3x13 The Fight

[9.4/10] Such a great episode. The way it manages to split the difference between real interpersonal conflict and wacky comedy, with Leslie and Ann especially, is absolutely genius. Their fight over Leslie pushing Ann a little too hard and Ann blowing off Leslie’s job offer, has both an understandable emotional core rooted in the characters’ different personalities, and also a goofy but true enough tone to it. Their argument in the bathroom has the ring of a real fight between friends to it, even if a lot of the words are nonsense, which makes it feel as genuine as it is funny.

Plus, Snake Juice! Seeing everybody wasted is an utter delight. Ron especially is great, between his seriousness about endorsing the product after trying it, to his adorable little dance in the brilliant montage of everyone’s drunken ramblings. The training for selling the product is hilarious (especially Ron’s pronunciation of kuh-razy). Tom having to sell his stake in the Snakehole Lounge gives the whole storyline somewhere to go, but it’s mostly just good fodder for laughs.

And you know who I liked in this episode who didn’t really click with me on my first watch of this show? John Ralphio. His one-word-too-many rhymes were an amusing gag, his utter willingness to dance with Leslie at her immediate demand was great, and his slightly exasperated “a lot riding on this” when Tom wagers John Ralphio shaving his head if Ron doesn’t like the drink is a perfect line delivery. I even like Nick Kroll as The Douche here, who occasionally grates on me, mostly because he’s the butt of Ann and Leslie’s jokes.

I’m also, as always, a big fan of Andy and April here. Them going whole-hog as Janet Snakehole (which allows Aubrey Plaza to play some different notes than April usually hits) and Burt Macklin is a ton of fun in the skeezy club setting. And there’s even a nice beat for the two of them at the end, with a massively hungover Andy powering through to show April that he’s always there to be silly with her (and eventually throw up).

It also advances the Ben-Leslie story nicely. Hinging part of the fight on Ann castigating Leslie for using the rule as an excuse (even though, you know, the risk of losing a job you love is a pretty big deal) adds some flavor to it. Plus, Ann telling Ben that their whole thing is so prom is pretty fun and Ben’s reaction is sweet. There is, of course, reconciliation between the pair, and it’s a reminder that while Ann is occasionally superfluous in the show when on her own, her relationship with Leslie is one of the bedrocks of the series, and it’s always nice to see the show play off of that.