Ron Loves Diane

Parks and Recreation, S05E11

Leslie wanted to initiate more goverment jobs for females, so she started by tackling the sanitation department.  She and April tried to prove that female garbage collectors could do the job just as well as males.  Chris was confused about where he stood with Shauna.  Tom asked Andy and Ben to teach him about basketball, so he could relate to his costumers.  Ron had Ann look over Diane's girls when he had exhausted himself watching them.

Besides the fridge business, I think Leslie and April had no problems really picking up trash.  It was cute to see something that Leslie had dragged April into that she actually enjoyed.  Even if it was to invade people's privacy.  I also liked that April was the one who convinced Leslie to think of another way to handle the fridge, so they wouldn't lose to the jerks setting them up to fail.  However, my favorite part of this story was when Leslie and Chris were having the meeting with the gender equality commission.  April pointed out there were only men present and Leslie spoke out:

[Leslie] Excuse me, everyone, did anyone notice that there are no women on the gender equality commission?

[Milton] There's a lady right next to you.  Oh, wait, no--it's just a very beautiful man.

I loved Chris looking offended for a second before he smiled at the compliment at the end.  Man, even guys like Milton can admit to Chris' good looks.

I could understand why Chris is a little confused about his standing with Shauna, but I was glad that Leslie gave him some advice about it:

[Leslie] I know you're not used to this, but maybe you should just try to keep it chill and see what happens.

[Chris] Great advice.  Impossible to follow, but great advice.

It's great that Chris can make his negativy sound positive.  It's not just his words, but his peppy, fast-paced voice.

I was surpsied in Tom's story that he doesn't know more about basketball than what he knows from the Kardashians' show.  Wow.  I knew he was sort of a non-traditional kind of guy, but I didn't know he was this bad.  After watching him play basketball like he had never heard of the sport in his life, he summed up his ignorance in one line:

Did I do basketball?

It was just a sad sight to watch him try to dribble and throw worse than what a preschooler would, and it got worse when the very type of customers he was trying to impress joined him on the court and schooled Tom and his friends in a game.  Tom's got some good friends who would put up with that and not call off the game before it even started.  But it was funny to see kids dominate them so hard.

Ron's story was just adorable.  To see someone like him just sitting like a statue while two little girls played with him as they pretty much wished was hilarious.  I admire that he loves Dianne so much that he would put up with that torture for as long as he did before he tried to pawn them off to Ann.  It's weird, though, that Ron still doesn't know her name (actually, no it isn't because Ron is like that):

[Ron] I thought your last name was Hanson for some reason.
[Ann] Nope, it's Perkins.  Always has been.
[Ron] You seem more like a Hanson.

The funniest thing about Ron asking Ann to watch over the kids was how bad and uneasy she was with the girls.  When she told them the scary story and the girls screamed, I loved how Ron forced a laugh and asked Ann:

What is wrong with you, woman?

It doesn't really surprise me, though.  Ann is sort of a hit or miss type of person with people.  She doesn't universally click with everyone and sort of easily gets on the bad foot with people.  It makes sense that with people out of her generation (not unlike April), she stumbles to connect and speak to them naturally.

The best thing about this story and possibly the whole episode was when Ron admitted to Ann that he loved Diane.  Aww!  Then to make it even better, Diane told him that she loved him and Ron said the same in the tiniest voice possible.  Yay!  Ron and Diane forever!

This was a pretty good episode, but I can't say that any of the stories were really that stronger than the other.  After that phenomenal last episode, I feel like I'm still expecting every story to be of the same caliber.  There were a few funny lines, and Tom's first try at basketball was one of the best jokes in there, but Ron's declaration of love for his girlfriend was the most awesome event of the episode.  Best of all, it wasn't anything I was expecting at all, making it a wonderful surprise.

Lots Of Love All Around

Parks and Recreation, S05E09

Ron brought Diane and Leslie to an award event where he would be honored for a chair he built.  Leslie was worried that Debbie showing up would cause the couple problems, but Diane was most worried about Leslie's involvement in Ron's life.  Ann refused to let the others in the office attend Jerry's Christmas party because they had intended to spend the night celebrating how much they laughed at Jerry over the past year.  Ben also looked after Chris at the party, making sure that he didn't fall apart emotionally.

I really loved how excited Ron was to attend the woodwork event.  He was giggling at the sight of someone he said was famous, who Leslie and Diane had no idea about.  I actually wasn't too worried about Debbie showing up because I noticed early on that Diane seemed worried about how well Leslie knew Ron.  It doesn't seem odd that she would because no one knows Ron like Leslie does, except maybe his ex-wives?  But it was sweet that Leslie would take on Debbie by herself just so that Diane and Ron could spend the rest of the night alone.  She's such a great friend!  Cuz that Debbie bitch is crazy (but at the end when she was in cuffs, I would have killed to see Lucy Lawless kick her ass like she suggested).

Ron obviously loves Diane because he revealed one of his biggest secrets to her--that he is Duke Silver!  Wow!  I was really impressed that he did that!  It was also funny that one of Ron's fan said she was going to kill Diane!  Damn.  Didn't know he had such dedicated fans!  Great scene.

I didn't expect that Ann would condemn the mean party that the others were having concerning Jerry, but I'm glad she did.  After all, they should be a little nicer to the guy after he had a brush with death.  It was nice that Donna had a change of heart and wanted to include Jerry in the dinner instead of just using it as a time to make fun of him behind his back because they all got to see that Jerry was throwing a big ol' Christmas celebration.  I freaking loved seeing them peeping into the window, dying to get in there.  It was kind of like Scrooge peeking into his nephew's house and seeing how much of an ass he had been to his only family member.  It was nice that they took all the money that they had collected to remember Jerry's fumbling at work to instead donate to his medical bills.  And they learned that Jerry always sent them nice emails congratulating them on their achievements and birthdays.  He's such a sweetheart and it was great they had a moment to remember that behind his Charlie Brown-esq personality, there is a heart of gold.  Way to get into the Christmas spirit.

I was also impressed with Chris's progress.  I didn't think that his 15 times a week with his therapist were really helping, but they were.  He could drink non-fat egg nog, let someone point out his gray hair, and speak to his ex-girlfriend and her fiance without spiraling into his usual dark place (although I think it's hilarious when he gets so negative).  I also loved that Ben was doing his best to support him and make sure that he kept it together.  I sort of forgot until they had this overly long hug that they are such good friends.  I love their bromance, especially on Chris's end because he needs all the love he can get.

I just got this warm, happy feeling from this episode--it was great.  This is one of those stories about Christmas that didn't make me hate the overall spirit of this holiday.  We got to see Leslie be there for Ron and Diane, Diane and Ron become closer, Tom and the rest give Jerry a break, and Ben and Chris reconnect as friends.  I have nothing bad to say about it.

Fart Attack And Proposal

Parks and Recreation, S05E05

Jerry had a heart attack, and Leslie got together a garage sale and auction to raise some money for his bills.  She got a little too enthusiastic about the fundraising after learning that Ben was thinking about starting a new campaign project in Florida.  Ron and Andy joined Diane and her kids for trick-or-treating, but things went badly when Diane had to leave them alone with Ron.

I like how they downplayed Jerry's heart attack with him farting so much you wondered as Tom had said if Jerry had eaten farts for lunch.  I liked how Tom was frustrated that the doctor refused to label Jerry's condition as a "fart attack."  It was also nice to see everyone wanting to help Jerry instead of just making fun of him as they usually do (I mean, he's sort of the Charlie Brown of the group, but he's a sweet man).  

Jerry's hospitalization also worked to expose Leslie's insecurity about her future with Ben when she saw that Jerry's plans for the future would no longer be able to go as he planned with his medical bills and possible further health complications.  I love how Leslie tries to deal with her own problems by trying to fix someone else's problem.  Her desperation to fix everything (which I suppose in her mind would have made things magically better with Ben) even led her to try and sell Ann at the auction.  I really loved that part because although two attractive guys bid on her, one really creepy guy with a tank top outbid the others and had unpleasant ideas on how they'd spend their date.

I was really starting to feel so bad for Leslie, especially since she was trying to live through Jerry of all people, until Ben suddenly showed up and proposed!  I did not see that coming!  They totally surprised and delighted me.  It was so sweet and I couldn't be happier to know that they are engaged now.  I don't know if that means he won't take the job in Florida, but I at least know that Leslie will probably shift her focus to planning the most ridiculous wedding ever.  She'll probably spend the most time on figuring out a cake (or I think a sweets bar would really suit her) that has enough sugar to put someone in a coma.  I'm so excited to see their wedding (if we get to see it--I'd be so disappointed if not)!

Ron's story was a little sad too because he just isn't good with kids at all (although Andy is like a huge kid, so he sort of has experience with them).  I was worried that he was going to cast aside Diane for a moment there.  I'm not ready to see Lucy Lawless leave just yet.  And somehow she looks pretty damn good in a ridiculous princess outfit.  Haha.  But I kept wondering what the hell Ron was dressed as?  Was he trying to be one of the dwarfs from Snow White?

One of my favorite things about that story was at the very end when Ron retook the girls for trick-or-treating about a week later.  He just asked people to get something sweet from their house and give it to the girls and then slipped them some money for their trouble.  That's pretty damn sweet.  And even though they were getting things like cookie dough, I'm sure it made their day.

There were also a couple of good lines from this story.  Andy supplied one of them:

[Andy] 7:34 p.m. Man dressed as nerd. Lady dressed as crazy witch.

[Man] Neither of us is in costume.

Ron's best line was when one of the girls told him she needed to use the bathroom and he replied:

I have no idea what to do about that.

Donna also had a good line from when she was attending the garage sale.  An annoyed Twitter follower complained about her tweets on the movie.  She told him to unfollow her if he didn't like what she was saying (why do people on Twitter complain so much about tweets they chose to read by their own will??) and had this to say when he wondered what she was doing on her phone:

I'm live tweeting this dumbass conversation.

I would love to do that to someone if I had the skills to type that fast on my phone.  Because she didn't even make eye contact with that moron.

Great episode.  A lot of good things happened (one that I didn't mention being Tom's possible new business venture).  The best, of course, is that Ben and Leslie will one day be married!  Yes!  I couldn't bear to see them split apart by his job or her job--they just have to make it work somehow.  I hope now we get to see them actually together a little bit more from now on.  I liked their phone conversations but I miss their face-to-face interactions.  Can't wait for more of their lovey-dovey scenes!

A Toilet, A Pothole, And A Road Trip

Parks and Recreation, S05E03

Leslie tried to get a bill passed by doing things her own way, but saw that sometimes she has to do things the "easier" way.  Ron and Andy went to fix a lady's pothole after being unable to solve the woman's problem over the phone.  April and Ben tried to drive to Pawnee to see their loved ones, but got stopped in the parking lot for several reason until it was too late for them.

I think the best thing about the Leslie story is that all she had to do to get her bill to pass was to pacify her fellow councilman by giving her his office, which he only wanted so he could have his own toilet.  To think that decisions are made over something as simple as a toilet is pretty funny.  But I like that Leslie resisted giving into Jamm's demands, until the very end after winning over Milton had failed.  I can't be mad at her for making some concessions when it came to her own policies, especially when it made a bunch of kids happy.  Plus, she got to shove Jamm into a pool before he told everyone how she got the bill passed.  So all, in all, a victory for her.

There were also some good lines in that story.  My favorite was when Milton was offering Leslie and Tom the salad and Tom didn't want to eat it because Milton had already said some offensive things to him:

[Leslie] Tom, eat some.
[Tom] I’m not eating racist salad.
[Leslie] The more we eat, the faster we talk.
[Tom] You can really taste the ignorance.
[Milton] It’s pronounced “anchovies.”

I'm really glad that Tom is by Leslie's side not just for the support, but for the much needed laughs.

I also thought April and Ben's story was really good just because it involved the "Odd Couple" stranded together in a car.  It's too bad that we didn't get to see more because I think the tension would have been crazy funny.  I especially liked how April made fun of his choice in music and gave him a look when she heard what he had on his "summer jam" CD.  Ben is such a dork, which makes him the best person to showcase April's coolness.  They could make a spin-off of them working in D.C., for real.

What I liked best about the Ron story was, of course, that Ron began to like a woman named Diane, who was played by Lucy Lawless.  That seems like a great match!  It was really sweet how Andy made sure that Diane came to see him by writing a note for her on the fixed pothole.  Otherwise, I think Ron would have been too embarrassed to ever show his face again.  It will be nice to see Ron dating someone who can match him on his powerful level, yet not be crazy like all of his evil ex-wives.

Also, at the beginning of that story when Chris was explaining about starting therapy, I loved how he wouldn't let Jerry share anything about his own therapy, suggesting that it was too much.  But I think I liked best when Chris was sort of talking to himself in an attempt to thank himself and admitted that he sounded insane.  I knew that him starting therapy would make him more insane!  I'm glad that Chris just doesn't disappoint.  And if he has any other crazy ideas like the 311 line, I can continue to be pleased by his new path for mental health.

Great episode.  It could only be better if April and Ben's story were extended, but we simply didn't have enough time.  I'm pretty excited to see how Diane and Ron's relationship goes, especially since it seems like Diane is about his equal.  Looking forward to seeing more of Lucy Lawless next time!