[8.0/10] Very nice episode that handled the theme of failure and coping with a loss very well. The episode couldn't let Leslie wallow for too long, but I like how they handled things here, with Leslie utterly demoralized and dejected at being recalled from her dream job. The fear of having peaked is an interesting one, and her and Ben rolling around Pawnee drunk was good fodder for comedy. It's also a nice win for Ann, who reminds Leslie of who she is -- someone who fights and will make the most of her remaining time in office. It's nice to see Leslie taking her lumps, and having the show not shy away from the difficulty of that, but still getting up to stay in the fight.
The same goes for Tom's story which, unusually for me and Tom storylines, was probably my favorite one of the episode. I like the idea that Rent-a-Swag is failing, but he can't decide whether to sell out to Sapperstein or not and is still trying to salvage the business. It helped that it was spurred by Ron getting recognized by a "lifestyle blogger," which gave the show ample opportunity to make fun of new age wealthy trends, gave Tom and Donna room to luxuriate in their own trendiness, and gave Ron space to be, as usual, befuddled and mildly disturbed by it all. Still, the lesson Ron imparts, that he won't sell out his hand-crafted chair because his name means more to him, is a nice catalyst for Tom asking for extra for the Rent-a-Swag brand name and getting seed money for his next venture. It's a nicely Tom application of a very Ron principle.
The C-story is super slight, involving Chris trying to make up for Andy's absence on Halloween to cheer up April, with predictable results. There's some cute moments there, especially with April declaring that she's "weak" without Andy and thus deigns to call Ann and Chris "cute," but there's not much to it.
Overall, still a good episode that makes the most of the end of both Rent-a-Swag and Leslie's recall fight.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-05-09T01:21:46Z
[8.0/10] Very nice episode that handled the theme of failure and coping with a loss very well. The episode couldn't let Leslie wallow for too long, but I like how they handled things here, with Leslie utterly demoralized and dejected at being recalled from her dream job. The fear of having peaked is an interesting one, and her and Ben rolling around Pawnee drunk was good fodder for comedy. It's also a nice win for Ann, who reminds Leslie of who she is -- someone who fights and will make the most of her remaining time in office. It's nice to see Leslie taking her lumps, and having the show not shy away from the difficulty of that, but still getting up to stay in the fight.
The same goes for Tom's story which, unusually for me and Tom storylines, was probably my favorite one of the episode. I like the idea that Rent-a-Swag is failing, but he can't decide whether to sell out to Sapperstein or not and is still trying to salvage the business. It helped that it was spurred by Ron getting recognized by a "lifestyle blogger," which gave the show ample opportunity to make fun of new age wealthy trends, gave Tom and Donna room to luxuriate in their own trendiness, and gave Ron space to be, as usual, befuddled and mildly disturbed by it all. Still, the lesson Ron imparts, that he won't sell out his hand-crafted chair because his name means more to him, is a nice catalyst for Tom asking for extra for the Rent-a-Swag brand name and getting seed money for his next venture. It's a nicely Tom application of a very Ron principle.
The C-story is super slight, involving Chris trying to make up for Andy's absence on Halloween to cheer up April, with predictable results. There's some cute moments there, especially with April declaring that she's "weak" without Andy and thus deigns to call Ann and Chris "cute," but there's not much to it.
Overall, still a good episode that makes the most of the end of both Rent-a-Swag and Leslie's recall fight.