Title Partridge

Two-Sentence Summary While Ron deals with a possible lawsuit from Councilman Jamm after punching him on Leslie’s wedding night, Ann and Chris continue on the path to parenthood despite some compatibility issues. Meanwhile, Leslie and Ben travel to his hometown, and Ben deals with kidney stones as Leslie discovers just how much the people of Partridge still hate their former “Ice Clown” mayor.

Favorite Line “You wanna make a baby, Traeger? Your hair, my everything else—that kid would be unstoppable.” (Donna)

My Thoughts Oh Parks and Rec, how I’ve missed you. Any time this show comes back from hiatus, I’m reminded of the very specific hole it fills in my media-consuming life. Everyone needs a “comfort show,” and Parks and Rec is mine. It never fails to make me feel good.

My favorite story in this episode belonged to Ron, April, Andy, and Tom. It’s no secret that I love Parks and Rec episodes that show various characters rallying around one of their own, and I especially love when it happens independently of Leslie. Over time, her positive influence has clearly rubbed off on the people around her, and the entire parks department really has become a family. It’s nice to get little reminders from time to time that this is a show where all of the characters are genuinely good people at heart.

While I really don’t like Councilman Jamm at all (I think he’s too one-dimensional and that the writers can do better than what they’ve done with him), my dislike of the character proved valuable this week because I got to watch an extended montage of Ron talking about wanting to punch him in the face. I really liked that honesty was more important to Ron than winning (and that the only thing worse than lying is skim milk, which itself is a lie). It fit with his character to have honor be something he values above all else. I also really liked seeing April and Tom step up once again in the responsibility department—they’ve both grown so much this season.

The Leslie/Ben plot would have been my favorite part of the episode if it would have focused a little more on Ben and his character development, which is what I thought was going to happen when I first heard about this episode. Don’t get me wrong; I love no character on TV the way I love Leslie Knope, and I could watch Leslie-centric storylines for the rest of my life and be happy. But I feel like Ben’s character development got short-changed somewhat in an attempt to show Leslie being a supportive wife (which we already know she is) and to show Adam Scott act hilariously loopy while Ben was on morphine.

I suppose ultimately this episode showed us that Ben didn’t need closure as much as he thought he did (and as much as we as an audience thought he did). However, I still would have liked to see him in a position to stick up for himself a little more (but it was a great feminist twist to have the wife being the one defending her husband’s reputation for once). Even though I would have liked to see Ben pull off something similar to what Leslie did in Season Three’s “Flu Season,” I’ll admit to smiling so big my face hurt while watching Leslie show the world—or at least Partridge—how much she loves her husband. For so long, we’ve watched Ben support her, and I love those moments when we’re reminded that Leslie is also his biggest supporter. That’s the way a marriage should be.

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Title Bailout

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie’s attempts to get the Pawnee government to help a struggling “cultural institution” (aka video rental store) bring her into conflict with Ron and his staunchly anti-bailout views. Meanwhile, Ann and Chris both look for ways to cope with his impending decision about being her sperm donor—with Ann choosing to blackmail April into a week of friendship and Chris testing his parenting skills with Tom.

Favorite Line “I’m sorry, guys. No one ever lets me talk this long, I just got lost.” (Jerry)

My Thoughts While this wasn’t my favorite episode, it did contain at least one (possibly two) moments that would be sure to make my list of All-Time Favorite Things to Ever Happen on Parks and Rec. (Maybe I should actually write that list down sometime…Possible summer hiatus project?) I didn’t care as much about the Leslie/Ron A-plot as I wanted to, but I was okay with that because the secondary plots were so strong.

While I loved Jason Schwartzman cinema-snob video store owner (I almost cried laughing at his reaction to having Michael Bay movies in his store), something about that whole plot fell a little flat to me. I usually like episodes that feature Ron and Leslie butting heads over conflicting ideologies (“Pawnee Rangers” did this the best, in my opinion), but for some reason I just didn’t care about the political satire in this episode. Maybe it’s because it didn’t really move either character forward at the episode’s end. However, I understand that not every episode can be a huge episode for every character, so I’ll take the little gems that this plot provided and enjoy them.

And there were plenty of little gems in this A-plot: Andy’s story about the hornet’s nest, Leslie’s love for Finding Nemo (excellent taste, Ms. Knope), Brandi Maxxxx’s existence in general and her adorably awkward one-sided friendship with Leslie, Ron ordering a party platter of meat for only himself, and Perd Hapley’s 1.5 star review of E.T.

I think some of my disinterest with the bailout story was because I wanted more of April and Ann’s story. In the same way that I said I would have watched a whole movie featuring the rotating bachelor party shenanigans from “Two Parties,” I would gladly sit through hours of watching Ann and April dance around on the edges of friendship. I am absolutely loving the way Ann is being written right now. Rashida Jones plays enthusiastic awkwardness so well, and I’m so happy the writers seem to be running with that this season. I laughed way too hard at all of the clichéd “BFF!” things she was making April do—from their matching braids to making White Russians in their pajamas. But what I liked most about all of those over-the-top actions was that they came from a genuine place of desperation to take her mind off of Chris’s lack of a decision about donating his sperm. And when she finally revealed that to April, we got what is probably one of the highlights of the entire season.

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Source: Glamour.com

Titles Leslie and Ben/Correspondents’ Lunch

Two-Sentence Summary In “Leslie and Ben,” the title characters get married after an evening that doesn’t exactly go according to plan. “Correspondents’ Lunch” features Ben and Leslie returning to work, with Ben beginning a new job as the head of a Sweetums-run charity and Leslie dealing with the fallout from her email being hacked by journalists.

Favorite Lines
Ben and Leslie: “In my time working for the state government, my job sent me to 46 cities in 11 years. I lived in villages with 8 people, farming communities, college towns…I was sent to every corner of Indiana. And then I came here and I realized that this whole time I was just wandering around everywhere…just looking for you.” (Ben’s vows to Leslie)

Correspondents’ Lunch: “I wish this office only had walls.” (Ron)

My Thoughts

I’m still having trouble formulating coherent thoughts about this week’s Parks and Rec event. I watched “Leslie and Ben” six times in 36 hours (a new personal record for TV episodes), and I still cry just as hard every time. I honestly believe that was a perfect 30 minutes of television—it made me laugh, it made me cry, and, more than anything, it made me feel good. If Parks and Rec would have ended forever after that episode like it was originally believed, I would have been devastated but ultimately satisfied; it was that good.

But thank the television gods it didn’t end, and “Correspondents’ Lunch” proved that there are still moments of laughter, kindness, and character development to be found even after such a brilliant high point like “Leslie and Ben.” While the episode wasn’t as good as the one that came before it, it still held is own. It featured Amy Poehler doing impressions, Retta being flawless, and a hopeful turn of events for Andy as a character—of course it was good. I may still not be crazy about the seemingly random “Ann’s baby-daddy search” storyline, but I have been missing her sharing scenes with Chris. So I liked their interactions in this episode. It was an episode worthy of its place, sharing a night with what I now think is one of the best sitcom episodes—and the best wedding episode—of all time.

There were a million little things to love about “Leslie and Ben”—the callbacks to previous episodes, the joyful feeling that permeated the whole thing (but was kept from being too saccharine by Councilman Jamm’s antics), the acting by each member of this incredible ensemble, RON F—–G SWANSON…I could write a recap to rival Leslie’s first draft of her vows in its length if I wanted to list everything that made me happy about this episode.

Ultimately, the thing I loved most about “Leslie and Ben” was that it was an episode about love—the love between a man and a woman and between the two of them and the friends who have become their family. And it was about the love between a show and the audience that has come to adore it over five beautiful seasons.

I’ve said it so many times, but it bears repeating: There is nothing that makes me happier than watching an episode of Parks and Rec where the characters join together to help one of their own. So it should go without saying that I was incredibly moved by the fact that every character had their place in this wedding; even Jerry played a part and played it well. As Leslie is so fond of saying, “No one achieves anything alone.” That’s such an important theme when it comes to this show, and it came to its most beautiful realization here.

Another important theme that makes Parks and Rec such a groundbreaking show is feminists can love and be loved, too—without ever having to sacrifice their feminist streaks. This wedding was so incredible to me because it was a celebration of the fact that strong, independent, ambitious Leslie Knope never had to give up any of those traits in order to find her perfect man. Instead, she found a man who finds the very idea of her submitting to him in any way—including taking his last name—so ridiculous that he jokes about it. She found a man who believes his entire career with the state government was just wandering in the wilderness until he met her. She found a man who sacrificed so much in order for her to achieve her dreams and did it for no other reason than the fact that he loves her more than he’s ever loved any job. And Leslie doesn’t just take advantage of Ben’s support; she does the same for him.

For all of us romantic feminists out there, Leslie and Ben are a sign of hope that it can happen—there are men out there waiting to help us, support us, surprise us, and make us happy.

Instead of continuing to wax poetic about every minute detail that I loved about “Leslie and Ben,” I’m just going to make a list of my favorite things:

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Title Emergency Response

Two-Sentence Summary A surprise emergency preparedness drill leaves Leslie in lockdown at City Hall on the day she’s supposed to host a gala to raise the money needed to make Pawnee Commons a reality. With Leslie unable to run the show, Ben takes the reins—while Ron becomes a big hit on TV and Andy takes his police exam.

Favorite Line “Love fades. But things? Things are forever.” (Tom)

My Thoughts It’s hard for me to separate how I feel about last night’s episode as a whole from my whirlwind of emotions about the end of the episode and what’s coming next week. Every time I try to think about specific moments in “Emergency Response,” it’s like I can’t hear rational, analytical thoughts over the fangirl voice in my brain screaming, “BEN AND LESLIE ARE GETTING MARRIED NEXT WEEK!”

But because I am nothing if not a professional media analyst (Hey…caps lock is totally professional.), I’m going to try my best to sum up why “Emergency Response” was one of my favorite episodes of Season 5 so far—beyond the beautiful cliffhanger of an ending.

I’m one of those people who believes that Parks and Rec can never be too optimistic. I watch the show because it makes me happy, and the happier I feel while watching an episode, the more I’m going to like it. Nothing makes me happier on Parks and Rec than people coming together to do nice things for one another, so it goes without saying that this episode was one big bundle of joy for me.

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Title Women in Garbage

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie and April attempt to tackle the rampant sexism in the Pawnee government, beginning with the sanitation department. Meanwhile, Tom attempts to learn how to play basketball in order to appeal to his Rent-A-Swag demographic, and Ron attempts to watch Diane’s daughters.

Favorite Line “I LOVE NOTHING!” (Ron)

My Thoughts Although this wasn’t a groundbreaking or standout episode of Parks and Rec, it was still plenty of fun. Leslie’s impassioned feminist side is always something I’m happy to see explored, and it created some great moments of satire in this episode. I’m also always happy to see Ron grow and develop as a character, which he did in a big way. However, these two great storylines made the Tom/Andy/Ben basketball plot feel a little thin. There just wasn’t enough time for it to develop into something as hilarious as it could have been. But, to quote the great Meat Loaf, “Two outta three ain’t bad.”

The way this episode directly tackled sexism in politics was a real treat for a feminist like myself. I loved the parallels between Leslie’s struggles and those of Hillary Clinton as well as the infamous all-male panel debating reproductive rights and Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women.” The writers dealt with these very real issues in a funny but pointed manner. I laughed, but at the same time, I hoped that people were paying attention. It may have been satire, but it’s not too far from the truth.

There were some fantastic details in this storyline: The male councilmen keeping track of Leslie’s menstrual cycle, the man who mistook Chris for a woman because of his beautiful face, April’s very in-character love for garbage, Leslie attempting to sneak up on the refrigerator, and Leslie posing for Google Earth pictures were some of my personal favorites.

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