Parks and Recreation: Partridge (5x17)

Seasons ago, when we learned about Ben's ill-fated time as Mayor of Partridge, Minnesota, I thought to myself: "I want to see this!" And, sure enough, Parks and Recreation delivers just that in its episode "Partridge."

There were three plot lines going on this week, and to be honest there were parts of the episode overall that fell pretty flat. I always expect a lot from this show, and it usually delivers. This episode... well... let's take a closer look.

In one of the plot threads, Ron has been sued by Councilman Jamm  for punching him at Leslie's wedding. Again, I appreciate the tie-in to earlier parts of the show. It was funny to see Ron defend himself, and also to see his strange conception of honor come out - he didn't let April or Tom lie for him as witnesses. His quote about this was fantastic: "There's only one thing I hate more than lying: Skim milk. Which is water lying about being milk." Councilman Jamm is not all that humerous to me however, and his presence in this episode feels like beating a dead horse. I liked how Ron's friends found a way to get him out of his messy situation, but there was just a lot more that could have been done with a premise like this. Again, there were still some awesome quotes, such as "I'm actually not sure how much money I have. But I do know how many pounds of money I have." Also, Tom's assertion after lying at the deposition that: "I was like Mark Z on the Social N!"

Then we have Chris and Ann. I was actually pretty touched by their scenes this week. Chris started off enthusiastic as always, but as the episode went on, he became demoralized as he realized that he and Ann were very incompatible to be having children together. However, Ann was even more dejected. At the end of the episode, Chris asks Ann if she will love and do everything she can for their child, to which she of course replies yes. Chris says that he said the same thing, so they are compatible after all. There weren't a lot of jokes in this section, and it took a more serious tone. Nevertheless, I really enjoy the relationship between Ann and Chris, and the way that it is avoiding being a romance while still remaining tender and caring.

And now onto Leslie and Ben. You know, oddly enough, the biggest letdown in this episode for me was Leslie herself. I don't think I've ever had cause to say that before, but I found myself rather bored by her this week. Her devotion and protection of Ben were sweet to see, but she spent most of the episode just telling people to stop being jerks, and there weren't very many funny lines from her. Ben, on the other hand, was hilarious, and the actor, Adam Scott, should be given mad props for portraying an actually funny high person on television. They come along so rarely.

Some favorite quotes: Ben is writing around in pain, and he says "I think I'm giving birth! Is that possible? No, right?"

Then there were the high-as-a-kite lines, such as: "I'm simply going to tell them that love is everywhere and they have to surrender to the flow of the universe, you know?" "You just do your thang, baby smurf!"

At the end of the episode, an irate townsman says: "Is that Ben Wyatt? Get the Hell out of here, Ice Town!"

My favorite, however, was Ben's very serious and sarcastic reply to Leslie and the current Mayor of Partridge: "I'm feeding your eagle. He's starving." I laughed out loud at that one.

This week's episode was pretty good by most accounts. I was moved by Ann and Chris' plight and I liked a lot of the jokes in Ron's part of the episode. Leslie herself was not on top of her game here, but Ben's behavior still had me entertained the whole way through!

7/10