This episode is yet another puzzle piece in what has been a very emotionally-engaged season. I have been enjoying Season 4 because it really does feel like the next natural phase in the evolution of Parks: we've spent three season now getting to know these characters and their (many, many) quirks and coming to care very much about them (some of us, myself included, maybe a little too much). And now we're getting the payoff of all that foundation-building in episodes like "The End of the World," which has each of our favorite Pawneeans taking a long look at something significant in his or her life. An episode like this only works when there is genuine investment in each character's happiness, and I think the impact of this episode is a testament to how well this show has bred that emotional investment.
"The End of the World" gave us a chance to meet the remaining members of Zorp, a cult which took Pawnee by storm in the 1970's. They have predicted, based on some very sound writings (wink wink), that the world is going to end, and want to use the occasion to hold a vigil in one of Pawnee's scenic parks. Leslie indulges them, and as the word spreads about the impending apocalypse, everyone's evening takes a turn for the exciting and potentially life-changing.
First we finally got an indication of how Leslie is handling the fallout from her breakup with Ben, and it quickly becomes clear that she hasn't been handling it at all until now. Forced to watch the irrepressible Shauna Malwae-Tweep flirting with her ex, Leslie enters a downward spiral of jealousy and awkwardness that rivals the cringe-worthiness of season one's "The Reporter" (also, curiously, heavily involving Shauna). It is almost hard to watch Leslie's attempts to distract Ben, at one point driving him to an abandoned gas station just to keep him from going to a party with Shauna. And when he reveals that he's known the whole time exactly what she's been doing, the interaction goes from painfully awkward to just painful. I am so unbelievably thrilled that Leslie is getting a chance to run for office, but watching scenes like this I just want these two crazy kids to get back together, already.
Across town at the now former headquarters of Entertainment 720, Tom and Jean-Ralphio have decided to spend their final ten thousand dollars on a party for the end of the world. Not only were we treated to another fantastic Jean-Ralphio appearance, but we got further indication that, while he may be a bit down in the dumps right now, Tom is going to be okay eventually (and bonus points for bringing back his former girlfriend Lucy to drive this point home). I loved the little bromance moment we got with Tom and his erstwhile business partner, and I really hope that we'll still get a healthy dose of their antics in the future.
My favorite plot in this episode, though, is Andy and April scrambling to fulfill all the items on Andy's bucket list. Every single activity is so undeniably Andy (hold a thousand dollars cash, make the world's best grilled cheese, be an action star), and it is only made better by April's absolutely unquestioning support. I think the "movie" they made starring Burt Macklin is one of my new favorite things, along with, of course, the final scene when they reached the Grand Canyon. Not only was this the perfect ending for the episode (especially with the addition of that song as the sun came up), but it was one of the best Andy and April plots we've seen in a long time, reminding us why we fell in love with the two of them in the first place.
What I love about this episode is that it really feels like a hinge in the season, an installment that sort of takes stock of where everyone's head is at and opens a lot of doors for developments in the weeks to come. In other words, this is the ideal kind of episode to lead in to November sweeps, and the potential game-changers that entails.
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