[7.8/10] I love all the moving parts of this one, and how the episode ties together the budding relationship between Leslie and Dave and Leslie’s responsibilities as a beauty pageant judge.
After agreeing to go on a date with Dave, Leslie starts to demur when she realizes that he doesn’t know who Madeline Albright is (humorously thinking she’s Leslie grandma), and wonders if the two of them share the same values.
Then she goes to judge a beauty pageant, and there’s Trish, the bubbly, airheaded “hot one” whom everyone on the judges panel loves, and Susan, the accomplished, smart, but plainer contestant who only Leslie seems to appreciate. Despite Leslie’s attempts to 12 Angry Men her fellow jurors, Leslie loses out to Tom’s horndoggery and the rest of the panel giving into Trish’s sparkly, xenophobic presentation. There’s a great deal of potent commentary there about how women are judged or overlooked, and it manages to be quite funny as well.
The B-plot sees Mark coming over to Ann’s to fix her shower, and Ann discovering that Andy lives in the pit. I like that Ann is frustrated but Mark is sympathetic to Andy, and convinces her to bring him in. It’s the start of Andy being gormless but ultimately sweet when he’s that excited about seeing her, and you can see the show beginning to transition him into something a little nicer. (Though I’ll admit, I’m probably retroactively applying the character he’d become to the character he was at this point of the show.) There’s also a surprisingly nice comic dynamic with the three of them in the same room together.
We also get our first April subplot, with her starting to be developed a bit more. Her attempts to do the beauty pageant thing are hilarious, and the fact that she quits when she learns the prize is only $600 in gift cards that will defray the cost of a fence is perfect.
But what’s more perfect is that even when Leslie is a bit resigned at how things went at the pageant, Dave shows up. And after an evening when everyone was fawning over Trish because she’s bright and bubbly despite her being empty-headed and pandering, Dave just wants to be straight with Leslie and barely even notices Trish. Leslie sees that he does share her values, and him learning the names of all the female leaders pictured on Leslie’s bookshelf is the icing on the cake. It’s elegant emotional and character material, and I just love how it comes together.
SPOILERS FOR MUCH LATER IN THE SERIES. DO NOT READ THE BELOW UNLESS YOU’VE AT LEAST SEEN THROUGH SEASON 4
Leslie and Ben are one of my all time favorite television couples, and I wouldn’t trade them on this show for anything. But man, there’s a part of me watching this season and wishing that we had gotten more of Leslie and Dave. Dave is just so adorable; Louis C.K. brings a distinct energy to the show, and Dave and Leslie’s chemistry is amazing. He really fit what the show was doing and where the character of Leslie Knope was at the time, and it’s a delight going back and seeing the two of them together.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-07-08T01:58:28Z
[7.8/10] I love all the moving parts of this one, and how the episode ties together the budding relationship between Leslie and Dave and Leslie’s responsibilities as a beauty pageant judge.
After agreeing to go on a date with Dave, Leslie starts to demur when she realizes that he doesn’t know who Madeline Albright is (humorously thinking she’s Leslie grandma), and wonders if the two of them share the same values.
Then she goes to judge a beauty pageant, and there’s Trish, the bubbly, airheaded “hot one” whom everyone on the judges panel loves, and Susan, the accomplished, smart, but plainer contestant who only Leslie seems to appreciate. Despite Leslie’s attempts to 12 Angry Men her fellow jurors, Leslie loses out to Tom’s horndoggery and the rest of the panel giving into Trish’s sparkly, xenophobic presentation. There’s a great deal of potent commentary there about how women are judged or overlooked, and it manages to be quite funny as well.
The B-plot sees Mark coming over to Ann’s to fix her shower, and Ann discovering that Andy lives in the pit. I like that Ann is frustrated but Mark is sympathetic to Andy, and convinces her to bring him in. It’s the start of Andy being gormless but ultimately sweet when he’s that excited about seeing her, and you can see the show beginning to transition him into something a little nicer. (Though I’ll admit, I’m probably retroactively applying the character he’d become to the character he was at this point of the show.) There’s also a surprisingly nice comic dynamic with the three of them in the same room together.
We also get our first April subplot, with her starting to be developed a bit more. Her attempts to do the beauty pageant thing are hilarious, and the fact that she quits when she learns the prize is only $600 in gift cards that will defray the cost of a fence is perfect.
But what’s more perfect is that even when Leslie is a bit resigned at how things went at the pageant, Dave shows up. And after an evening when everyone was fawning over Trish because she’s bright and bubbly despite her being empty-headed and pandering, Dave just wants to be straight with Leslie and barely even notices Trish. Leslie sees that he does share her values, and him learning the names of all the female leaders pictured on Leslie’s bookshelf is the icing on the cake. It’s elegant emotional and character material, and I just love how it comes together.
SPOILERS FOR MUCH LATER IN THE SERIES. DO NOT READ THE BELOW UNLESS YOU’VE AT LEAST SEEN THROUGH SEASON 4
Leslie and Ben are one of my all time favorite television couples, and I wouldn’t trade them on this show for anything. But man, there’s a part of me watching this season and wishing that we had gotten more of Leslie and Dave. Dave is just so adorable; Louis C.K. brings a distinct energy to the show, and Dave and Leslie’s chemistry is amazing. He really fit what the show was doing and where the character of Leslie Knope was at the time, and it’s a delight going back and seeing the two of them together.