Up until this episode, Leslie Knope had been elevated to near mythic status. A real life wonder woman, she single handedly did the work of ten people and usually succeeded with flying colors, the occasional historic gazebo aside. So naturally the Harvest Festival, curse be damned, was going to be another amazing achievement, because, well, that’s Leslie Knope. Of course you can’t elevate someone to such great heights and not expect a tumble, and tonight Leslie crashes hard.
Overall this episode was great for character development, as it primarily took the forefront while the plot set up a few conflicts then faded out nicely. Basking in post-Harvest Festival praise, Leslie and company have a blessing that turns out to be a problem. Their last idea was so successful, that the City Manager now wants some more amazing Knope ideas. Leslie decides to have a think tank camping retreat so that they put their heads together and figure out the next big idea to help Pawnee.
Before we get in to the nuts and bolts of things, I just want to make a note of the cold open and it’s implications for this and future episodes. The City Manager, in the midst of giving a speech thanking Leslie, has a heart attack and in the funniest non-funny moment ever grabs on to Leslie’s breast for support. There’s been succession talks in past episodes, with both Leslie and Ron wanting to become City Manager, and with a nice hint at his ailing health there leaves a window of opportunity for either of them to step up, and then of course change the dynamic of the gang. Currently though Chris comes back from Indianapolis to temporarily fill in, which of course leads to problems with poor poor poor Ann.
So let’s start there. Now that Ann is single her and Leslie spend more time together, which is a nice call back to earlier seasons. You don’t see a ton of nice genuine female friendships on TV, there seems to be more women fighting because of course drama sells. Despite her short tryst with the Jersey Shore rip off, Ann is still not over Chris, so Leslie suggests that Ann come along with them on their camping trip. But the bionic man decides to stop by their campsite during his nighttime run. Not sure if that guy ever sleeps. So Chris and Ann have another heart to bionic heart, and in what I hope is the greatest recurring joke ever, Ann thinks Chris wants to get back together. Damn that positivity and constant smile! Prepare to see Ann sink even further next week?
DJ ROOMBA IN THE HOUSE! Or should I say the jumbo luxury SkyMall tent. I am ashamed to say that I have considered buying a roomba just to make a DJ Roomba, oh and to terrorize my cats. Back on track though, it looks like Tom got him fixed because our favorite floor-cleaning music-blasting robot is back, along with a ton of other crap that Tom bought from SkyMall for the camping trip. All completely useless and unnecessary, as is everything in the SkyMall catalogue. Apparently Tom is the kind of person that can’t live in the woods unless it has an ice cream maker, massage chair, and of course the pop-up porta-potty. Did I mention a big screen TV too? This is kind of pathetic to our other group of rugged Pawnee residents, except to outsider Ben who didn’t bother to buy a tent. They soon join forces, and as Ben says while holding an iPad and sitting in the leather massage chair, “Camping Rules!” These two are mirror opposites of each other, yet the characters work so well together. I could see them becoming best friends, which would work well as they both don’t seem to have any.
Andy tries to impress April to get her to love camping by setting up an adorable love tent, complete with star shaped lights and rose petals, but of course screws up and is at the wrong campsite. Andy then begins an epic trek through the Indiana woods until he finds April. I’m not entirely sure what this storyline proves, other than that April likes to whine a lot about the woods, there is quite a selection of her quotes below, and that Andy is far more devoted to April than she will ever be to him. Not that we’re meant to take it that way of course, Andy is just a sweet guy who would go the extra mile for his girl.
Which brings us to the crux of the story, Leslie and her fear of peaking and the subsequent downfall. Leslie can sometimes come off as ‘too-perfect’, so this very real and very normal fear of not being able to live up to herself is a great turn for the character. We’re not used to seeing this Leslie; no plan, no back-up plan, no confidence whatsoever. It’s refreshing, but of course she wouldn’t be Leslie Knope unless it all worked out in the end. Until then though she lies and tells her coworkers that she has an awesome idea but wants to give them a chance first, in a thinly veiled attempt to solve the problem. Eventually the rest of the gang finds out, and the myth of Leslie shatters into a million pieces. Disenchanted, they all decide to leave, until they find out that Tom had been sucking power from the van to keep the Thunderdome running, along with all the crap that was in it. Forced to walk, the gang ends up at a creepy bed and breakfast run by an old lady with far too many cats. And that’s saying something, because I generally don’t think that you can have enough cats.
After a good night’s sleep, thanks to Ron locking her in a bedroom, Leslie returns fully charged with multiple bright ideas and hopefully back to the more steadfast Knope we’re used to. Overall this was another amazing Parks episode, and judging by my list below, it had a ton of hilarious quotes, I even had to leave a few off. The last scene was by far one of my favorites in the series, with the old lady playing the piano, the cavalcade of cats, Jerry happily listening to the music while stroking a cat, and a horrified Ben trying desperately to leave. This is easily the most consistently funny show on TV, and I think deserves to be names one of the greatest comedies of all time. My biggest fear is of an early demise, similar to Arrested Development, because of low ratings. So keep watching please, and tell your friends! The show has already been renewed for a fourth season, so we can breathe easy, assuming the show doesn’t get bumped again for a mid-season run like this season.
Again, sorry for the slightly delayed post! As much as I would love to have a job that entailed sitting around all day, watching my favorite TV shows, and then writing about them, that’s just not happening for me right now. Although I have to thank SpoilerTV for letting me write up my thoughts here, late as they are. SpoilerTV, supporting reviews by fans for fans!
- “That was… the second most awkward way a man has ever grabbed my breast.”
- “We only have one chance to make a second impression.”
- “What portion of this camping trip will take place outside?”
- “No Tom don’t! Her boob kills!”
- “His identity was stolen! Tell her about the accounts!”
- “Camping sucks. It’s super boring. And you can see the stars, which I hate. They’re creepy.”
- “I relish your wit.”
- “Fishing relaxes me. It’s like Yoga, except I still get to kill something.”
- “It’s called the ground when it’s outside.”
- “Oh, I know this one. They are all rap-ists.”
- “Poodles only. No pooping.”
- “The air is too fresh. It’s disgusting, I can’t breathe. And there’s a brook somewhere that won’t stop babbling. Shut up!”
- “I married Alf and we’re pretty happy.”
- “Andy you have to save me. I’m camping with people I work with.”
- “You know I was twenty-four, when Gail took my virginity.”
- “Let’s say we just stand here. In silence. And think of ideas. For projects.”
- “And then my hand accidentally went into the Panini press!”
- “We have nothing to eat. Jerry scared all the fish away with his loud, personal stories!”
- “Nooo! I was TiVoing Cupcake Wars!”
- “What the fuck is a German Muffin?”
- “I found you! And I had to fight a squirrel!”
- “My room is filled with cat hair, cat smell. And actual cats. Roughly twelve cats.”
