TV Review: Parks and Recreation 4.13-- Bowling for Votes

I think my first favorite thing in this episode is the idea that not only is Leslie watching her own focus group meeting, but in typical fashion she obsesses literally nonstop over individual remarks from random Pawneeans.  My second favorite thing is that this segues smoothly into probably my favorite bowling outing I've ever watched on TV.

I like that this episode divided the cast's storylines into a kind of A-team (with the more major players) vs. B-team (the rest of the gang, gathered back at April and Andy's house) setup.  It gave us a pretty fantastic interaction between Ann, Tom, and Ron, who haven't had a whole lot to do together this season, and on the other side gave April and Andy a chance to shine while neutralizing Chris' often grating personality.



But let's talk about probably the most important part of this episode:  that awesome moment in which Ben defended Leslie's honor after her bowling partner called her "my second-least favorite word for a woman". I think we can all agree that the fact that Ben throws the punch of a nine year old girl (seriously, who punches upward like that?!) makes it that much more fantastic.  And Leslie's reaction, while somewhat surprising, was icing on the cake.  We also got a new campaign slogan out of all this:  "If you don't vote for me, my boyfriend might beat you up."

One thing I thought about during this episode was why, exactly, we saw Ann, Tom, and Ron grouped together (and Ann and Tom being, dare I say, just a little bit flirty?).  I've been reading speculation about future episodes, and it's been revealed that some time around Valentine's Day, we're going to get an episode in which Ann has a romantic encounter with someone very unexpected.  I've wondered since reading this tidbit if it wouldn't be one of these two gentlemen, and I think the interactions in "Bowling for Votes" confirm my suspicion.  My money is tentatively on Tom, for the moment, but then again, Ann is a brunette who enjoys breakfast food, and therefore exactly Ron's type. 

Oh, and also, April might be a wizard.