"These animals should be rewarded for not being people. I hate people."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand …we’re back! And everything is glorious. This is the episode I’ve been waiting for, the one that addresses what the job actually is.
I am fully aware of how silly it is to watch a sitcom while picking on it for not being realistic. But I also think that certain aspects of the story just work better if they are better tied to reality. A central theme of Parks has always been the conflict between this persistently optimistic person and the frustrating realities of local government. The way she keeps her positive outlook in the face of so much cynicism and bureaucracy is one of the things that makes Parks so inspiring. This season the focus has been elsewhere, with Leslie being her usual positive can-do self, but the frustrations of governing largely taking a backseat to other storylines. Which is fine, I’ve been enjoying those other storylines. But it’s not all that inspiring or impressive to hear Leslie make campaign promises consisting of things that everyone wants, but without acknowledging that anything costs anything. It’s much more interesting to see Leslie grapple with what the job would actually be like-while still retaining her innate Leslieness. It’s also a demonstration that Pawnee’s financial limitations weren’t a character flaw of Ben’s that went away when he fell in love with Leslie-Pawnee’s government still has a finite budget, and Ben’s still going to be realistic about that, even while he whole-heartedly believes Leslie’s the right person to make those tough calls. And it’s a nice reminder why we want Leslie to win in the first place, beyond the fact it’s her personal dream-she is hard-working, self-sacrificing, creative, and tenacious, and she cares about doing the right thing. Maybe 98 percent of the time the job will still be frustrating ... but the other 2 percent will be rewarding enough to make it all worth it.
As if that wasn’t enough, we got a wonderful arc for April. I’ve been waiting since Pawnee Zoo for April to get another story where she’s invested in some kind of cause. We saw back then that she does care about some things-just specific things, like gay rights. And animals apparently, because they have the decency not to be people. And her frustrations gave Tom a chance to act like a human being. Tom was dialed just right in this episode-he still had the chance to spout some zany drink names, and we saw his crazy apartment, but he was a good friend to April, and we got a sense of Leslie’s influence on him, and that’s something we’ve been missing for a while.
Stray thoughts:
- Ben worked on Pawnee’s budget until December-how did he not know there were these employees being paid who weren’t doing any work for two years? I would have liked it better if it had been something that had slipped notice in the months since he left, a little wink to the fact that he had value to Pawnee’s government, and something was missed in his absence.
- I should probably try not to think too hard about Pawnee’s budget. Two episodes ago, we had Chris threatening to add another salaried employee to the parks department … even though not all that long ago parks was at risk of losing one or two employees … but then there was apparently enough money to give Leslie an assistant … and now we’re back to parks facing cuts.
- Through discussions on the West Coast thread, I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that Chris’s job is in danger. I was thinking that since it’s legal for him to help on Leslie’s campaign, he shouldn’t be penalized for that … but that’s probably the sort of thinking that got Chris in this jam in the first place. And possibly Bobby Newport would want to replace him with his own guy no matter what.
- Loved the confidence Leslie showed about facing Bobby in the debate.
- There’s so much else to flail about in this episode, between Leslie/Ann friendship times and cuddling and ass grabs and Ron being the best meditator ever and bedhead and Ben reacting to that pig and calling Leslie “my dear,” and West Wing callbacks and Tom with his tiny cup … I need to do actual work now, but just believe me, I’m flailing more than adequately.
- Speaking of work, I don’t understand how I’m expected to work in these circumstances. Parks is back! Doesn't the world understand? It’s Friday now, and I’m in love! With a television show. And listening to The Cure, apparently.