While Ann’s party goes swimmingly, the surprise that Leslie had planned at the end of the night gets scuppered by petty forces within the government. She originally planned on breaking the ground in Lot 48 at the stroke of midnight as a way to finally start things moving on the project that allowed Ann and Leslie to become friends and in the process, also fulfill the pinky promise that she made to her. It’s a sweet gesture, but in typical Pawnee fashion, it gets derailed by other departments with an axe to grind. It’s a deliberately convoluted process made even more so by the time constraints. What it does allow is for some prime Leslie scheming, and there’s nothing I like more than seeing Leslie getting increasingly frazzled, bargaining with increasingly annoyed people to get her own way. Throwing a pregnant – and therefore dangerously untouchable – Ann into the mix meant that not only did Leslie have a confidant, but also a useful bargaining tool and trusted ally when she needed to kick some ass without fear of reprisals. Great stuff.
“Ann and Chris” also gave us the only possible ending that Chris’ story could have had – everybody agreeing on how great he is, and getting him a weirdly thoughtful gift. It was such a lovely gesture for Chris to make buddy boxes for the whole gang for helping him move, and even though he wasn’t that bothered when the guys got him some really terrible gifts (because he’s Chris), it was still nice to see Tom, Ben, Ron, Andy and Jerry try and find something for him, and find something they did – honesty. Proving in the final moment that he really is Chris’ closest friend (something derailed slightly in recent episodes), Ben tells the guys that what Chris would appreciate most is a confession that they feel bad at how terrible their gifts are. Seeing this final confirmation that if Leslie died, Chris is the next person Ben was obviously made for, was also lovely.
So what happens next? I hope some sort of long distance relationship between Ann and Leslie is allowed to continue, because seeing a funny, enviable friendship between two women that didn’t solely revolve around men, on a primetime sitcom, was refreshing and enjoyable. I really, really hope that the loss of Ann doesn’t make Leslie spin off into total villainy – in fact, this episode featured a markedly less villainous Leslie than we’ve seen in previous episodes – and that maybe Ben can step up and be the anchor that Leslie needs to keep her tethered to reality. Ann was an earthy, normal, moderating influence on Leslie and the consequence of that loss will be interesting to see.
Random Robservations:
- I also rank a classic episode of Parks and Recreation by the inclusion of “Pistol” Pete Disellio. Any episode featuring the former high school basketball star usually ranks amongst the best of that season, and his appearance here was as great as ever. I love that he never gets any plot, and that his character is never advanced beyond “high school basketball star trying to shake off that reputation.” That’s his entire trajectory, and I love it. The death of this show is when they start to give him more plot, mark my words.
- Ann’s reaction to Ron’s emotional outpouring was hysterical. As was Ron’s contribution to the bag of nothing – a piece of paper with his own name on it.
- I’m going to have to call this section “Random Ronservations” soon, if I don’t get over my love of Ron Swanson.
- Rob Lowe was born to dance.
See you next week for more Parks and Recreation! More importantly, goodbye Ann and Chris. We hardly knew ye’.
