I know it's a comedy show that's not meant to be analyzed like this, but a couple things always bothered me about this episode:
- Why would the Parks Department be the only department made responsible for redirecting calls? That has nothing to do with Parks.
- DC traffic can be bad, but there's no way a motorcade would cause you to be stuck inside a parking garage for hours on end. You might not get out of the city in time for the 10 hour trip to make sense, but you wouldn't be stuck in the garage for the entire time.
The office shown at the end that was formerly Jamm's and is now Leslie's is the same set used for Mark's office in S1 and 2.
Seriously, she had to go to talk to the children because one person changed their mind. Are you kidding me?
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-03-31T05:18:19Z
[7.7/10] I never really cared for Jeremy Jamm. As much as I enjoy a nice Late Night with Conan O’Brien alum getting a bigger role, he was always just a little too cartoonishly villainous for my tastes. Still, I like Leslie seeing the less pleasant side of politics – realizing that not all elected officials are as idealistic and honorable as she is.
I still think that Jamm wanting the right to use Leslie’s bathroom and other personal incentives in exchange for support for her bill is too much, as is the ridiculous old councilman (though Tom’s quiet takedowns of him are great), but I like the sentiment behind it. Leslie realizing that being an elected official isn’t the rose garden she imagined is a nice place to take the eternally optimistic character.
But the B-stories are both great. Ron and Diane clicking because they’re both to the point, no nonsense people is a good way to have a romantic pairing for Ron. They are initially lightly frosty with one another, but only because deep down they’re on the same page, and that makes Ron showing up to fix the pothole from the impromptu 311 a nice chance to develop them as a pairing quickly. On top of that, Andy playing with Diane’s daughter’s is adorable, and him writing on the pothole in sidewalk chalk to send Diane a message to ask out Ron is sweet in its own way.
The other B-story is well done too. Ben and April are not always the most natural pairing, but this episode makes them seem natural. Having them stuck in a car together, and share little pieces of themselves in the process is a nice bit. There’s not much of a progression to it; it’s more just a slice of life sort of thing, but it’s entertaining every time the show cuts back to it, and it’s a nice way to build their budding but unlikely friendship.
Overall, the A-story is a mixed bag, but both of the other story are filled with laughs and nice character-focused storytelling.