rating: 3.5
Tender with a hint of ridiculous, just the way I like it.
Parks and Rec. always manages to draw me in with this formula. With the curveball that the series threw at us last week, I wouldn't expect any less from this episode. And sure enough, that's what we got. For those of you with hazy short term memories, last week put a definitive stop to the will they, won't they dance that has been going on all season. Leslie declares her love for Ben, seals it with a kiss, and then they both walk off into the sunset, etc. But c'mon. Ben and Leslie have been so fearful of taking that (painfully) obvious step that there had to be some fallout. And there is. Leslie is put on trial by Chris for questionable ethics and general governmental sexcapades. This was by and large the focus of the episode. Rather then splinter off into pairings, as the show so often does, Ben and Leslie were put at the heart of the show. Come to think off it, Ben was barely even there. It was actually pretty Leslie-centric. Which I, for one, love to see. Taking the fairly classic bottle episode approach, Leslie was forced to confront the realities of her situation all on her own. If there was ever a true test of love, then this has to be it. And Leslie passed with flying colors. When the episode begins, she is calm and collected, ready to accept her profoundly minor slap on the wrist. That is, until some real accusations are thrown her way at which the point the overbearing, neurotic and entirely too strong willed Leslie bursts out. Determined to fight, Leslie counters each accusation made against her, one by one.
Well, until that pesky maintenance guy shows up. Remember last season, when Leslie gave some guy a gift certificate to shut him up about her love affair? Yea, neither did I. But he comes back with a vengeance and blows the lid on the whole thing. And that's actually where the show kind of lost me a little. As sweet as Ben's "sacrifice" at the end was, it felt too much like a cop out to me. A way to make everything nice and neat without anything too serious actually happening and no lives really being changed all that much. I certainly didn't want Leslie getting fired, we all know what an awful experience that was for
The Office, but I would have liked a little something for my troubles. It's not even just the severity (or lack thereof) of the ultimate punishment that bothered me, it was the general set-up. Ben kept emphasizing that loosing his job was no big deal and that it was probably going to happen anyway. So when he did, it all felt like a cheap, self-fulfilling prophecy. Not to mention the touching exchange Ron has with Leslie, where he confirms that she is a good person, and strong enough to stand up for her convictions. Ron stands proudly next to Leslie and explains to her that good and bad are not necessarily black and white concepts, but a good person is willing to fess up and accept what's coming to her. And you know what? Leslie is that strong, and when pushed she's a genuinely good person, so she follows Ron's advice. And then,
nothing happens. I know, I know that was the whole point, that because she was a good person everything turned out generally okay. But she wasn't actually forced to confront anything. And what does that say about Ben? Nice guys finish last? It just felt a little like a lazy cleanup at the end there. If it weren't such a heartwarming premise the ends might have ruined the means. But as usual, the show pulled at my heartstrings. Isolating Ben and Leslie was a potentially risky move, but very worthwhile. Walled off from Ben, Leslie, and all of us watching along, were unable to deduce what was happening out in the real world. So when Leslie finally confessed and put her relationship with Ben over herself, it was truly touching. And Ben did exactly the same thing. That level of commitment says more about their love then cheesy words read from a transcript ever could. So, it was a cute episode is what I'm trying to say. We laughed, we cried (you cried right?) and