What I’m Watching: Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation: Season 6, Episode 18 “Prom” (B+)

This episode was fun on a lot of levels, pairing off its characters into familiar duos with vastly different attitudes on the same subjects. Leslie and Ron have gone to war so many times about how they feel about the government that it would seem like any disagreement now couldn’t help but be familiar, but, as usual, this time did feel fresh. Leslie’s excitement at being able to mentor a bright young student who was just as into organized filing as she was presented a perfect opportunity for her to overindulge in trying to mentor her, while Ron stepped in to convince her to take a paying job that would teach her the value of hard work and help her save up some money. I thought that she was going to end up doing something at the school, but instead it turned out that she was dating none other than Greg Pikitis, who was eating a peach and stapled Leslie’s dress to the tablecloth to pull his latest prank on her. It’s great to see this show’s recurring characters return, especially after so long. Andy’s excitement about the prom and his ability to say the right things to April were sweet, and Donna’s advice was actually pretty helpful. Both Ben and Tom were equally ridiculous in their attempts to be hip, and my favorite part of the whole thing was that they ended up playing “We Own It,” the terrific main song from “Fast and Furious 6” during the dance.