Finally, "Parks" fans hungry for some more face–time with the enigmatic Donna Meagle get thrown a bone. This week, she’s at the center of a scandal when she accidentally sends out a salacious personal tweet from the Parks Department Twitter account (it mentions firemen). Leslie’s archenemy, Councilman Jamm, makes the tweet the center of a media circus in his crusade to get Leslie recalled (“it makes Benghazi look like Whitewater!”). But the deeper dive into Donna’s Twitter reveals tweets that chronicle her love–hate relationship with Leslie, symbolized by alternating hashtags: #BossBitch and #BitchBoss. After briefly worrying that everyone thinks she’s annoying, Leslie ultimately gets over it, and calls a truce with Donna with an “apology present.” Add that to the list of present holidays.
2. Tommy has a date!
After romantic misadventures with his green–card wife and the dreadful Mona Lisa Saperstein, Tom finally finds true love in the form of a cute doctor, Nadia, who visits the Parks department from Indianapolis to get a permit to use a park as a clinic (Pawnee, of course, is a weird “petri dish of disease”). Tom’s so enchanted by Nadia that he puts on a fake English accent to impress her (it’s not bad, actually) and gives her form after form to fill out to get her to stay. He hands her a plane hangar rental form; she responds that her airline is “JetBlue Ivy.” Tom: “She’s the one.” Ultimately, April forces Tom out of his anxiety, and the two get set up on a date. “I’m going to Rwanda in two weeks for my job, so what the hell,” she says. Looks like it’ll be true love cut short for long–suffering Tom.3. Ron’s will.
This season has found Ron struggling to deal with a newfound responsibility to his wife, stepchildren and his own forthcoming Baby Swanson. Last week, he tried to go off the grid; this week, he stares the question of how much he’d leave his new family. Ben finds that his old will, which he made at age eight, won’t cut it—it’s yellowed scrap of paper with a series of symbols bequeathing all his possessions to the man or beast that kills him. Ben convinces him to see a lawyer and reveal his assets. It’s always been hinted that Ron is wealthy—he’s frugal and has buried treasure, literally—but the actual figure, which we don’t see, is astronomical. Ron doesn’t want to leave much to his kids—“$50 apiece for the cab home from my funeral and a steak dinner”—lest they get spoiled. He eventually leaves 5% for each of them. Ben: “Oh my God, that’s 5%?”4. Miscellaneous Observations.
This was a well–done episode that spotlighted some characters—Donna, Tom—who haven’t gotten much love lately. Donna’s plot line was a clever nod to the considerable social media presence of Retta (the real–life Donna); Tom’s was sort of heartwarming—it’s nice not to see him strike out, for once. There wasn’t a ton of overall plot development—other than the reemergence of the notorious Jamm—if anything, Pawnee’s desire to recall Leslie seems stronger than ever. Until then, it’s up to the “Recall Leslie? Don’t!” signs to spread the word.
