Season 4, Episode 14
One of the major complaints lobbed against last week's episode – both by me and other critics – is that it depicted Leslie completely unrestrained, and tested the limits of the character's likability. Parks and Recreation is a comedy, of course, and (most) comedies are supposed to have their characters act outlandish in order to get laughs, but having Leslie acts selfishly ignorant to what's going on around her threatens our ability to like and root for the character, which I would argue is essential to show keeping an audience, especially in the middle of a storyline that she's Leslie running for public office. So it was a positive that “Operation Ann” took a step aside from the political race and reminded us of just what a awesome person Leslie Knope truly is.
I feel like Rashida Jones has gotten a bad rap over the years, having first served the thankless role as Love Triangle Completer Karen on The Office, where she earned fan scorn just for keeping Jim and Pam apart, even though she played a perfectly lovely and reasonable character. That hatred seemed to carry over to her stint on P&R, where she once again had to play a fairly straight character, which often meant she wasn't given the best of the story lines. (It also helped fuel the false claim that Rashida Jones isn't funny, when we all know now that she can be hilarious when given the chance.)
Thus “Operation Ann”, based on the title alone, would seem to be the episode to make up for her marginalization over the years, even if once again she isn't called on to be funny. Giving Ann a new romantic counterpart may not be the most original idea for the character, given that he last major arc was about her relationship with Chris, and the not-very-well-developed denouement that saw her date a string of random guys. Couple this lack of originality with the fact that the writers decided to pair her with Tom – two characters who have showed no chemistry in the past – and it all feels fairly perfunctory.
The ending to the A-story left me unsure as to whether or not her and Tom's relationship was going to last beyond this episode, but if it does, I'm not ready to write it off just yet, especially not based solely on their lack of chemistry previously. The show has always been able to get good mileage out of Ann's annoyance with Tom, and from Tom's ability to mature when faced with a serious relationship (see: Lucy), so there are elements at play here that could work for an arc, if that's what the writers are aiming for. However, if that's going to be the case, then they have to treat it with a defter hand in the future in order for us to buy the coupling. (Also, wasn't Tom supposed to be getting back with Lucy? Wasn't that why she appeared in “End of the World”? Or could the scheduling with Natalie Morales just not work out?)
Yet if the particulars of Ann's story were a drag, everything around it that wasn't specifically about Ann was actually pretty great. As mentioned at the top of this review, this was a good about face for Leslie, as her relentless selflessness in her quest to find Ann a date is a perfect reminder of just why it is that she is able to inspire such loyalty. However, what's even more notable was how Leslie was outshone by April, who contributed in her own way to Ann's quest for happiness. Thought the show has often mined laughs out of April's sociopathic outlook on life, there also been a subtle arc this season that's seen her developing a more empathic side. Thus, while Ann's actions here were minor relative to Leslie pulling out all the stops, her pushing Ann towards Tom as an act of generosity marks a large step forward for her character.
Elsewhere the show made it up to another actor who perhaps hasn't been fully utilized, as the episode continued Chris' depression over his breakup with Milicent. I realize that Rob Lowe has probably had more screen time than Jones since he joined the cast, but Jones has had a greater variety of emotions to play, and it's nice to see Lowe play a something other than ridiculously upbeat. And while it's perhaps not a stretch for the character to do every emotion to the extreme, Lowe managed to hit a lot of funny beats in that depression/desperation combo, especially in that longing look he gave to Jerry upon realizing that he shares 50% DNA with Millie.
As awesome as these three elements were in their own right, it can't go without mentioning that combined together, and placed in proximity to Ann's storyline, had the ill-effect of making the A- and B-plot combination of making all of these stories feel slight, especially the titular line about finding Ann a date. While normally this isn't the biggest problem – P&R has a large enough ensemble that eventually everybody has to be relegated to the sidelines, and weaving a bunch of simple plots together has long be the show's MO – it feel like an insult that an episode that was supposed to make up for the fact that Ann usually isn't given enough to do, in fact doesn't give her enough to do.
However, the third plot of the night made up for a lot of this, at least on the comedic level, as the three remaining men – Ron, Ben, and Andy – go out on a quest to help Ben with solving the Valentine's Day scavenger hunt Leslie made for him. While there a nice moment in here where Leslie realized that she had made the hunt too hard for Ben, which was yet another moment of the show reeling in the out-of-control version of her character, this was outshone by two delightfully comedic scene. The first was the mini-Party Down reunion between Adam Scott and Martin Starr, who played the acerbic Snowglobe museum employee, a character that absolutely must return. The even better moment was when the show peeled back the manly exterior of Ron Swanson to show us his exuberant love of scavenger hunts, which included no small amount of him giggling. And if there's one sure fire comedic element on this show, it's Ron Swanson giggling.
Of course now the show has written itself into a corner, because if they don't follow up on the closing tag and we don't see the scavenger that Leslie planned for Ron's birthday, it's just going to be a wasted opportunity, isn't it?
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
Another bit of plot that the episode could have done without: The Ann-Chris reunion fake out. I mean I appreciate the show not going there, especially when it seemed as if the episode was building up to it originally, but I would have rather the show just leave it alone.
Thus “Operation Ann”, based on the title alone, would seem to be the episode to make up for her marginalization over the years, even if once again she isn't called on to be funny. Giving Ann a new romantic counterpart may not be the most original idea for the character, given that he last major arc was about her relationship with Chris, and the not-very-well-developed denouement that saw her date a string of random guys. Couple this lack of originality with the fact that the writers decided to pair her with Tom – two characters who have showed no chemistry in the past – and it all feels fairly perfunctory.
The ending to the A-story left me unsure as to whether or not her and Tom's relationship was going to last beyond this episode, but if it does, I'm not ready to write it off just yet, especially not based solely on their lack of chemistry previously. The show has always been able to get good mileage out of Ann's annoyance with Tom, and from Tom's ability to mature when faced with a serious relationship (see: Lucy), so there are elements at play here that could work for an arc, if that's what the writers are aiming for. However, if that's going to be the case, then they have to treat it with a defter hand in the future in order for us to buy the coupling. (Also, wasn't Tom supposed to be getting back with Lucy? Wasn't that why she appeared in “End of the World”? Or could the scheduling with Natalie Morales just not work out?)
Yet if the particulars of Ann's story were a drag, everything around it that wasn't specifically about Ann was actually pretty great. As mentioned at the top of this review, this was a good about face for Leslie, as her relentless selflessness in her quest to find Ann a date is a perfect reminder of just why it is that she is able to inspire such loyalty. However, what's even more notable was how Leslie was outshone by April, who contributed in her own way to Ann's quest for happiness. Thought the show has often mined laughs out of April's sociopathic outlook on life, there also been a subtle arc this season that's seen her developing a more empathic side. Thus, while Ann's actions here were minor relative to Leslie pulling out all the stops, her pushing Ann towards Tom as an act of generosity marks a large step forward for her character.
Elsewhere the show made it up to another actor who perhaps hasn't been fully utilized, as the episode continued Chris' depression over his breakup with Milicent. I realize that Rob Lowe has probably had more screen time than Jones since he joined the cast, but Jones has had a greater variety of emotions to play, and it's nice to see Lowe play a something other than ridiculously upbeat. And while it's perhaps not a stretch for the character to do every emotion to the extreme, Lowe managed to hit a lot of funny beats in that depression/desperation combo, especially in that longing look he gave to Jerry upon realizing that he shares 50% DNA with Millie.
As awesome as these three elements were in their own right, it can't go without mentioning that combined together, and placed in proximity to Ann's storyline, had the ill-effect of making the A- and B-plot combination of making all of these stories feel slight, especially the titular line about finding Ann a date. While normally this isn't the biggest problem – P&R has a large enough ensemble that eventually everybody has to be relegated to the sidelines, and weaving a bunch of simple plots together has long be the show's MO – it feel like an insult that an episode that was supposed to make up for the fact that Ann usually isn't given enough to do, in fact doesn't give her enough to do.
However, the third plot of the night made up for a lot of this, at least on the comedic level, as the three remaining men – Ron, Ben, and Andy – go out on a quest to help Ben with solving the Valentine's Day scavenger hunt Leslie made for him. While there a nice moment in here where Leslie realized that she had made the hunt too hard for Ben, which was yet another moment of the show reeling in the out-of-control version of her character, this was outshone by two delightfully comedic scene. The first was the mini-Party Down reunion between Adam Scott and Martin Starr, who played the acerbic Snowglobe museum employee, a character that absolutely must return. The even better moment was when the show peeled back the manly exterior of Ron Swanson to show us his exuberant love of scavenger hunts, which included no small amount of him giggling. And if there's one sure fire comedic element on this show, it's Ron Swanson giggling.
Of course now the show has written itself into a corner, because if they don't follow up on the closing tag and we don't see the scavenger that Leslie planned for Ron's birthday, it's just going to be a wasted opportunity, isn't it?
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
Another bit of plot that the episode could have done without: The Ann-Chris reunion fake out. I mean I appreciate the show not going there, especially when it seemed as if the episode was building up to it originally, but I would have rather the show just leave it alone.
And on that note, I appreciated that the show gave us another Galentine's Day scene, but as a long-time viewer, I felt insulted that the writer felt the need to give us a talking head explaining it all again.
“'Joseph Stalin Dies'?” “That right, Mom, and you replaced him. Not in terms of genocide, just in terms of, you know, being on this earth.”
“'Dear Congress, it's Leslie again...”
“It's really hard to say 'congrats' without sounding sarcastic.”
“Ann, you beautiful spinster, I will find you love.”
“Thank you all for being here. Now, let's get started.” “Wow, great attitude, Ron.” “Sorry, I was talking to these ribs.”
“Tom, this is a publicly funded couples' dance. I don't think it's appropriate for people to be getting 'Wet with sound.'”
“Offense intended, Orren. Let this be a wake up call to the way you present yourself to the world.”
“Well, Alex gives my campaign legal advice, and Ann is the greatest human being ever invented.”
“Hey, Chris-Cross, can we change up the music here? It kind of sounds like the end of a movie about a monk who killed himself.”
“Stop staring at Jerry like that.”
“Not as beautiful as my sister, but you know the law.” “What?” “Oh, Jeff...”
“How is your evening unfolding in terms of having conversations with men?”
“I love passionate speakers, and I love Italian men, doesn't mean I love Mussolini.”
“'Dear Congress, it's Leslie again...”
“It's really hard to say 'congrats' without sounding sarcastic.”
“Ann, you beautiful spinster, I will find you love.”
“Thank you all for being here. Now, let's get started.” “Wow, great attitude, Ron.” “Sorry, I was talking to these ribs.”
“Tom, this is a publicly funded couples' dance. I don't think it's appropriate for people to be getting 'Wet with sound.'”
“Offense intended, Orren. Let this be a wake up call to the way you present yourself to the world.”
“Well, Alex gives my campaign legal advice, and Ann is the greatest human being ever invented.”
“Hey, Chris-Cross, can we change up the music here? It kind of sounds like the end of a movie about a monk who killed himself.”
“Stop staring at Jerry like that.”
“Not as beautiful as my sister, but you know the law.” “What?” “Oh, Jeff...”
“How is your evening unfolding in terms of having conversations with men?”
“I love passionate speakers, and I love Italian men, doesn't mean I love Mussolini.”
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