2x01 Pawnee Zoo

[8.5/10] It is amazing how Parks and Recreation goes from its first season, where everything feels off, the rhythms of the episode is awkward, and the characters aren’t quite fully-formed yet, to the premiere of its second season where it absolutely comes off like the show we know and love. From the cold open, where Leslie does a wonderfully cheery cover of “Parents Just Don’t Understand” as Tom, Jerry, and Donna encourage her, only for Ron to deliver a flat bit of bad news, it’s clear that between the end of the first season and the beginning of the second the creative team behind P&R decided what they wanted the show to be, and it pays immediate dividends.

The premise of this one is great, with Leslie having a penguin marriage at the Pawnee Zoo in the spirit of cuteness, only to inadvertently wade into social controversy when it turns out that both the penguins are male. What’s so striking out of the gate is how great a Leslie episode this is. At first, she’s very reluctant about any attention or notice for doing this, reassuring people that her intentions were innocent and not relishing the idea of being a public official heading into these rough waters. But then, she gets a whiff of being a local icon and revels in it. Her little interlude at “The Bulge,” replete with shots and fake medical emergencies and mumbled Lady Gaga songs is wonderful in the normally button-down Leslie having fun and relishing the spotlight.

Then the backlash hits. I forgot that they introduce Marcia Langman this early, but right from the getgo she makes a great foil for Leslie, faux-polite with steel behind the smile and unrelenting (and unfair) in her attacks. It also gives us our first glimpse of Joan Calamezzo, who is, again, pitch-perfect right from the jump, with her flirtations with Tom and her casual dismissals of Leslie’s point. Leslie, with her back against the wall, stands up for what she did as cute, and stands her ground. It’s an encouraging moment, one that immediately establishes the “no good deed goes unpunished, but work hard anyway” ethos of the show.

Outside of the main story, we get a nice little story about Ann’s romantic life. (Hold on folks, you won’t hear me say that often.) We learn that Andy is living in a tent in the pit, despite his amusing attempts to convince Ann that he’s become an office-worker with an expansive vocabulary. We have a somewhat redeemped Mark asking Ann out. And most importantly, we have there being some nicely understated friction between Leslie and Ann about it, that Leslie resolves, telling Ann to date mark and that their friendship is the most important thing.

It’s here that the show really establishes that foundational friendship on the show. Whether it’s Ann and Leslie’s nice rapport while having lunch (with Leslie imagining a secret language for the two of them) or Leslie really wanting Ann to come to The Bulge, or the pair’s hug when Leslie tells Ann that Mark might be her “gay penguin,” this is the point where the show starts telling as much as it’s showing in terms of the pair’s great connection.

Overall, it’s incredible how much more clearly this episode feels like Parks and Rec in a way that the series’ first six episodes just don’t. The characters are better fleshed out, the comedy is more on point, and the conflicts, principles, and connections between the show’s major figures blossoms in a wonderful way. Episodes like these are why this show was worth watching.