee, Ben made sure to include protection against data mining in the contracts.  

Ready as ever to take on a new challenge, Leslie holds a public forum to discuss how Gryzzl has broken the terms of their user agreement.  But for once in her political career, Leslie faces zero opposition.  Every single person who attends the forum agrees with her.  I can’t tell if it’s a sign of how far things have come since the first season, or a sign of how bad this Gryzzl issue is.  To show their solidarity, everyone starts chanting, “We’re not against you on this!”  It’s nice, you guys.  It’s really nice.

With the town and Donna on her side, Leslie goes to the person whose unwavering support she can count on: Ron Swanson.  After all, this is the guy who threw his computer in the garbage when he learned about cookies and Google Earth.  When they meet and Leslie eagerly shows him pictures of the triplets, Ron shows her a picture of his son, then immediately tears it up to protect John’s privacy.  But, once they show him what Gryzzl’s doing, he’s not as eager to join their cause as they had hoped; laissez-faire as ever, Ron sees no reason to judge the practices of a privately-run business, and in fact, thinks it’s the user’s fault if they’re carrying a device that they trust with so much personal information.  He even guesses, based on his time around Gryzzl’s lawyers, that it’s not actually illegal.

To get more information, Donna sets Ben and Leslie up with a tour of Gryzzl’s headquarters, led by the company’s VP, Roscoe Santangelo.  Dressed in a hat, cardigan, beret, and glasses, Ben and Leslie (or Darlene Johannsson and her assistant-turned-lover Gregory Strong) go undercover to try and weasel out information from Roscoe, but it turns out he’s pretty willing to admit that they’re data mining and that their products are always on and cataloging the user’s actions.  Oh, and he knows that it’s really Leslie.  After all, Gryzzl has maps on her Gryzzl devices, and face-scanned her when she came in…I mean, really, Leslie didn’t really think this one through.

Since Roscoe is so open about what Gryzzl is doing, Leslie proposes they debate the issue on television.  And apparently the best way to do that in 2017?  Is to appear on The Perdple’s Court, hosted by – you guessed it – Perd Hapley.  Important note: Perd Hapley is not a judge.  But you must call him Judge Hapley.  It’s like a whole thing, don’t worry about it.

While Leslie’s preparing for the show, Ron comes in with the final version of Gryzzl’s user agreement that clearly states there is to be no data mining.  However, through footnotes and supplementary appendices, the contract actually states that Gryzzl is free to use its customers’ information for anything they want.  Ben can’t understand how he missed something like that, but Leslie notices the date of that revision was the day Star Wars was released in 2015.  They knew he would be distracted and used that to their advantage – and to Ben, the fact that this was his mistake means it’s Icetown all over again.

So even though Gryzzl’s actions aren’t actually illegal, it’s obvious to everyone that it’s still a huge violation and super uncool.  In fact, Ben says as much, accusing Roscoe on the show of not being chill.  Roscoe is really offended.  It’s kind of a shocking moment, honestly.  Roscoe points out that people don’t have to use Gryzzl if they don’t like their policies, but Ben counters that they do; the internet isn’t optional anymore, and the company must have known that their users wouldn’t approve of the data mining if they buried that policy so deeply within the contract.

Anyway, Perd has misplaced his judge hammer, so he declares a mistrial.  Tap tap tap.

After Leslie assures Ben that, unlike the people in his hometown, the people in Pawnee know how much he’s done for them.  This, or any other issue, is not going to be anything like Icetown.  As they realize they’re going to have to work harder to get the land from Gryzzl, their doorbell rings – it’s Ron, holding one of the Gryzzl Skypals and a shotgun.  The Skypal came to his house with a Gryzzlbox for his son, based on information about him from Diane’s computer.  Ron wants Gryzzl dead.

Elsewhere, Tom is still dealing with his feelings for Lucy, but is too afraid to act on them.  She’s gone to visit her boyfriend in Chicago, so while she’s gone, he’s been throwing himself into his restaurant, trying to distract himself.  He decides to involve himself with Andy’s contract negotiations with his station manager; they want to retain the rights to Johnny Karate, which Andy doesn’t want to give up.  He loves his show, which he stars in, writes, produces, serves as propmaster, cleans up afterwards, drives everyone home…all for $100.  Naturally, Tom is horrified, and appoints himself Andy’s agent.  They go meet with Hank Muntak (played by Dax Shepard, whaaaaaaat?!) together, and though he drives a hard bargain, Muntak eventually accepts all of their terms, including a pay raise for Andy.  The only sacrifice he won’t make?  Giving up the rights to Johnny Karate.

But through some tough, hardboiled negotiations (aka he cries about how much he likes Lucy and how he just wants to help his friend out), Tom manages to get Muntak to let Andy keep the rights to the character.  This storyline is really nice for Tom, and a really great way to let him shine.  Tom’s never been one for hard work, but during the time jump, his restaurant became a success.  In fact, we’ve only seen him as a success this season.  He’s no longer that guy who’s constantly scrambling to get a leg up, or to somehow improve; he has real, attainable goals now, which makes it so much harder when he sees a situation he knows he’ll fail in.  And that situation is with Lucy.  Personally, I’ve always loved Tom, but I can see how he may have grated on the audience from time to time throughout the show’s run.  I mean, it’s possible to say that about all the characters – these are people we love, but I don’t think you can write a compelling, sympathetic character if the audience is always agreeing with them.  So I think the decision to end the show with Tom in this situation was a great one.  He’s always wanted to be a business mogul; now he is.  What comes next for him?  Something real, something that you can’t help but want for him to have.  When Lucy came back at the end of the episode and told him she went to Chicago to break up with her boyfriend, it felt like a huge victory for Tom – even though he doesn’t act on this information, and even though he doesn’t really show his excitement.  Instead, he responds like an adult: he offers to talk about it if she wants, and when she doesn’t, he starts up a normal conversation with her about Nicki Minaj throwing shade at Jesse Eisenberg at the BAFTAs.  Tom thinks he deserved it, Lucy disagrees.  Personally, I’m just waiting for the 2017 BAFTAs because holy crap does that sound amazing.

Meanwhile, April’s search for the perfect job gets complicated when Craig asks her, as a former intern for the parks department, to welcome the new group of interns.  Of the three new additions, one, Jen, has a lot in common with April.  Her greatest passions are parks and recreation, and by that, she means her parents are making her do this for college credit.  April, who sees her own internship as the beginning of this long path that led to her being old and boring and stuck in a pointless job, convinces Jen to leave.  When Craig finds out, he’s furious, but manages to stay calm thanks to what he’s learned from his therapist, Dr. Richard Nygard (who else screeched a little bit when they heard that Craig is seeing Chris’ old therapist?!), and instead points out to April that, despite what she says, he knows that she enjoyed her time in the parks department, and all the work she did there.  Because, after all, she had the greatest teacher in the world – Leslie Knope.

To make up for getting rid of Jen, April does what Leslie Knope would do: she puts up flyers and recruits even more interns.  And, to her surprise, she actually enjoyed it.  She still doesn’t know what her dream job is, but Craig suggests she add “telling people what to do” onto her list of qualities she’s searching for.  

I really love the direction they’re going in with this storyline.  It could be really easy to just have her stumble onto the perfect job, but the thing is, it’s April.  Given what we know about her, she’s going to find something to hate about everything, so I really appreciate that she hasn’t just found some job.  Look at what happened when she started running animal control – at the time, they presented it like it was the perfect job for her, but even that proved to have problems, and she moved on from it.  It’s so much more important for her to understand why she loves the things that she loves, because focusing on the positives – even for April, the most negative person in the world – is the only way she’s ever going to love her job.  It shows just how much she’s grown up while still giving her tons of room to grow.

Some other moments from this episode, which was filled to the brim with amazing one-liners:

• Craig’s advice from Dr. Richard Nygard is to list three great things about being alive whenever he feels like yelling.  Throughout the episode, he lists: watermelon martinis, exposed brick, Keri Russell’s hair, Martha Stewart’s apron line, his tomato plants, sweet potato pie, unlikely animal friend pairings, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Victor Garber, James Garner, and Jennifer Garner (he went alphabetical by the end).
• “The robots have come for us!  I made fun of you when you said it would happen, but your novel has come true!”  Guys, I wish Ben had gotten to explore his passion for writing.  First erotic Star Trek fanfiction, now a novel about robots?
• Tom doing crunches is me doing crunches.  “Ow, Andy, my tum-tum!”
• “This internship is the videotape from The Ring.”
• The toy pigs dressed as movie stars might have tickled me more than anything else because my god do I love puns.  We were treated to Hamuel L. Jackson from the movie Pork Fiction and Tom Selloink.
• Andy as Johnny Karate as Burt Macklin.  So many layers.
• April after realizing how much she has in common with Jen: “Okay, side note, I’m gonna file paperwork to adopt you as my child.”
• “Is Star Wars the one with the little wizard boy?”
• “James Woods follows my niece on Twitter.”
• "The only contract I’ve ever signed is my Mulligan’s Steakhouse club card.  And even then, I used a fake name.  Les.  Les Vegetables.”

That’s it for “Gryzzlbox”!  And now, it’s time.  I hope you’re all ready…to treat yo self.

"Save J.J's"

Okay, some other stuff also happened in “Save JJ’s” that maybe I should get to first, like the fact that, with Gryzzl facing some terrible PR in Pawnee, Leslie and her team finally have an opportunity to make a real play for the Newport land.  Their new plan: split the land evenly with Gryzzl. It’s not ideal for either party, but Leslie figures the crisis Gryzzl is trying to manage will force them to give up their hopes of obtaining the entire parcel.  But Ron, who’s spent a lot of time with Gryzzl’s executives, isn’t optimistic; he knows they want the whole thing, and won’t settle for less.

But it’s okay, because Ron and Leslie are united in their quest to get the land.  It’s just so nice, you guys.  Most of the predictions I’ve made for this season – chiefly, that a lot of it would be devoted to Ron and Leslie making up and that this fight for the Newport land would be the main arc of the entire thirteen episodes – have been wrong.  I’m okay with that, I’m wrong about most things.  But I was right when I predicted that the key to Leslie winning was going to be teaming up with Ron.  And I mean, okay, that’s not like a super abstract guess, most people probably saw that coming, but if I was going to be right about anything, it’s nice to have been right about Ron and Leslie’s friendship.

While they’re discussing their new strategy, they get word that Newport Trust is holding a press conference – where they announce that Gryzzl has upped their offer to $125 million, and that the Newports have immediately accepted.  So, you know.  Team National Park isn’t doing so great.

Naturally, they decide to drown their sorrows in waffles, so they head to JJ’s Diner – which, as it turns out, is soon closing, after someone bought the property without giving JJ the chance to renew his lease.  Fueled by her anger over losing the land, Leslie decides to fight to save her favorite diner.  The first step is finding out the identity of the new landlord: Dennis Feinstein, local Pawnee cologne mogul.  Then Leslie gives everyone assignments – April is to spread the word via whatever communication system young people are using these days, while Andy is enlisted to bring out Jonathan Karate – the older brother, more mature version, of Johnny Karate who comes out sometimes during very special episodes of his show.

In a weird way, this episode was really stressful for me, in a way that, like, Leslie and Ben’s break-up in season 4 or her fight with Ron weren’t.  I mean, yeah, those things were about her friends, but this was her waffles.  You do not touch Leslie Knope’s waffles, under any circumstances.  But because they’re waffles, and because of what waffles represent to her, this was the perfect storyline for this point in the show – it’s the perfect way to show how strong she and Ron are again, because after all, what’s going to band them together more than breakfast food?  What greater cause is there for them to tackle with their full combined force?  And, really, what other conflict could the writers have come up with that could stand anywhere close to last week’s “Leslie and Ron”?  That episode set such a high standard for the show, especially in its ability to come up with deep-rooted conflicts and really explore them.  But like I said last week, in a half-hour comedy, no episode has the time to fully explore any given conflict, unless they very deliberately change up their formula, as they did with “Leslie and Ron”.  To really feel the effects of their rekindled friendship, and their anger over losing the land, this episode had to focus on something big.  It had to be waffles.

Leslie leads a protest outside Dennis Feinstein’s office while Jonathan Karate and his team of ninjas go inside to find the man himself.  Jonathan Karate shows Dennis the amount of people who are downstairs protesting, and Dennis says he didn’t realize how many people loved JJ’s, and doesn’t want the negative publicity that would come from closing the diner.  So he comes downstairs to address the protesters – where he reveals that he actually doesn’t care at all about their passion for JJ’s, and only cares about the money he can make from the property.  He then calls for his employees to “release the hounds,” a cologne rejected by the FDA that smells like wet dog.  Apparently using water to try and wash it off makes it worse.  Do not try using water.

It occurs to April that the key to saving JJ’s is just to keep the diner in business, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to stay in the same location.  So they go to check out the neighborhood she and Andy recently moved to, that’s more or less run over by raccoons and completely covered in graffiti.  They find a place that could work for the diner, but JJ points out that nobody lives in that part of town, so even if he moved his diner there, it wouldn’t matter unless the neighborhood changes.  And suddenly, Ron and Leslie have an idea, one that they instinctively (and almost wordlessly) work out.

Their idea?  Turn this neighborhood into Gryzzl’s campus.  All the buildings, while gross, are structurally sound, and the buildings even come pre-graffitied (which greatly impresses Roscoe).  But, as Roscoe points out, they’ve already purchased the Newport land – so Leslie suggests that they donate it to the National Parks Service, which will grant Gryzzl tax breaks and good PR within Pawnee for proving their investment in the town.

It takes some time, but a week later, Gryzzl gets back to Ron and Leslie: they’ve approved their plan.  Because that’s what happens when the dream team gets back together, you guys.  They get their land, they get their way, and most importantly, they get their waffles (which, Leslie and Ron said their plan will also help save JJ’s, so while they don’t explicitly state it, I’m assuming they’re going to put the diner near Gryzzl’s campus, so when Gryzzl’s presence revitalizes the neighborhood, JJ’s will reap the benefits).

Now, all that stuff was important, but we all know what really mattered in this episode.  Say it with me, kids.  TREAT YO SELF 2017.

(Obvious disclaimer that the following section is to be read in a sing-songy voice because that’s how Tom delivers most of his lines in this episode and I can assure you that the voice in my head as I wrote followed suit.)

It all starts when Tom, who’s the butler of honor (his words) at Donna and Joe’s wedding, hosts them for a cake testing.  Then he brings out a very special cake, along with DJ Bluntz, and Treat Yo Self Day is off and running.  But this isn’t a normal Treat Yo Self Day.  This is in honor of Donna’s wedding, so Tom brings out the big guns: he gets them tickets to Beverly Hills, something they’ve always talked about.  Before they leave, they stop by Tom’s Bistro, where Donna invites Lucy to her wedding.  Tom jumps at the opportunity and tells Lucy she should go as his date – then immediately panics and suggests they go as work friends, then as a boss-employee thing, then suggests she do paperwork at the wedding.  It’s…not great.  Donna asks him for an explanation, but he shrugs it off.  After all, this is Treat Yo Self 2017.  They’ve got bigger things to worry about, like seeing Bruce Willis and Christina Aguilera’s house (you guys, I am in love with 2017) and Usher’s house.  And Usher’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Their most important stop?  A sushi restaurant where everything on the menu was previously owned by celebrities.  I don’t even eat fish and I want to go to this restaurant more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life.  Josh Groban is a patron, and he orders his own fish.  It’s baller.

While they’re eating, Donna calls Tom out for how often he’s checking his phone, clearly waiting to see if Lucy’s gotten back to him about his offer to go to the wedding.  The thing is, Tom’s worried about his invitation because she’s his employee.  He doesn’t want things to be weird, since she moved from Chicago for this job.  Donna offers him some advice: when it comes to the heart, you’ve got to treat yo self.  So when they return to Pawnee, Tom draws up paperwork that puts the day-to-day operations of the restaurant in Craig’s hands, to make it clear to Lucy that, if she doesn’t want to date him, her job won’t be affected.  It’s such a mature move, one that I never would have expected from Tom Haverford.  This is the guy who whined nonstop whenever Ann broke up with him; now he’s giving up the bulk of the responsibilities in the job he worked so hard to find, that he loves so much, just in case Lucy’s uncomfortable.  Guys, he’s come so far.  I might cry.  And again, going back to what I said about him in “Gryzzlbox,” grounding his conflicts was such a smart decision.  I always cared about whatever new ventures Tom was seeking out, but there’s a new edge to it when Tom is actually aware of the consequences of his actions, and is putting other people first.  It’s such a different side to him, but that compassion and genuine concern for Lucy has always been there.  Now he’s an adult, albeit one who hasn’t lost his charm.

But it turns out that Lucy has been thinking about his offer, and only wants to go to the wedding as his date.  Tom immediately rips up the paperwork, telling Craig his power is gone.  Craig’s okay with it, though.  He’s proud of the work he did, and of the people he fired.

Some other moments from yet another consistently hilarious episode:

• “I still don’t know what’s happening.  What’s happening?”  “Treat Yo Self.”  “Not an answer to my question.”  “READ THE CAKE.”  “Still unclear.  Terry, what’s happening?”  “TREAT YO SELF.”
• All of Andy’s plans involving blimps, and Leslie’s frustration over them.  I was hoping a blimp would somehow be involved in saving JJ’s Diner, but there’s always time, I guess.
• “Today is about things.  THINGS, Donna.  Our favorite.”  Sometimes I relate to Tom more than any other character on this show.
• “And there’s too much kale now.  One place asked me if I wanted kale in my milkshake.  My milkshake, you guys.”
• Possibly the best line ever spoken on this show: “Was it Putin?  Voldemort Putin?  Of Russia?  We’re gonna take that bastard down.”
• “I can’t think of anything more noble to go to war over than bacon and eggs.”
• -Hitch 2: Son of a Hitch, starring Jaden Smith.  Guys.  I love 2017.
• “JOSH GROBAN.  HE’S EATING HIS OWN SUSHI.  THAT’S THE MOST BALLER THING I’VE EVER SEEN.”
• Andy trying to keep track of all the kids was so, so, so cute, and such a simple scene that explains exactly what is so great about this character.  Chris Pratt’s delivery of “Oh, Dennis, what a mess” as a small, quiet summary of this situation made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.

That’s it for “Save JJ’s”!  And with that, suddenly, we’re halfway through the season already.  I’m not even a little bit ready for Parks to end, especially when the final season has been so consistently great.  I’ll be back next week with a review of “Donna and Joe” and “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington”.  Until then, let me know in the comments how you’re enjoying the final season!

Read More