[9.7/10] Such a great episode. It would be so easy to turn something like Ron excluding girls from his scouting group and Leslie having her own rival faction into a hackneyed battle of the sexes. Instead, it goes a completely different direction – understanding that equality isn’t about competition or winning, but about everyone getting the chance to follow what drives them, no matter what’s between their legs.
Oh yeah, and it’s extraordinarily funny to boot. I get caught up in the maturity and legitimate complexity of the issues Parks and Rec is willing to address and the way it addresses them, but bits like tots shushing Ann or Leslie talking about her “70/30” pride to annoyance ratio, or Andy going gaga for puppies is just great stuff. Amy Poehler is on fire as well, from her silly southern belle impression to her overcompetitive bent at the campsite to her legitimate heart-to-heart and understanding of Ron.
The B-story of this one is great too. Treat Yo Self has become one of the show’s most iconic bits, and leaning into Tom and Donna’s more outsized yuppie couture qualities lends itself to plenty of fodder for comedy on its own. But as usual, throwing in Ben to be the straight man baffled at all the insanity around him pays humorous dividends.
But here again, the show doesn’t go just for laughs, using it as a way for Tom and Donna to help Ben through the rough time he’s having with the break up. Him crying in the Batman suit is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking (especially with Tom’s response), and the two Treaters pumping Ben up and telling him to let it out is a sweet character moment.
It also dovetails nicely with the A-story. Donna realizes that treating yo self is an individual thing, not a one size fits all endeavor, and following the spirit of the holiday means changing up its practices for the person celebrating it. The same goes for Ron and Leslie. Leslie is never going to abide gender segregation, but it takes winning and the entire boys ranger group wanting to become “Pawnee Godesses” for Leslie to realize that Ron didn’t believe in gender segregation, he just wanted to do wilderness training his way, and when faced with young men and women who are willing to be a “Swanson” he’s as happy to train them, because getting to do something that’s “no fun at all” is far more important to him than the rules he didn’t put in place but didn’t object to. Leslie reveling in winning, getting her own “Little Leslie Knope” monsters coming back at her for a bit of hypocrisy, and both her and Ron finding joy in their own non-gender-specific group is a great story for both of them.
The only bit in this episode that doesn’t do much for me is Chris dating Jerry’s daughter. I know they needed something for these characters to do, and there’s a mild bit of comedy from Jerry’s uncomfortableness at Chris’s forthrightness, but it’s just not as strong as the rest of the material.
Still, a fantastic A-story that understands its characters and has empathy and perspective on both, coupled with an almost-as-good B-story that is iconic but also emotional makes this one of P&R’s finest half hours.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-03-16T01:12:24Z
[9.7/10] Such a great episode. It would be so easy to turn something like Ron excluding girls from his scouting group and Leslie having her own rival faction into a hackneyed battle of the sexes. Instead, it goes a completely different direction – understanding that equality isn’t about competition or winning, but about everyone getting the chance to follow what drives them, no matter what’s between their legs.
Oh yeah, and it’s extraordinarily funny to boot. I get caught up in the maturity and legitimate complexity of the issues Parks and Rec is willing to address and the way it addresses them, but bits like tots shushing Ann or Leslie talking about her “70/30” pride to annoyance ratio, or Andy going gaga for puppies is just great stuff. Amy Poehler is on fire as well, from her silly southern belle impression to her overcompetitive bent at the campsite to her legitimate heart-to-heart and understanding of Ron.
The B-story of this one is great too. Treat Yo Self has become one of the show’s most iconic bits, and leaning into Tom and Donna’s more outsized yuppie couture qualities lends itself to plenty of fodder for comedy on its own. But as usual, throwing in Ben to be the straight man baffled at all the insanity around him pays humorous dividends.
But here again, the show doesn’t go just for laughs, using it as a way for Tom and Donna to help Ben through the rough time he’s having with the break up. Him crying in the Batman suit is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking (especially with Tom’s response), and the two Treaters pumping Ben up and telling him to let it out is a sweet character moment.
It also dovetails nicely with the A-story. Donna realizes that treating yo self is an individual thing, not a one size fits all endeavor, and following the spirit of the holiday means changing up its practices for the person celebrating it. The same goes for Ron and Leslie.
Leslie is never going to abide gender segregation, but it takes winning and the entire boys ranger group wanting to become “Pawnee Godesses” for Leslie to realize that Ron didn’t believe in gender segregation, he just wanted to do wilderness training his way, and when faced with young men and women who are willing to be a “Swanson” he’s as happy to train them, because getting to do something that’s “no fun at all” is far more important to him than the rules he didn’t put in place but didn’t object to. Leslie reveling in winning, getting her own “Little Leslie Knope” monsters coming back at her for a bit of hypocrisy, and both her and Ron finding joy in their own non-gender-specific group is a great story for both of them.
The only bit in this episode that doesn’t do much for me is Chris dating Jerry’s daughter. I know they needed something for these characters to do, and there’s a mild bit of comedy from Jerry’s uncomfortableness at Chris’s forthrightness, but it’s just not as strong as the rest of the material.
Still, a fantastic A-story that understands its characters and has empathy and perspective on both, coupled with an almost-as-good B-story that is iconic but also emotional makes this one of P&R’s finest half hours.