5x09 Ron and Diane

[9.2/10] So much to like about this one. Let’s start with the main story. I’m a big fan of the setup for this one – that Ron is taking to Diane to an important event (in this instance, a woodworking awards ceremony) and Leslie is there as his emotional guardian to make sure he’s okay. Then, Tammy 2 shows up to throw a monkey wrench into all of this (and Megan Mullally is at her evil best here), with Leslie worrying that Tammy will ruin everything. That is a fairly standard sitcom setup.

But there’s a great twist, that for all of Tammy’s machinations and lascivious come-ons, it’s not Tammy that Diane is worried about, but rather Leslie, because romantic or not, the two are, as Ron begrudgingly admits, close friends, and Diane is worried about whether Ron will ever let her in like that. Now that is a more complex place to take the story, and I love it. For one thing, it allows Leslie and Tammy to go off on their own and do some big comedy. Poehler and Mullaly are just gangbusters together, and it makes me wished they’d been paired in scenes more often.

But it also leads to a really nice moment between Ron and Diane. For one thing, the very fact that Ron brought Diane is a nice indication of how he feels about her, and seeing how giddy and invested he is in the award is a nice note for the character to play. Even better is his heart-to-heart with her at Cozy’s letting Diane know that his relationship with her is a different sort of thing than his relationship with Leslie, and him letting her in on Duke Silver (and referring to her as his “duchess”) is the perfect way to dramatize that. (And I love the two women in the crowd telling Diane that she’s lucky, and that “I’ll kill you” respectively).

On to the B-stories! Chris and Ben are great together at Jerry’s party. For one thing, there’s so many little quirks about the sort of party Jerry would throw. I forgot that this was the first time we see Gail on camera, and the gag that he has this beautiful wife and beautiful set of daughters is funny in and of itself. But better yet is Ben worrying that Chris is going to fall apart when he (a.) realizes he’s aging, (b.) has a full fat drink, and (c.) realizes his ex-girlfriend is engaged to a younger man. Again, that would be a pretty typical sitcom setup.
But this is P&R, so the twist is that thanks to therapy, Chris is fine, and Ben is hovering and worrying about him for nothing. And yet, Chris is touched at how much Ben cares and is trying to look out for him. It becomes an indication of friendship rather than of emotional instability.

Last but not least is the rest of the gang going to have a “Jerry Dinner” i.e. a meal paid for with the funds they collect by throwing a dollar into a jar every time Jerry does something stupid. I have been waiting and waiting for this show to call its characters out for how mean they are to Jerry, and I appreciate that Ann gets to be the voice of reason on that front. April, Andy, and Tom realizing that they were, in fact, being too mean to Jerry, and deciding to give the money to Jerry as a “collection” for his health problems is a lovely touch, and the stealthy reference to It’s a Wonderful Life when Jerry calls himself the luckiest man in the world seals the deal.

Overall, it’s a wonderful X-mas episode, and a great episode of the show generally, that mixes great comedy, super character moments, and a long-overdue acknowledgement that the Jerry stuff can go too far with a heartwarming finish. One of the best of the season.