Leslie Knope
“Leslie and Ben” was written as a potential series finale, a measure to ensure that, regardless of whether NBC – which currently has an overabundance of low-rated comedies – decides to extend or ax Parks and Recreation, the show will get the send-off it deserves. It’s an episode that attempts to summarize the entirety of the show and its characters, an ode to everything and everyone that made watching it so great – and, miracles of miracles, it succeeds.
“Correspondent’s Lunch” is…well, it’s not that. It’s a small episode, about as low-stakes as half-hours come, but, in a way, it serves as just as effective a tribute to the show (which, hopefully, we’ll have around for a couple more years) by showing just how much showrunner Michael Schur and company are able to do with even a minor, non-event story.
But, first, back to “Leslie and Ben.” It’s a great episode – but it’s also an episode that is trying very, very hard to be great, and it shows. It’s among the most moving and well-observed episodes the show has ever produced, but it’s also both a wedding episode and a would-be series finale; the point is, you have to check your cynicism at the door, because “Ben and Leslie” goes all-in with the sentimentality. Opera, candles, fights, tears, songs, dresses made out of legislation – the writers hold nothing back, using every last trick in the tear-jerker handbook.
Of course, Parks and Rec has always worn its heart on its sleeve. Much like its sister program The Office, it has never shied from pathos and big, romantic moments. “Leslie and Ben” works tremendously well on that front – anyone who cries easily is advised to keep a box of Kleenex on-hand.
While there’s plenty of romantic Benslie action – including, in a moment that will either make you swoon, weep, or roll your eyes, black-and-white flashbacks as they recite their vows – the episode (smartly) is as much a tribute to the other members of the Parks Department as it is the grand climax to Ben and Leslie’s romance. Every character, even Jerry, gets a nice moment that both defines and pays tribute to their role in the show: Tom writing a long, Hitch-based introduction that he drops in favor of speaking from the heart; Jerry’s abandoned attempts to deliver Tom’s intro; Ron walking Leslie down the aisle and opening a can of whoop-ass on Councilman Jamm; Chris and April comforting a despondent Andy; Ann realizing that Chris is, in fact, quite “paternal.” And so on. Each lead gets a chance to shine and remind us why we’ve come to love them. It’s a fittingly democratic way to structure Leslie Knope’s wedding episode.
The episode also serves to resolve the plot thread that has been the spine of the show since day one: The Pit. With the gala complete and her fundraising goal met, Leslie finally, finally has the funding necessary to move forward on the Pawnee Commons. It’s a reminder of how far she and the show have come since the pilot. She was once a shrill, poor man’s Michael Scott, the center of a grim show with rough edges and little heart. She, and Parks and Rec, have grown into warm, optimistic maturity. The Pit is filled, The Lot is destined to become The Park, Jamm is disgraced and Councilwoman Knope has settled down with the man she loves.
So, the obvious question is, where do we go now? Will Parks and Rec, like The Office before it, slowly slide into obsolescence after its wedding episode? “Correspondent’s Lunch,” the second half of last night’s double-header, sees the show settling right back into its old groove. Leslie and Ben have returned from their honeymoon and settled back into their old routine by the end of the cold open. Just like that, we’re back to daily life in Pawnee.
The episode centers around the Pawnee Correspondent’s Lunch, a White House Correspondent’s Dinner-esque event in which politicians and reporters roast each other while enjoying a free meal. The twist is, the representative of The Pawnee Sun, the local tabloid, somehow obtained a copy of Leslie’s jokes and delivered them herself.
It’s a low-key episode without much dramatic heft – although it turns out Leslie’s email was hacked, the worst that comes of it is a flustered roast performance from Leslie – which is a welcome step down from the emotional roller coaster of “Leslie and Ben.” Parks does the big finale moments well, but it’s equally skilled with the off-week episodes such as “Correspondent’s Dinner” that are driven by hijinx and Perd Hapley quotes more than melodrama.
Together, “Leslie and Ben” and “Correspondent’s Lunch” show the full range of Parks and Recreation, from big, emotive showcases that draw from years of storytelling to small little satires. Here’s hoping for another year of both.
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