What I’m Watching: Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation: Season 2, Episode 2 “The Stakeout” (A-)

Now here’s a fantastic episode of this show after last week’s lackluster premiere. Leslie’s ill-fated stakeout is amusing in its setup, and far more entertaining in the way things eventually end up. The surprisingly fun date between Mark and Ann is fun, but it can’t compare to the hilariousness of the stakeout with Tom’s conversation about changing his name and Leslie’s candy necklace, which Andy so readily and excitedly accepts after he says he’s been eating only fruits and vegetables. The quick derailment of the stakeout based on Leslie’s compassion for Andy and desire to get him food let to a thoroughly terrific chain of events resulting in Tom’s incarceration and Leslie’s pledge to be there when he got out because “prison changes a man.” Her insistence on doing something cleansing and relaxing like playing miniature golf was very funny, as was Tom’s continuous response of “home!” The most surprising and wonderful part of this episode was the unexpected incorporation of Audrey Plaza into a plotline. Ron’s hernia was a brilliant stroke of genius, and seeing him sit still for literally over twenty-four hours was great (and a tribute to just how much work he gets done at his job). We hadn’t seen April talk nearly that much up until this point, but this episode proves that Plaza is a fine comedic actress who’s able to take scenes like that and deliver excellently. This show has a limited number of characters, and the fact that it’s able to seamlessly execute three plotlines within one twenty-minute ensemble is extraordinarily impressive.