Parks and Recreation: One in 8,000 (6x20)

The cuteness in this episode is overwhelming. In a good way. My goodness gracious. I'm under a time crunch - aren't I always? - so let's breeze through this.

Leslie and Ben go to the doctor and discover something exciting, but also terrifying - they're having triplets! They want to keep it a secret for now, but Andy already knows that Leslie is pregnant. He's horrible at keeping secrets, but he agrees to try his hardest. Leslie is told by the doctor that it is very important for her to avoid stress. Since she is in the middle of trying to raise money for the unity concert, this is proving difficult. Ben tries to take on the extra stress, but the financial burden of raising three kids starts getting to him, and he freaks out. In the end, Leslie and Ben tell their news to everyone, and they all chip in with different ways they'll help out once the babies come.

Andy spends the entire episode trying to avoid telling April what the secret is. She keeps pushing him, and he finally says that Larry is sick. This causes April to actually be nice to him for once, and she is furious when she finds out that Andy was lying about him dying. Andy finally decides to tell April the secret, but just at that moment Leslie and Ben announce it to the group, which means that Andy actually kept a secret for once!

Ron and Donna go to volunteer at the local school. Donna asks Ron to help her keep away from her on-and-off-again boyfriend, whom she describes as "her Tammi." Ron is instantly on the alert for this guy to be terrible, but instead he seems amazing - he's good with the kids, polite, knows about building, makes delicious muffins... confused, Ron asks Donna why she wants him to help her stay away from him, and Donna admits that she's boring when she's with him. All they do is stay in and have sex. Ron tells Donna not to give up a good thing, and she goes to the guy, telling him that they can go out to dinner and try being in a relationship again, as long as he doesn't try to pin her down. Donna remarks to Ron that he's changed for the better - he's a good dad, volunteering at a public school, and even giving out relationship advice.

Like I said, cuteness overload. Anything I didn't enjoy? I'll admit things went a bit too silly when April thought that Larry was dying, and she had to scratch his back. Turns out, the current issue in his life is actually that he swallowed his wedding ring. I think there's a point at which the Larry thing gets a bit too silly. It sticks out of the texture of the rest of this episode, and of the show in general.

But mostly, things are great! The fact that Leslie is having triplets is just so perfect. She's an overachiever in childbearing, just like everything else. Also, the joke the doctor made about Leslie getting in a last hurrah because she's older... that was funny. I loved that Ben wanted to take on all of Leslie's stress, and I especially loved it that he couldn't handle it. They balance each other out, and they're going to make great parents - especially with the support of their community.

Andy kept the secret! This was such a nice moment of redemption for him. I hate how Andy almost always fails with whatever he's trying to do. His success in this moment felt very satisfying and earned.

Donna and Ron's plot again proves that no matter who you stick with Ron, he'll end up as the fatherly figure. It was so cute to see him play matchmaker. Also, I just have to say kudos to this show for portraying Donna as a very desirable and confident woman. Not many shows would do that.

Okay, I tried to keep it to a manageable length. I really enjoyed this!

8.5/10