Parks and Recreation: William Henry Harrison (7x03)

I was really torn about whether to put this episode in two parts or not... but I decided to stick with that formula for now. After all, even though the episodes run into each other, they do each have different themes.

In this episode, Leslie and Ron continue their battle for the Newport land. Each one takes on a different angle. Leslie and her team try to find historical grounds for keeping the space as a park, and they seem to be on their way when they find the remains of an old lodge owned by William Henry Harrison. The embarrassingly short-lived president actually has a descendant in the area, so Leslie exploits the heck out of this poor guy, and all the stuff in the William Henry Harrison museum, to try to make a case for the historical importance of the site.

Ron's side of things (including Tom, Donna, and the rest of Gryzzl) goes for a different approach. They want to get a celebrity to endorse the Gryzzl bid. They get Annabel Porter to come in and talk about how Gryzzl is "in." Each side presents their case, but Ron and his team outshine Leslie with their flashy presentation.

While this is going on, Ben just wants Leslie and Ron to both sign a form that needs to be notarized. Terry (formerly Larry, Jerry, Gary) is a Notary, so he comes along. Each time they try and sign the forms, something goes wrong. There's a page missing, or Annabel Porter signs by mistake, or what have you. Ben gets more and more frustrated until he turns into a nervous wreck. Terry, meanwhile, is just having fun being a Notary.

April continues her quest for a dream job, with Andy's help. When it looks like nothing will make her happy, Andy has a new idea. Instead of trying to think of jobs that April would like, they should think of reasons why she would like them, and then try and find a job that fulfills all of those requirements. So far, they've established that April likes working one-on-one with people/animals.

So... complaints? I don't think I have any, to be honest. I suppose I can continue to lodge the same complaints that I've had all season: First of all, Larry will never be funny to me. Sorry, dude. Secondly, I want the triplets. Now. It sucks to know that Leslie and Ben have these three rambunctious kids running around, and to not be able to see them!

Mostly, I loved it. I know I shouldn't laugh at William Henry Harrison, but you must admit his presidency seems like it's made up or something. Of course Pawnee would boast a connection to the country's most embarrassing leader. The museum was really funny - there just wasn't enough stuff about Harrison to make up an exhibit, so there are rooms dedicated to "other things that were famous for one month" and "other people named Harrison." That was cracking me up.

I liked the scene with the Gryzzl guy, Ron, Tom, and Donna. Whenever the Gryzzl rep would say something in strange slang, Tom would translate it for Ron. That was pretty funny. And Annabel Porter is always hilarious, what with her idea for "beef milk," which is milk squeezed from holes in cows. As Ron points out, that's f***ing milk. Of course, this "beef milk" will be three times as expensive. So silly.

Even though the whole Larry/Terry whatever the hell is name is thing isn't funny, I did think Ben was kind of precious in this episode. He was getting more and more flustered, and his breakdown at the end was the perfect comedic climax to the plot thread. It's made all the more hilarious by how little Leslie cared about what was going on.

Last week, I thought that Andy not at all funny, but this week he really hit his stride. April and Andy's plot thread wasn't so much comedic as it was really sweet. Andy knows his wife is going through something, and he's 100% supportive of her. I love his dedication. I can't wait to see what April ends up doing! Although I do hope we get to see the creepy asylum house again...

I think that's where I'll stop. We end this episode with a "to be continued," as the entire gang trick Leslie and Ron into the Parks Department and lock the doors. They have to work out their issues before they will be released!

8/10