Last night’s episode was RIVETING. Get it? (I’m the worst.)
I could talk about how “Halloween Surprise” was sort of oddly structured, taking an abrupt turn away from anything Halloween-related to deal with the garage sale at the start of act two. I could talk about how Leslie projecting her issues with Ben onto Ann by offering her up for “sale” at the auction doesn’t make a lot of sense.
But, come on. We all know we just want to talk about the last five minutes.
Before I start, though, let me offer this caveat: I am not a ’shipper. I generally hate will-they-or-won’t-they’s, because 99% of the time the answer is “they will” and the stall tactics writer use to drag out the tension amounts to so much dicking around. So, when shows go for big, emotional finales to drawn-out romantic relationships, I generally roll my eyes rather than tear up. I’m a cynical bastard, I guess.
That being said, I was genuinely excited when Ben unexpectedly showed up and dropped to one knee at the house Leslie had leased for the two of them. There are two reasons this scene managed to get to a skeptic like myself.
One, it was genuinely surprising. Unlike Jim’s proposal to Pam in The Office – which, forgive me, I wasn’t a fan of – it eschewed the seemingly endless foreshadowing to the moment. If you recall, the writers managed to delay the proposal as long as possible while constantly teasing its possibility – the season four finale of The Office prominently featured Jim failing to go through with it – so, when it finally arrived, it felt more like a relief (finally, we can get back to the funny) than an emotional climax. (Although I seem to be in the minority here.) On the other hand, Parks and Rec never even mentioned the possibility of matrimony prior to Ben’s proposal. You knew it had to be coming in the back of your mind, but the Parks writers never had Ben show off the ring in a talking head long before he actually popped the question, as The Office did.
Secondly, they undercut all the gooey romanticism with a joke. There’s no easier way to break through my emotional barriers than to make me laugh and Leslie’s awkward insistence on pausing the proposal did just that. The wide shot of Ben self-consciously looking around the room while Leslie gathers herself was another great example of how great Adam Scott is at unsuccessfully trying to look casual.
Plus, the episode does a wonderful job of building up to that moment – and it does so without tipping its hat to the fact that that’s what it’s doing. Ben’s congressional campaign is drawing to a close (Robo-Congressman is cruising to an easy victory after outspending his opponent! Hooray?) and he and April are preparing to head back to Pawnee when Jen Barkley offers Ben the chance to run a Florida millionaire’s gubernatorial campaign.
In one sense, it’s a great opportunity. It means Ben will climb even higher in the ranks of D.C. politicos, leading to even more job opportunities and more insider prestige. On the other hand, it means delaying his reunion with Leslie for who knows how long. Plus, the guy is hardly an ideal candidate. We don’t know a lot about his political experience or ideology, but a guy who luxuriates in all-white suits on his yacht – which he named Class Action, to boot – probably isn’t going to end up being the next Abraham Lincoln.
Taking Barkley’s offer will all but guarantee Ben’s wildest dreams of success will come true, but the show slyly indicates that it would be an empty, unfulfilling kind of success. Given how talented Ben is, he can probably climb as high up the political ladder as he wants, but that means straining his relationship with Leslie, possibly to the point of breaking. What’s more, it means using his considerable skills to elevate the undeserving and unskilled to the upper echelons of power. By having Ben, in essence, choose between a minor but capable stateswoman (Leslie) and a rich ambulance-chaser, Parks and Rec is quietly contrasting two views of American politics: One led by smart idealists willing to put the common good ahead of their own and one where elections go to those with the deepest pockets and electoral successes are valued over affecting real and lasting change.
As expected, Ben makes the right choice, but it understandably takes him some time to do so, leaving Leslie agonized in the meantime. She attempts to distract herself by spooking Jerry with Ann, but this just leads to a “fart attack,” a wondrous turn of phrase describing the combination of minor cardiac event and major flatulence Jerry experiences. In a pretty obvious display of psychological projection, Leslie decides that Jerry’s future depends on her paying his medical bills – “What kind of future do these characters want?” is the thematic thread running through all of the episode’s subplots – so she throws a massive garage sale/auction for “Jerry’s Kids’ Dad” (as the banners say). This plotline seems largely irrelevant, but it’s funny enough to justify the time it eats up – it ends with Leslie attempting to auction Ann off to a dude with a handlebar mustache and a ton of tattoos, after all.
Meanwhile, off in B-plot land, Ron is having trouble with new beau Diane. Frankly, he’s a bad boyfriend and a worse babysitter. He doesn’t have the first clue how to deal with two young children (three, if you count Andy, which you really probably should) and his incompetence eventually leaves both girls crying and Diane furious after he breaks the tiaras that go with their princess Halloween costumes. What’s more, he can’t even bring himself to apologize to Diane – the most he can muster is a condescending “You look nice today” – and, when she storms off in a justifiable huff, he shrugs and says, “Oh well, relationship over.”
Ron has been kind of a dick before – see his disagreement with Mark over the “Swanson code” versus municipal safety codes in season two, or his catastrophic barbeque in this season’s premiere – but rarely so blatantly as here. Not only does he mistreat someone who genuinely cares about him – not to mention her two children – he doesn’t even seem to realize he’s done something wrong. This season seems to be intent on exploring just how myopic Ron’s individualism can make him – and, hopefully, pointing a way forward for him with Diane. By the end of the episode, Ron does what’s right and shows up at Diane’s house to apologize and offer a romantic gift of flowers, chocolates and grout cleaner. (This is Ron, after all.) His admission that he’s been alone by choice but would like to learn how to be around people is a genuinely affecting moment, even if it’s understandably overshadowed by the game-changing scene it precedes.
So, yes, Ben and Leslie are engaged. And Ron’s relationship with Diane seems to be headed for safer waters. And April and Andy have been reunited. How can you not love this show?
Tidbits:
–I talked a lot about the emotional and character beats in this episode, but it’s worth noting that it’s really funny, too. I don’t know if I’ve laughed at any episode as much this year – well, okay, “Sex Education” probably tops it. This is a really fantastic episode, all told.
–I’m really, really glad Ben and April are back in Pawnee. It’s going to be fun watching them interact with everyone else again.
–Turns out the writers haven’t forgotten about Chris’ psychotherapy and Andy’s police training. They at least get passing mention and a few great gags in “Halloween Surprise.”
–Diane still isn’t a very funny character, but she’s growing on me. She’s a good fit for Ron, but she also won’t take any of his shit, so she could spur some much-needed growth on her part. Plus, forcing Ron to interact with her children is more than funny enough to compensate for the lack of comic material the writers throw Lawless’ way.
–Retta, who plays Donna, is also known for her live-tweeting.
–Chris dresses up as his greatest fear for Halloween, which appears to be old age.
–Jerry’s fart attack was probably the best televised fart joke since the season two premiere of Louie. Yes, these are the kinds of things I care about.
–Also, the doctor – whatever his name is – is one of my favorite tertiary characters on the show. More of him, writers!
–In addition to Chris, Andy and Tom, Ann as an ex-boyfriend box for a “Rob” that contains a lacrosse stick and a weird stuffed monkey. I want to know more.
–“Correct. Like all the houses in the world, there’s no trampoline room.” But it does have LMFAO.
–“In the fifth one, the canoe’s actually the hero. It’s a crazy twist.”
–“The manual says I have to work on my observational skills, so: Tree, leaves, night, sky, hand…Andy’s hand. What else ya got?”
–“Jeez, did a dinosaur just fart?”
–“Seriously, Jerry, did you eat farts for lunch?”
–“7:34 PM: Man dressed as a nerd. Female dressed as a crazy witch.” “Neither of us is in costume.” “Case closed. Candy, please.”
–“One time I sprained my wrist and the insurance claimed that having a wrist was a pre-existing condition.”
–“I was gonna get a chicken parm and watch Blade Runner. Oh, were you talking about, like, job-wise?” Ben is the best.
–“If the kids ever wanted to come over to my place, I’d have to take a whole week off work just to undo the alarms and tripwires.”
–“The Thing About Me Is: I’m Perd Hapley”
–“That was my first high-profile case, a classic Florida divorce. Guy cheats on his wife with Dan Marino’s masseuse, one day she cuts his junk off and throws it in the Everglades. Damn alligator ate it.”
–“Three out of four married couples have met each other at spontaneous auctions.”
–“My cousin’s got a kickass mud pit in his yard, so you could watch me do belly flops. Then maybe we could get some Thai food and take a nitrus and see what happens.” Yum, Thai food.
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