Parks and Recreation - Episode 3.14 - Road Trip - Review

Well Parks fans, we finally made it. The long awaited prophecy has been fulfilled, Ben and Leslie made out. Of course the writers had to drag it out as much as possible we had to wait up until the very end, but I’m not complaining too much, despite the will-they-wont-they tension we still had some fun with the rest of the gang. I don’t think this episode really holds up to the others in terms of laughs, but the resolution of the Leslie/Ben relationship needed to get resolved so that we can move forward with these characters.

Throughout this episode, and particularly the scenes with Ben and Leslie in the car, I felt worried and nervous. Which is all right for watching LOST, but rather out of place for a comedy show.  Assuming Leslie and Ben continue their secret relationship there is always going to be the chance that they might get caught, which to me is going to change the overall dynamic and feel of the show. This might not necessarily be a bad thing, but it is something to think about. Next Thursday night the last two episodes for the season will premiere, so not sure how much time we’ll have to really see these two develop, but regardless I’m looking forward to next week.

I jumped ahead a bit, so let me jump back and give you a brief idea of what happened with Leslie and Ben. Chris assigns Leslie and Ben to go on a road trip to Indianapolis to petition Pawnee to host the Little League championships. Leslie is determined to make sure nothing happens on the trip, so she and Ann hatch a plan that involves loose clothing, the most boring conversation topics possible, and a mix CD that includes mandarin lessons and banjo music. Despite an effort to keep the conversation work related, we’re treated to a slew of some of the most loaded dialogue we’ve seen yet on Parks. A simple conversation about hotel room requirements, and hotels outside of Pawnee, all have a second context. And when Ben says ‘I love a nice towel in my life’, you just know he means Leslie. I mean who loves a towel? I don’t think this was a Hitchhikers Guide reference here. Later after a successful Pawnee pitch, filled with Ben confessing his love of Pawnee-but-really-Leslie, they go to a restaurant where Ben crosses over into more literal dialogue. How could anyone help but smile when Ben says “the town has really nice blonde hair too”? Adorable. Now that the cat is finally out of the bag Leslie freaks out and calls Ann, and when she returns with intentions on kissing Ben, Chris is there to delay things even more. Eventually back in Pawnee they ditch they third wheel that is Chris, and finally end up kissing in City Hall. Awwwww. No wait, ‘Uh Oh’.

Tucked into the drama of Ben and Leslie, (Beslie?), was my favorite moment of the night. In past episodes Leslie has referred to an infamous raccoon infestation and in this episode we were treated to a blast from the past with Perd Hapley in a news clip showing the cute little bandits wreaking havoc.

Rounding out the plot are two smaller stories, one involving Tom that threatens the total bliss that is April and Andy, and another that shows why Ron Fucking Swanson should never be a parent. Both were not entirely necessary and had no effect on the main story whatsoever, but were sill fairly entertaining. In the first, Tom has another crazy get rich quick sheme that involves remaking the Newlywed game show into a show that he hosts along with a CGI puppy called Know Ya Boo. For the rtial run it’s Donna and Jerry versus April and Andy, and Donna and Jerry are winning. By a landslide. April and Andy keep guessing incorrectly, which leads to April de-legitimzing MouseRat, which is essentially a cardinal sin at this point. April then has to seek out Ann’s help to win Andy back, which involves stealing back his guitar and playing with the band in the courtyard. A cute set if events, but it’s hard to believe that April could be so naïve to think that saying MouseRat wasn’t as good as her favorite band, the brilliantly named Neutral Milk Hotel, wouldn’t piss her husband off.

A sweet little girl named Lauren comes into our Parks department to do a report on why government matters. Since everyone else is out, she talks to Ron who proceeds to tell her exactly why government doesn’t matter. This leads to some very funny moments, including one where Ron eats forty-percent of her lunch to explain the concept of taxes. He ends up bonding with the girl, and gives her a landmine. Because it seemed like a good idea at the time? Of course her mother is mad and Ron learned his lesson, but it was hilariously sweet to see him with little Lauren.

Well it’s been a shorter than average season, and I’ll be sad to see it go next week. If it’s any consolation, NBC appears to have learned their lesson and cancelled Outsourced, and now Parks and Rec is scheduled to premiere right on time with the rest of the fall shows, so expect a normal twenty-four episode run next season. As a treat for this review, I leave you with an awesome animated version of Jean Ralphio from season two. Enjoy!

Favorite Quotes:

• “Wow, that was the most sexual tension I’ve ever seen in a conversation about documents.”
• “We could discuss the New Yorker article ‘The History of the Ladder’. We could talk about different dorms at John Hopkins University. And I could read through my Sonicare booklet.”
• “Shut up Jerry, it’s no the Newlywed Game, OK!”
• “It’s an amazing instrument, the banjo.”           
• “Neutral Milk Hotel. What is that?”
• “It’s never too early to learn that the government is a greedy piglet that suckles on a tax payers teat until they have sore chapped nipples. I’m going to need a different metaphor to give this nine year old.”
• “And our seats have cushioning, due to the massive size of our average citizen.”
• “Do you even think that MouseRat is the greatest band in the world, because it’s starting to not feel that way.”
• “Uh oh! Capital Gains tax.”
• “And that Lauren is how FDR ruined this country.”
• “This is a claymore landmine, use it to protect your property.”           
• “You figured out April was trying to trick you! That’s worth a hundred points.”
• “I’m going to go see a man about some porcelain, you know what I mean? I’m not buying cocaine.”
• “He told me that he liked me, and I’m going to go make out with him now, on his face.”
• “The key to a healthy urethra? Radishes.”