Parks and Recreation Recap: “The Fight” and “Road Trip”

Yes, Parks and Recreation’s outstanding third season is winding down, even though the truncated run of episodes just began airing three months ago. But don’t worry, fans. It doesn’t look like NBC’s gonna screw with us again, making us wait until midseason for the show to return this next time around. The network will have more than enough room for Parks on its schedule in the fall, as rumors are swirling about NBC housing not one but two nights of comedy next season (the first time the Peacock Network has done so since shutting down the Tuesday night sitcom block that was home to Frasier and Scrubs in 2006). Parks and Recreation’s likely fall-time season four premiere isn’t the only thing the show’s fans have to cheer about, as we were treated to back-to-back new episodes last night.

The two episodes in question, “The Fight” and “Road Trip,” maintained the level of quality we’ve come to expect from the show and there were definitely some similarities between the two half-hours. They both featured a crazy business venture from Tom Haverford, but more importantly, each of last night’s episodes answered two of the big questions that have been weighing on fans’ minds in recent weeks:

Why does Ann hang around the Parks department offices so much if she doesn’t work there?

When will Leslie and Ben get together?

Ann Perkins’s role in the Parks and Rec universe has changed since the show’s inaugural season, when she first came into contact with the government staff in order to fill a pit her boyfriend Andy had fallen into. With the start of Season Two, the pit plotline disappeared, as did Ann’s relationship with Andy. The writers established two solid reasons for Andy to spend so much time in City Hall with his shoeshine stand and relationship with April, while Ann’s continued presence around the office was justified by her intensified friendship with Leslie and new boyfriend Mark Brendanawicz. Season 3 saw Brendanawicz disappear and Ann starting up a romance with Chris Traeger, but that fizzled out after a few episodes. Ever since, it’s been hard to believe Ann would want to spend so much time in a workplace that’s populated by two of her ex-boyfriends, both of whom, by the way, she tried to get back together with after their breakups.

Ann’s friendship with Leslie can only allow Ann to take part in the action so much, and I’m glad the writers finally gave her a job as the PR director for Pawnee’s Health Department. It’s one that ties into her background pretty well and should provide for some interesting plotlines next week and next season. Ann’s never seemed close with anyone in the office beyond Leslie, so giving her a role in the workplace is definitely a wise move. Ann’s repelled by Tom, has awkward ties with ex-boyfriends Chris and Andy, dislikes Jerry (like everyone else in the office does), has a frosty relationship with April that we got another glimpse of in “Road Trip,” and she doesn’t know Ron Swanson very well, like most human beings (As he puts it in this episode, “In general, I try never to speak with people.”). Up until this episode, Ann Perkins was the only character who didn’t work in City Hall, and I’m glad the writers decided to change that.

“The Fight” accomplished a lot in addition to incorporating Ann into the show more fully. The episode featured hilarious moments from the entire central cast and the always-welcome returns of Jean-Ralphio (displaying his amazing rap abilities), Nick Kroll as morning shock jock The Douche, and the FBI’s Bert Macklin, may he rest in peace. It was also great to see the whole gang hung over with Andy’s projectile vomiting a well-executed and surprising highlight, just the kind of expert physical comedy we’ve come to expect from Chris Pratt. I’ll never get tired of the Councilman Howser running joke, which features Leslie repeatedly running into the big-time Pawnee politician as she’s in the midst of an embarrassing situation. It’s a well the writers don’t return to often and they don’t need to; but I just love how straight the actor playing Councilman Howser plays it, and I wouldn’t mind seeing this gag pop up on a more frequent basis. Tom’s “Dunzo List,” April’s socialite alter ego Janet Snakehole, and a drunken Jerry catching a ride home on the roof of Donna’s Mercedes were some other funny moments in an episode packed-full of them.

Ron Swanson and Chris Traeger scored some of the episode’s biggest laughs, though, as we’ve come to expect. Ron Swanson is always hilarious when he’s drunk, but the image of him dancing in April’s hat with that goofy grin on his face is one I may not be able to get out of my head for days. His pitch for Tom’s Four Loko-esque alcoholic energy drink Snake Juice was inspired too, allowing actor Nick Offerman to deliver an impressive, off-the-wall monologue (excerpted in its entirety at the bottom of this page). Rob Lowe gave a great performance too, especially in the Jan Cooper-Chlamydia run. It was similar to the riff-y, quick-cut sequences Amy Poehler has made her trademark on the show, and I’d love to see Lowe in more scenes like this. Lowe excels with this kind of rapid-fire comedy, getting a lot of mileage from reading a series of signs written by a Pawnee employee in order to ruin the reputation of the woman who gave him Chlamydia.

“Road Trip,” the second Parks episode of the night, put to rest fan’s worries that Ben and Leslie wouldn’t get together until Season 11. We’re finally over the will-they-or-won’t-they hump, but how will Leslie and Ben address their relationship around the office? Chris seems pretty firm on his no-dating policy, and he’s shown himself to be a hard-ass with pointless office rules in the previous episode by forcing Tom to give up his shares in the Snakehole Lounge. Even if it’s unclear how Leslie and Ben will stay together without losing their jobs, at least they’ve finally carried out the early stages of a relationship that’s so far been, as Ann put it, “so high school.”

The B- and C-plots of “Road Trip” were memorable, as well. Tom’s makeshift game show Know Ya’ Boo was a great showcase for Aziz Ansari, who had to make do without the help of his sound effects and CGI puppy co-host Bobby the Boo. The story’s biggest laughs come from an increasingly-absurd list of niche cable channels Tom Haverford rattles off, culminating in a discussion of the Slurp HD series Ultimate Battle Smoothie. Ron Swanson’s lecture on libertarianism to a nine-year-old schoolgirl took a backseat to the bigger plotlines, but it was no less funny. All in all, “The Fight” and “Road Trip” were two more exceptional entries in a stellar season of television. Stay tuned next week for the final two Parks and Recreation episodes of the season, airing back-to-back at 10pm after The Office’s two-part finale.

Stray notes and observations:

•    “The Fight” was written by Amy Poehler, the second episode she’s penned. The other was last season’s equally-impressive “Telethon.”

•    From “The Fight,” here’s Ron Swanson’s pitch for Snake Juice, in its entirety:

“Hello. My name is Ron Swanson. In general, I try never to speak with people, but I have been drinking this Snake Juice thing, and it’s damn good. You should buy it… Son! You should know that my recommendation is essentially a guarantee… Drink this. Now!”

•    From “Road Trip,” here’s Tom Haverford’s list of TV networks he might pitch his game show to: “Spike, G4, GSN, Fuse, Wow, Boom, Zip, Kablam, Slurp, Slurp Latin, Slurp HD.”

Bradford Evans is a writer living in Los Angeles who wants us all to take a moment of silence in remembrance of Bert Macklin, FBI.