At this point I am fairly convinced this show is no longer capable of turning out a bad episode. "Pawnee Rangers" is the fourth phenomenal episode in a season that has been damn near perfect so far.
In this episode we get to see Leslie and Ron's dueling scout troops, the Pawnee Rangers and the Pawnee Goddesses (can you guess whose is whose?). Ron comes at his leadership role with his usual manly stoicism, giving us a hilarious extension of what we saw back in "Go Big or Go Home" with his basketball team. And Leslie, of course, showers her girl power fueled troop with affection, merit badges, candy, and puppies (no, seriously). It quickly becomes clear who has the superior troop, as Ron's men-in-training begin to defect to Leslie's group.
Leslie's "little Leslie Knope monsters" are perfect playing against Amy Poehler in this episode, especially when they begin to channel their enthusiastic leader just a little too much (it's 70% pride-inspiring, 30% annoying). They lead a public forum to determine whether boys should be allowed to join the Pawnee Goddesses, and it is fantastic. It also leads to Ron's entire troop (including Andy, aka Brother Nature) taking a pledge of womanhood. The story wraps up really well, though, with Leslie recruiting the best members of each troop for Ron's elite group, The Swansons. I hope they make a return appearance soon.
Additionally, the Goddesses hate Ann. I feel kind of bad that most of the stories involving Ann this season have been her trying to get people to be nice to her, but this one is too hilarious. It's mostly because she just tries to gosh darn hard to get people to like her, and she just fails almost every time (though that scheme with the fish seems to work out pretty well; then again, maybe she just gets along better with boys). I also like that as much as the Goddesses hate Ann, they love April.
And if that all weren't enough to make this episode extremely appealing, I haven't even gotten to the hilarious subplot involving Tom, Donna, and Ben. Donna shows her compassionate side by sensing that Ben is feeling a bit off (though she does erroneously attribute it to Game of Thrones' cancellation at first), and convinces Tom to take him along with them on their "Treat Yourself Day" field trip. What in the world is "Treat Yourself Day", you ask? Well, it sounds like just about the best day ever, and something that is right up Donna and Tom's alley. It's all about relaxation and spending money on frivolous items (there is a fashion show sequence involved, the full version of which I fervently hope is included in the deleted material from this episode). Anyway, Ben predictably finds this pretty insane at first, given his lack of interest in high-end clothing and spa treatments (him trying to get acupuncture is one of the most hilarious moments in the episode), until Donna and Tom convince him to buy something ridiculous he's interested in. And believe me, I tried to imagine what this might end up being, and I was absolutely wrong. It's okay though, because the real result is far more hilarious than anything I might have dreamed up.
I cannot deal with Ben dressed as Batman, especially since they make him wear the costume the rest of the episode/day. It's just too ridiculous and over the top, and just when you think it can't get anymore absurd, Batman breaks down and starts crying over his breakup. There are moments in television that are almost too much, and this is one of them. Fortunately, the heart to heart with Tom and Donna that follows saves it from becoming too painful to watch. I really like this friendship because I was initially really disappointed by Ben's whole "I have nothing to stay in Pawnee for" stance, and I am glad to see he's learning that Leslie doesn't have to be his whole world (and probably shouldn't be, if he's crying in public over her). It's a rare subplot that has both laugh-out-loud absurdity and genuine character development, but this one absolutely raises the bar. Not to mention the tag, which gives us a fantastic snapshot of how life is going over at Casa Ludgate-Dwyer-Wyatt.
Also, there's a third plot where Chris starts dating Jerry's daughter. That I don't care about so much (or at all).
No comments:
Post a Comment