Yes, Leslie, you are the complete package.
One of the hardest things for a show to do is deal with its own middle age. After a certain point, any show has said and done just about everything it can and the creators have to handle the fact that what was once fresh and new is now familiar. Loving a show is a lot like loving a person: the initial infatuation inevitably wears off, the honeymoon glow fades, and you stop being able to truly surprise one another, because you already know each other as well as two people can. Do you keep trying harder and harder to rekindle that initial passion until you can’t stand each other anymore? Do you slip into bored routine and eventually drift apart? Or do you take comfort in the familiarity, building something warm and stable and long-lasting?
Parks and Recreation is not a young show any more. Midway through its fifth year, it’s at, or maybe even past, the point when most shows peak and begin their slow decline towards obsolescence – the last great season of The Office was its fifth, for instance. (Although it’s important to note that, unlike The Office, Parks has retained most of its core creative staff.) It’s time for showrunner Michael Schur and company to start deciding what direction the show is going to take in its final years – will it go the way of The Office, throwing in increasingly wacky characters and irrelevant storylines until it’s a near-unrecognizable shell of its former self? Or will it follow the lead of a show like Cheers, settling into a cozy routine that’s reliably entertaining but lacks the electric excitement of its early years?
“Ron and Diane” suggests that the show is trending towards the latter route. In the glorious vein of “Ron and Tammy,” “Ron & Tammy: Part Two” and “Ron & Tammys,” the episode features the misadventures of Ron and his vicious, oversexed second (and third) ex-wife (or sex-wife) Tammy. (Not to be confused with Ron’s vicious, cold-hearted first ex-wife Tammy or his vicious, hard-drinkin’, gun-totin’ mama, Tammy.) Played by Nick Offerman’s real-world wife Megan Mullaly, Tammy Two is one of the show’s best creations, so good that all of her three previous episodes have been stone-cold classics, among the best half-hours the show has produced.
Each of the three previous Tammy episodes have found a way to top the previous ones – “Part Two” by having the Swansons get remarried (and through the incredible sight gag of Ron in dreadlocks and a grungy bathrobe) and “Tammys” by introducing not only Patricia Clarkson’s Tammy One but Paula Pell’s Tammy Zero as well. There’s no place left to escalate to, however, as Ron is in what is probably the happiest and most stable relationship of his life. (At least, there’s no place the show is left to escalate to without having Tammy break up Ron and Diane, which would probably be hilarious but far too dark for a sunny show like Parks and Rec.) So, it marks, for the first time, diminishing returns on the Tammy front. It’s easily the weakest of the Tammy episodes, but, thankfully, it’s still a pretty solid half-hour of television.
The biggest problem is that most of the fun of the Tammy episodes is watching Ron react to his exes’ seduction. Whether it’s transforming into a sex fiend or a neutered wimp who says things like “cool beans,” Ron is the most entertaining part of the episode. But here, Ron resists her advances — the situation is awkward, sure, but lacks the go-for-broke insanity we’ve come to expect. Tammy is a sideshow – a crazy person saying crazy things in the background of the real drama, getting no reaction beyond the occasional eye-roll. It’s telling that the best moment of the storyline is the one time she manages to genuinely fluster Ron while he’s giving his acceptance speech for Best Chair.
The show sticks the landing, however, with an epic Leslie and Tammy face-off. The Tammy episodes work because someone’s willing to match her craziness, and, while she may in many ways be Tammy’s polar opposite, Leslie is also the kind of person who never does anything halfway. When she does something, she does it all the way, and that includes cat-fighting. It helps that Leslie’s always been a bit bonkers, anyway — lovably bonkers, but bonkers nonetheless. So, we end with the two rolling around in a dumpster and nearly making out. Well done, Parks.
The plotline ends sweetly, with Ron alleviating Diane’s jealousy of Leslie and Ron’s intimacy by revealing to her his one great secret passion (beyond artichokes and plums, apparently): Cheesy smooth jazz that makes middle-aged women swoon. The Clark Kent glasses come off, and Ron Swanson is revealed in all his glory as the one and only Duke Silver. While season five has struggled in places, it’s been consistently doing stellar character work, and this episode is no exception, crafting a sweet story about Ron and Leslie’s friendship – which is in many ways the emotional center of the show, much like Jack and Liz’s relationship on 30 Rock – that ends with Ron admitting the two are close (duh) and Leslie realizing that she can’t be his number one gal any longer. The nice, understated emotional arc carries the show even when the humor sags during the second act.
The show is reevaluating some of its key relationships elsewhere, too, with April, Andy, Tom and Donna realizing they’ve been bullying Jerry for years and Chris finally – finally – regaining some semblance of sanity. Neither is the funniest subplot in the world – Chris and Ben’s in particular is practically laugh-free, although I enjoyed Chris hiding the picture when Millicent arrives – but they both make changes the show has desperately needed to make for some time.
Although I was initially excited by the idea of the show tackling mental-health issues and sending Chris to therapy, the arc was massively mishandled and turned Chris into a crazy person who sapped every scene he was in of its energy. So, it’s nice to see him back in a relatively stable place – hopefully we have the old Chris back for good now.
Tidbits:
–The “oh shit we’ve been bullying Jerry!” arc is kind of abbreviated, but it’s something the show has really needed to address for a while now. Plus, there are plenty of great Chris Pratt moments – my favorite is when April fakes labor to get into the party, and Andy appears genuinely concerned she might be pregnant.
–The episode was co-written by comic Megan Amram, who uses her well-demonstrated capacity for anti-humor to great effect in this episode with the horrible awards show puns and Ann’s so-bad-it’s-good attempts at stand-up.
–Speaking of the awards show, I believe the host is the same guy who hosted the beauty pageant back in season two. Apparently there are not a whole lot of entertainers in Pawnee.
–We learn that Ron’s full name is Ronald Ulysses Swanson. Great name, or the greatest name?
–Christie Brinkley makes a cameo as Jerry’s unreasonably attractive wife. Christie Brinkley is not a very good actress.
–Leslie gets Ron two bottles of whiskey – one for Christmas, one as congratulations on the nomination. Also, Diane knows Ron well enough to get him a Lagavulin, neat. I’m gonna go drink some whiskey.
–“I’ve had a Ron Swanson Google alert for seven years, and it finally paid off!”
–“This might be the first time I’ve ever wanted to attend an event.”
–“I just finished making an entry in my dream journal. This time, the spider got caught in my web.”
–“Guys, there’s a buffet in the house. I didn’t even know you could do that!”
–“We took up a collection to pay for your hospital bills after you almost farted yourself to death.”
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