Parks and Recreation: Lucky

Before we start, sorry I missed last weeks post. I really liked the episode, but I got really busy. This happens from time to time. Anyways, let's get started.

What Happened, Yo!:

-Leslie has landed an interview with Buddy Wood, a bigshot Indianopolis journalist who could really help her campaign. She and Ben consider this a lucky break, but a more major story winds up getting her interview cancelled. Sad about this, Leslie, Tom, and Ann go out drinking, despite advice from Ben (Who they've been noticing has been less fun due to campaign stress) advising that they go home and get to sleep. But Buddy's plane gets delayed and the interview is back on, which would be great is Leslie wasn't drunk. Trying to hide this, she, Tom, and Ann all race to Pawnee's poor-quality airport in the hot tub limo, which Tom still has rented out for a few more hours. The interview commences, and Leslie tries to hide her drunkeness, but finds herself frustrated when Buddy keeps bashing the town and insists on painting the picture that Pawnee's best days are behind it. When Buddy insists on talking about her relationship with Ben, Leslie refuses and starts to tell him off when she gives away that she's drunk. Buddy is excited about this, and won't listen to Leslie asking that he not air the tape. To attempt to save the campaign, Leslie, Ben, Ann, and Tom take the hot tub limo to Indianopolis only to find that Buddy doesn't have the tape because the airport 'lost' his bag. Fun Ben returns and he and Leslie agree that they've probably used up the rest of their luck. It's revealed that the airport security staff, who all know Leslie and know how much she's trying to help them out, took the bag on purpose to help out Leslie, although Leslie doesn't know this.

-Meanwhile, Andy is preparing for his final exam in his Women's Study course with help from April and Ron. He gets a P (He was taking the course on a Pass/Fail) and is happy (Though he wanted a P Plus, which doesn't exist) and invites his professor out for drinks with him, April, and Ron. The professor agrees. While they're out, April notices Chris sitting by himself and invites him over, hoping to pair him up with the Women's Study professor because of how lonely he's been. They seem to hit it off, but when he asks if he can see her again, she tells him she's just gotten out of a relationship and can't at the moment. Chris leaves and the professor makes an advance on Ron (who's been pretty much ignoring the professor the whole night) who proceeds to sleep with her. April and Andy get Ron to tell Chris what he did before Chris gets hurt again using advice Ron gave to Andy earlier to convince him to do it. Ron tells Chris and Chris is glad that Ron told him (Though he does hug Ron because of how lonely he is).

-Also meanwhile, Jerry gets really into his job of stuffing envelopes and seems so good at it, Donna breaks off her evening plans just to watch him be competent. This is all for naught though, when Jerry realizes he was stuffing the wrong envelopes the whole night, but he takes it in stride and prepares to do the whole thing over again.

I Liked This: Lucky was another strong episode of Parks and Recreation (and one written by Ron Swanson himself, Nick Offerman). The idea of Leslie having to do a major interview while intoxicated is a funny one and it was handled well. Buddy Wood was a fun character and his constant disgust at Pawnee was pretty funny. And even though I knew that the airport people were probably going to take the tape, it was still an effective scene, showing how much some of the people in Pawnee really respect Leslie, which could be a big boost for her in the campaign. I also liked how Tom and Ann were handled here, and playing this relationship for comedy is definitely the right move to take it. We have enough serious relationships on the show and Tom and Ann having a not-so-serious relationship is a refreshing angle. Plus the Hot Tub Limo returned! As for the other stuff, I'm glad that the fact that Andy was taking a Women's Studies course was not forgotten and the whole storyline was funny. This season of Parks has also been building a stealth arc of sorts, where April is becoming more and more caring about the people around her and it was nice to see her help out Chris. I'm also glad that Ron dressing as Tiger Woods whenever he has sex made a return here. And Jerry's story was mainly an extended build-up to a Jerry joke, but the joke was a great one, as was his optimistic attitude, despite having to redo the whole job.

But...: The whole "Fun Ben has disappeared" thing felt tacked on to provide more of an emotional arc than what was there.

The Bottom Line: Parks and Rec is going away for a few weeks to help accommodate the return of Community, but it left us with a very strong episode to keep the momentum going before it returned.

Grade: 85% (Great)

Memorable Moments

-Ben pretending to be Buddy Wood: "Ms. Knope, what is going to be your first major public works project?" Leslie: "Oh, I don't know, but I bet these pants will work for the public."

-Andy: "Usually, tests scare me, but this is an oral exam. Uh…and if there’s one thing I know is…my fantastic.. it’s talk."

-Tom: "Ann and I have the occasional rough patch in our relationship, but right now, we're really in a groove. We're going thirty hours without breaking up. Our personal best is 47 hours. It happened when she was out of town for two days.. and she forgot we were dating."

-Tom: “Ooh, that is great news. And, you know, we might even be able to make it back in time for boring club. Do you know who the president of boring club is?” Ben: “Me?” Tom: “No. You lost the election because your speech was too boring.”

-Andy: "I would say, what I find very cool about Susan B. Anthony is.. how... she was born in.. Adams, Massachusetts.. in 1820. You know, just one man's opinion."

-Andy: “I passed! I got a ‘P!’” April: “Congrats, babe.” Andy: “I was hoping for a P-Plus but that does not exist. Right?” Professor London: "Right." Andy: "Yes, so, basically best grade in the class. Tied for best grade in the class."

-Leslie on dating a serious Ben: “It’s like dealing with a strict mother, who I am confusingly attracted to. Ben’s like a MILF.”

-Leslie: "Hello, Lady Knope- heh, I mean Leslie Knope."

-April: "Is that Chris?" Andy: "That really looks like him. But there's no way to tell for sure. We should jsut ask him tomorrow."

-Chris: "I'm engrossed in this book. It's the true story of a woman born with no arms and no legs who attempted to swim the English Channel". April: "That's impossible". Chris: "Oh, she drowned immediately. It's kind of a sad story."

-Andy on Chris and Professor London: “If they got together, they would make the most beautiful super baby. It would rule us all. But what if super baby became too powerful?” April: "Guess we're just going to have to take that chance."

-Andy: "And Professor, I'm taking your class again next semester and I'm going to lock in that P Plus." Professor London: "It's impossible." Andy: "You and the women taught me that nothing is impossible."

-Ben: "I guess we'll just set fire to the studio or something". Leslie: "Oh that's so sweet, I've never had a boyfriend willing to commit arson for me before". Donna: "It gets old."

-Andy uses Ron's own advice against him: "Uh, you know Ron, someone once told me that this is not how grown-ups deal with tough situations. We face them head-on." Ron: "Ugggh, fine." Andy: "Oh my God, Ron! It was you who told me that. That's crazy."