The show’s going to be just fine.
I loved this episode. LOVED IT.
The main plot revolves around Leslie trying to change people’s negative attitude about the Pawnee/Eagleton merger, but the real greatness in this episode comes from the other stories. It’s Ben and Leslie’s first wedding anniversary! And they’re determined to surprise each other. We know that Leslie is the master of giving gifts, and in an effort to usurp her, Ben decides that he’s going to plan a whole bunch of surprises for her. He enlists the help Larry (I think it’s hilarious that Jerry has been consistently called Larry by everyone this whole season) because he has the best and happiest marriage that Ben knows of. He wants to start out the day with a couples massage, but Lesie can’t be persuaded to be pulled away from work, and Ben doesn’t want her to become suspicious. But Ben ends up getting the massage anyway, because he’s been really stressed out lately, in a way that I think any hard core fan can sympathize with.
I feel you, man. I’ve been having similar feelings about how the “Mockingjay” movies are going to turn out…
Ben’s next attempt at a surprise is an “Enchanted” themed carriage ride. And he is prepared as hell:
BEN WAYTT WATCHED ENCHANTED FIVE TIMES OMG
But he’s thwarted again, because Leslie can’t come to that either! Realizing that she’s going to be too busy to do most of the things he’s planned, Ben asks Larry to go with him for the rest of his day of anniversary fun, which includes cooking classes and dancing lessons.
Meanwhile, April is having a hard time in her new-ish position as the Deputy Director of Animal Control. When she takes Ron to the adoption center to get a dog for his step-daughters, Donna (who is supposed to be manning the desk) has skipped out on her job to go shopping, and April doesn’t know what to do about it. Since she’s not used to being the boss, she feels weird about disciplining Donna, so she makes the passive aggressive move of leaving an anonymous negative comment on Yelp, thinking it will spur Donna to work harder, but instead Donna gets super pissed, and becomes determined to track down whoever left the comment.
(“I’m about to go Mjolnir on his ass” will be my new response to anything that angers me. It perfectly combines two of my favorite things: Chris Hemsworth, and exacting brutal revenge upon my enemies.) It’s revealed that Donna knew it was April who left the comment the whole time, and they apologize to each other and vow to be honest and direct about their feelings in the future. Between this story and the one where April tries to correctly figure out Donna’s Spirit Dog, I’ve really enjoyed the development of their friendship this season.
April’s online commenting gives Ron an idea to write letters to everything that annoys him, including European ambassadors and carbonated water. And it is AMAZING. I laughed out loud at every single one. My favorites:
Ron Swanson, every little thing you do is magic.
The ending of this episode had been my favorite in a long time. Ben gives Leslie a scrapbook chronicling the day that he and Larry spent together doing all of the amazing things that he had planned for her. Leslie is a better woman than me, because she’s thrilled with the gift even though she missed out on actually doing all of these sweet things with her husband. Ben thinks he’s finally bested Leslie at gift giving, but then Leslie takes him to his office, where he discovers her gift to him: a life size replica of the Iron Throne. Ben goes nuts over it and it’s adorable. He’s so excited, and reminds us of exactly why we love Ben Wyatt.
I have to admit that I was nervous to see how the rest of this season was going to go after Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones left, but after seeing this episode my fears have been erased. I can’t wait for next week, when we’ll finally get to meet the new Baby Swanson!
