Finally, I have time to discuss this episode! I've re-watched it a couple of times now, which was necessary, because my initial reaction was something along these lines:
Inner Voice 1: Leslie and Ben are getting back together! Did anything else important happen in this episode?
Inner Voice 2: Nope. I don't know that anything else happened in this episode, period.
Thankfully, I've managed to distance myself a little bit and appreciate this episode as a whole. I will acknowledge that "Smallest Park" is not my favorite overall episode of the season in terms of delivering uproarious laughs, but it does a whole lot of character development in 22 minutes, with a care and swiftness of which few shows are capable. Also, I've concluded that I think this should be (at the very least) a serious contender for the episode Amy Poehler (and Adam Scott, if at all possible outside my imagination) ought to submit for Emmy consideration. But more on that in a minute; let's review what went down in Pawnee this week.
First we get a generous dose of Tom struggling to walk the line between his entrepreneur persona and the role he has returned to in the Parks Department, working alongside Jerry to re-design the department's logo. This may have been similar to the attitude old Tom so frequently displayed, but I like to think his decision at the end to go with the retro "throwback" design is indicative that he really has grown and maybe, just maybe, learned a little something from his time working with Jerry (cue hysterical laughter from everyone present in the office).
Also making baby steps forward: Andy and April. The focus this week is Andy's foray into community college, shopping for classes and trying to find one that will best allow him to expand his horizons. Along for the ride as a chaperone/mentor is Ron, who pushes Andy to challenge himself. I have to say, I think Ron and Andy's friendship runs a close second to Ron and Leslie's for my favorite friendship on the show, because it gives us such a great glimpse of Ron's capacity for selflessness and compassion, despite the tough-as-nails facade he always puts on. In the end, Andy decides to take a Women's Studies course (which yes, is every bit as hilarious as you're imagining), and Ron offers him an exclusive "scholarship" to kick-start his education.
Did I forget anything? Oh right. There is also some major stuff going on with Leslie and Ben in this episode. Major. Stuff. They're working together on the smallest park in Indiana (which has to be one of my favorite Leslie projects so far), but Ben insists it will be the last time they work together, as it's just gotten too difficult to be around one another following their breakup. Leslie , in typical stubborn fashion, refuses to accept this (though she pretends to understand), and strives to prolong the project's duration as long as she possibly can. Luckily, we get a reprieve from the Ann and Leslie friendship drought this season's been enduring, just in the nick of time. Ann lets Leslie know, finally and in a necessarily blunt way, that she is a "steamroller" and fails to take the feelings of others into account. And because Ann is the one person Leslie will always allow to talk her down, she concludes that this assessment must be correct, and sets out to show Ben that she's capable of changing her ways.
And then the best scene ever happens. Seriously, if nothing else, watch Leslie and Ben's faces during that last exchange; it is mind-blowing how good the acting is, and there is no moment more deserving.
Like I said, I think that this is an ideal episode for Amy Poehler to submit because it literally showcases all the nuances of the amazing things she's doing on this show. We get some always funny Leslie-craziness as she tries to put off the park's opening, a carefully constructed and realistic arc for her character as she realizes the damage she's been doing to her relationships, and some genuine but not over-the-top emotion in that last scene with Ben. It's everything a sitcom actress ought to be doing on a show like this, and while I would have been ticked about it before, Amy Poehler getting snubbed for recognition after an episode like this one is an absolute crime.
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