Parks and Recreation - William Henry Harrison & Leslie and Ron - Review

Once again, this a double dose of Parks, though really, it’s more like one jumbo helping -- yum! So much delicious Parks!

The first episode, “William Henry Harrison,” is typical Parks and Rec. Leslie’s doing her damnedest to beat unbeatable odds, Ron’s being stubborn, and Ben’s going crazy, thanks in no small part to Terry. Leslie and Ron’s enmity is shown in full force as the two scramble to defeat each other with a mean-spirited pigheadedness viewers aren’t used to seeing directed toward one another. As Leslie admittedly grasps at straws to try and find a historic reason to earmark the Newport land, she turns to quantity over quality. Although it seems like a very un-Knope-like thing to do, when the historical personage you’re trying to use as an excuse to get land for free is William Henry Harrison -- you’re going to need to throw everything you’ve got. Ron also turns to flash over substances, choosing to allow Bloosh creater, Annabelle Porter, to partner with Gryzzl -- even though he’s so against flash, he won’t even sign his name in cursive. It’s clear from their behavior, Ron’s especially, that both former friends are really hurt from their falling out a couple years prior. Leslie’s actions aren’t far out of the norm for her; she’s gotten frustrated with Ron before, and often works furiously to oppose any resistance to her plans. But Ron’s determination to undermine and take down Leslie, though, that seems far from the Ron of 2014. But we’ll get to that in a minute. (See: further down)

While Leslie runs around Indiana trying to figure out how to make William Henry Harrison a bit sexier than the embarrassing footnote that he is, April tags along and continues her quest to find her passion. Andy does his earnest best to help her figure out what she might like to do (it doesn’t involve heights or depths), but April feels like the entire exercise is futile. Luckily Andy comes up with a clever idea -- they figure out why she likes the things she does, and then they find something to suit those parameters. The storyline does a really nice job highlighting the real affection between April and Andy, and the reasons they work so well together. Sometimes it seems a bit odd that someone as smart and capable as April would go for someone as dumb as Andy. But then his good-heartedness shines through, and even though his ideas are few and far between, they are so motivated by love and kindness that they can soften even the most sardonic of hearts. Like April mentions, she doesn’t like anything, and Andy loves everything. Well, except for the super boring description of the book about William Henry Harrison. My guess is that perhaps April’s potential future career path will come up in “Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington”? But regardless, I can’t wait to see what will actually appeal to April, now that she’s starting to outgrow her surely teenagerdom -- and only about a decade late.

In completely uninteresting news to mostly everyone in Pawnee, Terry has decided to follow his dreams and become a notary public. What would have been an annoying announcement becomes an annoying couple of days for Ben, as he requires Terry’s services to separately notarize Leslie and Ron’s signatures (or printed name, in Ron’s case), on the same document. In a series of unfortunate events, Ben finds himself stuck in some weird Groundhog Day notary hell, which includes a brilliant Terry jumpcut sequence, as he explains the intricacies of the notary profession/tries to literally bore Ben to death. (By the way, is this Terry’s first jumpcut sequence? If so, way to go, Terry! If not, what are you so forgettable, Terry?! God, you’re the worst!) Ben’s Leslie/Ron-fued-induced frustrations, along with the concerns of the old Parks crew, induces the lot to trap the former “work proximity associates” in the Parks Department together in order to sort out their problems. Which leads us to…

“Leslie and Ron.” Aside from the opening and closing minutes, the episode is exactly as it claims to be -- Leslie and Ron. Nothing like a bottle episode to really break down some feelings. This is like the Parks version of “The Conversation” -- not in format, obviously, but it follows the general idea of paring down the “show” to have a little character study. In a 21-minute space, sometimes it can be hard to get in three stories, and this pullback to one story for the episode really gives it some space to breathe. It’s just like letting the tannins in a wine breathe for a bit before drinking it -- it makes for a better flavor. (Or so I’ve heard. I know exactly nothing about wine). This story has been building since the start of the season, which has given it just enough episodes to become frustrating and sad, without the storyline itself becoming annoying. Not only that, but it’s very realistic. As Leslie and Ron discuss, they’re polar opposites. They had an unlikely friendship from the start, a constant push and pull, and they became friends because Leslie doesn’t let anyone stay just a “work proximity associate.” (Except Terry. Ugh, Terry.) It makes a lot of sense that Ron wouldn’t work particularly hard to stay in touch, and Leslie would be too busy with a bigger job and three baby triplets to do much else. So while the deterioration of their friendship was sad, it wasn’t particularly unexpected.  Luckily, it’s amazing what 10 hours locked in an office can do for two people.

Leslie and Ron start their night fuming in a semi-recognizable Parks Department, their own relationship completely unrecognizable from 2014. These are not the same friends that once stood outside those (replaced) office doors before Leslie’s wedding. They both feel betrayed, and their equally extreme stubbornness prevents either one from admitting their own fault. However, when you’re trapped in an office all night with a former friend and a collection of old documents and mixtapes, what else are you going to do but get to the bottom of the problem? Leslie starts the healing process, probably in large part due to her assumption that she didn’t do anything wrong. After some water torture, post-it note mummification, and a magnificent version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (including the phrase “Peter Piper, pee pee poopy, Daddy ate a squirrel”), Leslie gets Ron to talk for three minutes. And that’s when she finds out that there’s more to the story than him unexpectedly leaving Parks, and building an apartment complex (The Morningstar) where Ann’s house was. Once he’s finally willing to talk, Leslie finds out that Ron left Parks because everyone he had known left, and then she blew him off, albeit accidentally, when he wanted to talk to her about a job. Although it was clear from the flashback scenes during Leslie’s explanation what had mostly likely happened with Ron, watching Leslie’s face fall as she realized her own part in the collapse of their friendship was heartbreaking. Awards to Amy Poehler for some crazy face-part acting in that scene. And to Nick Offerman, because honestly, they are both fantastic in this quiet episode.

Through some plothole (I’ll just assume it was cut for time), Ron and Leslie find boxes of things from the old Parks group, and redecorate the office as it used to be. (Although Craig’s not super happy about the rearranged office -- oh right! And Craig’s in charge of Parks now.) Everything’s back to normal with the old friends -- they sing/play “We Didn’t Start the Fire” together, and then later they go grab a drunk/hungover breakfast-for-lunch at J.J.’s. Because why would anyone ever eat anything besides breakfast food? Probably because people are idiots.

Major props to everyone involved for “Leslie and Ron” -- once again, Parks shows that a sitcom can be funny, AND have loads of heart.

Final Word

“William Henry Harrison” -- “Noooooooo!” (Leslie and Ron)

“Leslie and Ron” -- “People are idiots, Ron.” (Leslie)

What did you think of the episodes? Did “Morningstar” match up with your guesses? How will Ron and Leslie’s recently mended relationship deal with their continuing competition over the Newport land? Let us know below!

About the Author - Kimberly

Kimberly is a big TV nerd - willing to talk any show, any time. Her tastes are various and sundry, but she’s got a soft spot for comedy. She currently writes the SpoilerTV reviews for Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and About a Boy.

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