Parks and Recreation – “William Henry Harrison” / “Leslie and Ron”

Season Seven, Episode Three & Four

Grade: A

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We all knew that Leslie and Ron would settle their differences, because this is Parks and Recreation and the show is significantly better when they’re working on the same side. It has always been a great odd couple of sorts with Leslie pushing all the time to build up Pawnee with Ron frowning alongside her at the thriving government. But there were holes that we just couldn’t understand because of the three-year time gap. Why were Leslie and Ron so mad at each other? And what the hell is this Morningstar project they keep referring to?

I don’t know if these two episodes were specifically paired up, but it certainly seems like it because it was set up and executed perfectly. The first half hour of “William Henry Harrison” increased the tension between Ron and Leslie. While Leslie desperately searched for any historical significance to build a national park, Ron and his team searched for the face of their campaign, which went to the ridiculous Annabel Porter. I thoroughly enjoyed the beef milk that sells for $60 a gallon, mainly because of Ron’s reaction.

I also loved how Ben and Terry were bouncing back and forth between Ron and Leslie, trying to sort out the paperwork needed. But all of this was leading up to the point when everyone who used to work for Ron and Leslie realized they needed to have them figure out and settle their differences. So they locked them inside of the old offices and told them they would return at 8 a.m., which was 12 hours later. At first, Leslie and Ron were furious, but slowly they started to reason with one another.

That wasn’t accomplished without some hilarious moments. As Ron swore to never talk to Leslie, she bombarded with him ways of annoying him until he agreed to talk. This included my favorite scene of Leslie singing “We Didn’t Start the Fire” with terrible, incorrect lyrics. Finally, Ron cracked down and we got our first reveal of what Morningstar was. But more importantly, Ron and Leslie were able to get to the bottom of why they were enemies.

The reason why Ron left the department was because he decided to ask Leslie for a job with the federal government, but was stood up when she had to fly out to Washington D.C. last minute. He then joined the company that was responsible for building the Morningstar apartments right over where Ann Perkins’ house was. Seeing Poehler and Offerman almost entirely alone during the second episode was a thing of beauty. They made us laugh and they made us cry when they finally forgave each other and became friends again. What a fantastic episode this was.

Moving forward, I’m glad that Ron and Leslie settled their differences because maybe now they can jump on the same side and try to get this national park built. They have quite an uphill battle to fight, but if they have the whole crew, then it’ll be a great way to end the show.

Parks and Recreation – “2017” / “Ron and Jammy”

Season Seven, Episodes One/Two

Grade: B+

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The premiere to the final season of Parks and Recreation aired last night and even though it continued with its three year jump, everyone is practically the same (or at least trying to go back to being the same). So what kind of mission is Leslie going to have her eye on for the final season? The land that Newport owns is being sold and she desperately wants to turn that into a national park. Sounds good right? The problem that stands in her way is Ron Swanson.

Ron, along with Tom and Donna, have sided with Gryzzl’s bid to build a new campus on Newport’s land and they’re willing to pay $90 million for it. But also in the running is Leslie, who successfully explained how building the Newport National Park will make the name live on for generations to come. It’s a great conflict between money and legend, but I have to say that unless Leslie gets her old team back on her side, then she doesn’t stand a chance. That being said, is there really a doubt in your mind that Leslie won’t eventually get her team back? And is there a doubt that she’ll get that national park built? That takes away from a lot of the plot, but hey this is Parks and Recreation and no matter how predictable it can be, it’s still highly entertaining because no one’s watching it for the drama.

Meanwhile during “Ron and Jammy” we find out that Jam and Tammy are hooking up, and naturally Tammy’s turning Jam into a version of Ron by dressing him up, grooming him a mustache, and force feeding him steak and whiskey. Why should we be interested in Jam? Because he’s the deciding vote on what the council will decide to do with Newport’s land. But to be fair, it was fun watching Jam suffer under the talons of Tammy for most of the episode. Leslie is too kind because I would’ve let him suffer longer, but her kindness did start because she wanted his vote.

As the episode went on, Ron and Leslie teamed up to rid Tammy of Jam’s life, not because they wanted his vote but because it was the right thing to do. It was great seeing Ron and Leslie on the same side, but they resumed their feud once Jam returned to his old self again. Meanwhile, Tom’s an arrogant mogul who is craving a companion and Andy and April are concerned that they’ve discarded their nonchalant, care-free ways and are now a lame married couple who plans their weeks.

What these first two episodes did well was establish where the characters are now and what they want to change about them. It gives us these short story-arcs while Leslie and Ron duke it out some more before they eventually side together and take down the Newport project and build the national park! And then they all live happily ever after! Okay I’m getting ahead of myself.