What I’m Watching: Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation: Season 6, Episode 15 “The Wall” (B+)

This show is managing to milk more material out of the Eagleton-Pawnee merger than I ever would have expected, and it’s not even close to getting old. Bringing Jamm back in to laugh at the Eagletonians getting stung before earning himself a bee sting of his own was a great way of reincorporating the eternally irritating councilman, who now considers Leslie to be his best friend. In this case, Leslie’s idea was actually one of her best, and the presence of all those bees in the wall was just an unfortunate coincidence. It’s great to see April putting some effort into her job now and giving Leslie sympathy when she needs it. Without Ann around, it’s important for Leslie to have a cheerleader, and I’m glad that April is able to sort of be that person without being an entirely different character. Once again, Leslie has now been presented with an opportunity to truly advance her career, and I’ll be curious to see if she takes it. I don’t know exactly where Pawnee is supposed to be, but a quick Google Maps search says that Indianapolis is less than three hours from Chicago. Tom appears to be making some business moves himself, and it’s fun to see Ben help out only to have his counsel ignored and be seen as Ben’s underling. Ron’s baby arrived without much pomp and circumstance, but it’s good to see that he’s bonding with his child in the shared experience of silence and honest hard work.