TV Review: Parks and Recreation 4.13, "Bowling for Votes"

rating: 3.5

Tonight was all about antagonizing relationships. Tom vs. Ron. April vs. Chris. Leslie vs. Derrick (who's Derrick? more on that later). But still even with all of the conflict, Parks and Rec. managed to find a balance with "Bowling for Votes." They always do. Leslie's campaign is gaining some real traction so Ben decides to stage a focus group which allows them to hone in on what they can improve. But of course Leslie obsesses over one's man comment that she is not someone he can see himself "bowling a game with." His name is Derrick, and Leslie aims to prove him wrong. Tom and Ron get in a battle of their own when Tom bowls through his legs and Ron can't process how he is doing so well. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang gathers to try and raise money for her campaign. Jerry offers a simple competition, the winner gets two movie tickets. Chris is ecstatic because he can use them to take out his girlfriend Millicent, who he is planning to move in with. April, seeing somebody happy, is determined to bring him down. One conflict after another bleeds into one another until we can barely tell who is fighting anymore. "Bowling for Votes" was all about laying the cards down and seeing where they fall. After some momentum after Leslie's campaign, they are all coming to a slow realization that they actually have to work with one another. Not just in the Parks department, where they can easily ignore each other, but together towards a common goal. The series has always been based around petty conflict, but it seems as if it was brought to a whole new level this week. At first, I was a little hesitant, because everything seemed to be going uphill (comedy wise) since the mid-season finale. It seemed like any curveball might throw the show in the wrong direction. But I was actually very pleased by the results, an amalgamation of character flaws that sometimes lay dormant, but are always at the forefront. And that's what Leslie's campaign has been all about. She is the everyman embodied, filled with plenty of flaws. When her boyfriend (spoilers here) defends her, and rightfully punches Ben in the face, she is proud. And you know what, she should be. It's hard to tell what the ultimate outcome of the election will be. Either result will push the show in a very interesting direction, and I give the writers too much credit to try and assume one or the other. But no matter what it will give us, as the audience, some much needed perspective on everybody and what they're willing to sacrifice for their fearless leader. Take April, for instance. There have been times when admittedly she has shown a slightly softer side. Her bonding moments with Ron and her visit to the Grand Canyon come to mind. But the only reason we can even stand her character is because at the root of it all she is genuinely good person. When she actually tries to tear somebody down, she just plain can't do it. And then there's Ben. His relationship with Leslie got off to an over-sentimental start, but it's been pretty laid back ever since. I think we all needed to know that he was behind Leslie 100%, and tonight we got the proof.

Leslie has always been the pivot point for the entire show, the grounding for all of the characters. Seeing them all come together on her behalf, even if it means butting heads, is what makes it worth it. Besides, that's where the comedy is. Four seasons in, we have a good sense of who these characters are. Sometimes it's fun to just watch them bounce off one another. We've seen them all come together and we know how powerful that can be. But just as revealing can be the internal strife that runs through every character, and their willingness to put that aside for the good of, well, Leslie. I don't want to be too over the top with my characterizations, and tonight may have been no more than a simple exercise in the clash of the titans. But something Parks and Rec. has down so well, and continues to do, is connect all of the characters in this seemingly random web, only to reveal that they are all unified under the same banner. You can call this Leslie's banner, but really it is the banner of circumstance. Like it or not, they simply cannot escape it. And for my part, it is so fun to see them try.