Title New Beginnings

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie returns to the Parks Department and Ben begins his new job as city manager, and they both experience some difficulties adjusting to their roles. Meanwhile, Ann and Chris contemplate how well marriage would fit into their very nontraditional relationship.

Favorite Line “I cannot sit idly by and watch this terrible thing happen. I mean, I can barely sit idly by and watch good things happen!” (Leslie)

My Thoughts Well that was…okay, I guess? Don’t get me wrong; I laughed out loud more than a few times during “New Beginnings” (mainly thanks to Ron and Ben), and I even had my heart sufficiently warmed in the surprising way only Parks and Recreation can (once again, thanks to Ron). However, there was just something off about this episode. “New Beginnings” really felt like the beginning of the end for Parks and Rec, and I was not emotionally prepared to deal with these feelings after a mid-January episode.

When I say “the beginning of the end for Parks and Rec,” I don’t mean in terms of the quality of the show. Did I adore this episode with my usual fervor? Not really. But it was still more entertaining than most of what I see on television, especially comedic television. What I mean is that these last two episodes—this one in particular—seem to be setting the stage for the kinds of huge changes in Leslie’s life that would only work at the end of this show’s run. I know nothing has been announced in terms of the show’s future, but from the time it was stated that Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe were leaving, I couldn’t stop wondering if this would be Parks and Rec’s last season. This new emphasis on Leslie needing to move on to bigger and better things has only intensified that wondering.

“New Beginnings” was an episode all about feeling uncomfortable and the things we do to try to ease that feeling. For Ben, that feeling of discomfort in his new role as city manager made him want to try to fit in with April, Andy, and Donna. For Leslie, feeling uncomfortable and unnecessary back in her old job made her resort to her steamroller, control-freak tendencies. For Chris and Ann, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of marriage (but also with the idea of being unmarried parents) led them to numerous purchases and returns of the same ring. And Jerry tried to ease discomfort caused by choking on a cracker by simply eating another cracker.

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Title Second Chunce

Two-Sentence Summary Leslie’s desire to run for city council again is met with opposition from Ben and her friends, and Ben’s gift for her last day as a city councilwoman helps her see that maybe there are bigger, more fulfilling dreams waiting for her. Tom is also chasing new business dreams with the help of April, Ron, and a very jet-lagged Andy; and Ann and Chris learn the sex of their baby.

Favorite Line “In times of stress or moments of transition, sometimes it can feel like the whole world is closing in on you. When that happens, you should close your eyes, take a deep breath, listen to the people who love you when they give you advice, and remember what really matters.” (Leslie)

My Thoughts Parks and Recreation has aged very gracefully. In 100 episodes, it’s grown from a show about a woman and her job to a show about a woman and the things that are so much more important than her job. It’s grown from a show that felt like the weird kid sister of The Office into a show with its own clear mission statement: Dream big; love bigger. And the way its 100th episode reflected that mission statement as it honored the show’s past and opened up new futures for the characters we love was nothing short of beautiful.

I’ll admit: I haven’t loved this season of Parks and Rec the way I’ve loved other seasons. After the brilliant season premiere, I found most of the other episodes so far to be lacking the warmth and optimism that have come to define this show for me. And I was worried that “Second Chunce” was going to follow that same path until Ben’s gift for Leslie showed up.

My problem with this season so far has been that we’ve had to watch Leslie suffer. We’ve had to watch this character deal with incompetence, ungratefulness, and a whole host of Pawnee citizens who don’t love her the way we all know she deserves to be loved. My favorite season of Parks and Rec—Season Four—was so successful because we were right alongside Leslie in the campaign trenches, rooting for her to win her city council seat not just because we liked her but because we believed she deserved it. But then this season and its recall plot came along, taking away Leslie’s dream job, the dream job we all invested in, too.

However, “Second Chunce” put this whole season into perspective for me in a way I had never considered before: I was supposed to see this recall not as a failure of Leslie’s but as a failure of a group of people who don’t know a good thing when they have it. I was supposed to be mad at the people of Pawnee. I was supposed to believe that Leslie is too good for them. I was supposed to see this eating away at Leslie’s optimism and understand that she deserves more than what she was getting as a city council member. I was supposed to be on Ben’s side when he advised Leslie not to run again because I, as a member of the audience, love Leslie as much as Ben does.

“Second Chunce” was an episode about love, which should surprise no one. It was fitting that the 100th episode of a show that features three unique, solid marriages and one couple blissfully heading into parenthood together would be centered around love—love for your dreams, love for your friends, love for your spouse/partner, and even love for yourself. It took a while to get there, but once this episode hit its stride, it filled my heart with the kind of a joy only Parks and Rec can create.

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