So, NBC’s promo department blew it and mistakenly gave away Andy and April’s surprise wedding two months ago in a quick ad for the network’s website following the episode “Ron and Tammy: Part Two.†Parks co-creator and showrunner Michael Schur made this statement about the mix-up, posted by TV critic extraordinaire Alan Sepinwall:
“The promo that aired after ‘Ron and Tammy Part 2,’ … was a simple human error on the part of some very apologetic NBC employees. In an effort to undo the spoiler, we publicly stated, in a number of interviews, that NBC had just accidentally gotten the character names wrong, and that there was no upcoming Andy-April wedding. We sincerely hope that fans of the show are cool with us gently lying to them, in an effort to maintain the surprise nuptials as much as we could. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to go shoot the season finale surprise Jerry-Donna wedding scene.â€
I’ve gotta say, I totally bought into the white lie about the character names being wrong back when that promo aired, and I respect the decision to mislead us fans a little to try to preserve the big surprise. Part of the reason it worked for me was that April and Andy getting married was so unexpected. I mean, they’ve only been dating for a month, according to last night’s episode. It is awfully soon for them. I’d forgotten all about that promo until I saw April in her wedding dress in that kitchen scene and the wheels started spinning. I began to suspect we had been lied to, and Andy and April confirmed my suspicions seconds later. Even if my surprise was diminished a little bit, this definitely wasn’t what I was expecting out of last night’s episode.
With a large cast full of so many amazing characters, April often gets pushed to the sidelines. Most of the April-centric plotlines this season have focused more on Andy’s pursuit of her, whether it be him trying to go out with her in the first place or trudging through the forest to find where she and the rest of the staff are camping. So, it’s nice to see April front and center here. Plowing into this marriage so prematurely fits into her ambivalence towards her life, but it also seems like Andy’s the one thing she genuinely cares for. They’re really cute together, and it’s strange and endearing seeing April actually show emotion. More surprising than the wedding itself was how sweet a moment it was, not just for the two newlyweds, but for Leslie, as well.
The wedding was a great opportunity to bring together not only the impeccable central cast, but also some of the show’s hilarious recurring characters — some of whom had been sadly missing so far this season. In his much-needed return, Jean-Ralphio suggests Tom use a line from a Vince Vaughn movie to woo the ladies. “Swingers or Crashers?†asks Tom, only for Jean-Ralphio to tell him he should be quoting Fred Claus. Also returning were April’s gay ex-boyfriend Derek,  Derek’s boyfriend Ben, April’s family, Andy’s Mouse Rat bandmates, and Harris and Brett, the two clueless animal control workers from “The Possum†(played by Parks writer Harris Wittels and comedian Colton Dunn).
Parks and Recreation has always done a fine job of creating its bit characters and finding the perfect spots for them to return, almost like a live action Simpsons. Last night’s episode introduced us to a character who we’ll be seeing more of in the future. Newbie actor Eric Isenhower played April’s creepy, death-obsessed friend Orin, and although he didn’t have many lines, the Orin character made for plenty of laughs throughout the episode as he freaked out members of the Parks department. Orin is exactly the type of friend April would have and he’s a nice addition to the Parks and Rec universe. Orin’s interaction with Rob Lowe’s peppy Chris Traeger was especially memorable, as it showed Chris is so upbeat he can glean a feeling of optimism from even the most morbid, gloomy person. According to Eric Isenhower’s website, he’ll be returning to play Orin in one more episode this season, and that’s definitely something to look forward to.
This episode also addressed Ben Wyatt’s reasons for staying in Pawnee, as he wrestled with the decision to take a job from new City Manager Chris. I’m glad they finally got down to handling the issue, as Ben remaining in town for so long was starting to feel unbelievable. Like the last episode, this is another one where I thought Leslie and Ben were going to get together. Just as it seemed like they were about to kiss, Orin stepped in and scared the two off in a very funny moment. Maybe next week.
Stray observations:
Bradford Evans wants a fake tooth he can just pull out whenever he wants to change the topic of conversation.