Parks and Recreation: Donna & Joe (7x07)

Awww! Donna and Joe! I'm so happy for the two of them. Also, we finally saw the triplets! Thank goodness! Let's take a look at what happened.

Donna's wedding day has arrived. April is the maid of honor, and Craig is the wedding planner. The Meagle family is crazy, so April and Andy spend most of the wedding and reception trying to keep all of the Meagles from yelling at each other and causing drama. Donna says that she misses the drama a little bit, so April lets Donna's estranged brother come in and cause a scene. Donna is grateful.

Also at the wedding, Tom tells Ron that he really likes Lucy, and that he "would marry her tomorrow." When Ron repeats this to Lucy, she is understandably freaked out. Tom tells Ron to make it better, but Ron makes it worse. Lucy thinks that Tom is going too fast, but then Ron eventually smooths things over and tells them that they should be honest with each other about how they feel. Tom says that he's all in with Lucy, but he doesn't want to rush her. Looks like things are going to be okay between them.

Ben and Leslie take the night off from the kids, staying in a hotel after the rehearsal dinner. They leave the kids with a very frazzled nanny. Jen Barkley shows up and says that Ben should run for the House of Representatives. Ben isn't sure, so Leslie decides to help him with his decision. First, he'll pretend that he's decided to run, and act like he's campaigning for the day. The next day, he'll act like he's decided not to run, and see how that feels. While Ben is at the rehearsal dinner, he gets quite drunk, and enjoys himself a little bit too much with his shmoozing of the wedding guests. Leslie also has a lot to drink.

The next morning they wake up and discover that Ben called Jen Barkley the night before and agreed to run. The campaign commercial is already out there! Ben isn't sure what to do. Jen says he call pull his candidacy if he wants to, but that it would be embarrassing for him and probably ruin his career. Leslie tells Ben that he should go for it. Even though their lives are hectic, if it's important, they can make it work. Ben is confronted by a bunch of publicity at the wedding, and he announces his candidacy and adroitly addresses the criticisms leveled against him.

Donna and Joe get married, and all is well!

I don't think I have complaints, really. I suppose I'm still not totally thrilled about Lucy and Tom. I just don't really get it. Lucy is too bland for me at this point. Also, Andy hasn't had a lot to do this season. I want more crazy April and Andy shenanigans soon.

However, despite my ambivalent opinion of Lucy, I did really love Ron's intervention into Tom's love life. He makes his mistakes, but then he also fixes it, and brings Lucy and Tom closer together. Ron is at his best when he takes on that fatherly mentor role with all of the different characters.

Donna was absolutely gorgeous in that dress. You know, it sucks that I even have to say this, but it's so rare to see a plus-size woman - never-mind a plus-size woman of color - on TV like this. Donna is confident, and sexy, and never puts herself down. And, she gets the fairy-tale romance and wedding that seem to mostly happen to skinny white girls on TV. I think this is important.

The Meagles were also absolutely hilarious. I loved all of their silly antics and arguments. And then of course there's Ginuwine, making his cameo. April yelling at him was the best part. And Donna's brother, LeVondrious, coming in with a microwave? Classic!

Of course, my favorite parts of this episode were Leslie and Ben's scenes. We finally saw the triplets! All of the stuff with the poor frazzled nanny was just excellent. I particularly loved it when Leslie said that she loved the nanny more than she loved Ben. Poor, poor Ben. Those kids really are trouble-makers, which makes sense for the offspring of Leslie Knope. I appreciate the realistic nature of these kids' behavior, though. It always bothers me when kids are little angels on TV. That's rarely the case.

And then there's Ben's new campaign! The House of Representatives! That's some big stuff. Part of me wants to see Leslie run, but I think she really does belong with the National Parks Service. She has reached the apex of her career, and she is very happy with where she's at. Ben is now the one who wants to move forward and find success, and I think that's excellent.

Leslie and Ben are just too precious when they're drunk. Ben's speech to Donna and Joe, and then his hilarious dance moves, and then Leslie calling 867-5309 over and over? All of this stuff had me laughing out loud. The two of them are such a solid, amazing couple. They support each other, they have fun with each other, and they can really go the distance if they have one another. I know that all sounds very cheesy, but hey. This show is ending soon, I think I'm allowed to get a bit sentimental.

8/10