Parks and Recreation ‘Win, Lose, or Draw’: Jermaine Visited Once

Did we really expect this season to end another way? Even with all the news of filming ‘different endings’ and ‘playing it by ear’ from the creators of the show, I could never fully buy that the election wasn’t going to end with Leslie as the victor, but it didn’t make it any less of a joy to watch the end of ‘Win, Lose, or Draw’, which manages to sum up its entire four-season run with a touching, powerful shot at its conclusion.

Tonight marked the culmination of a four-year journey not only for Leslie Knope, but every other character on the show, the writers, and us, the audience, as well. Back when Parks & Recreation debuted, its first season didn’t reveal much outside of being a cheap knock-off of the American The Office. In a nutshell, the show was about Leslie Knope the joke, someone Tom made fun of behind her back, a desperate, idealistic woman who struggled to accomplish a simple task like filling in a hole.

Well, now she’s a council woman (bitches), and the last five minutes of ‘Win, Lose or Draw’ was like a victory lap for Leslie and everyone else on the show, reminding us all what’s made Parks & Recreation so great over the last three seasons. Instead of being content with a show of characters simply picking on each other for humor, P&R is now home to arguably the closest-knit ensemble on network television today. Have you ever felt the love on a sitcom like you did tonight? From Ron’s advice to everyone to Leslie & Ben talking about letting down her friends (and don’t forget Andy trying to help out April), we got to see what this show is really about at this point in life.

One shot sums the show up to this point: the last scene, when Leslie stands quietly next to the wall of Councilmen pictures, and she slides hers in at the end as the newest addition. It was back in that awful season 1 when she made the joke about one of them looking at her boobs, and talked about her dream of being there. But think about the woman who stood in front of that wall then, and the one who stands there at the end of this episode, and it’s amazing how different they are – a true testament on how this show reinvented itself, without losing who it wanted to be.

‘Win, Lose or Draw’ also does a great job operating as a season finale in those last few minutes, hurriedly setting up things for a recently-announced season 5. Leslie’s elected, Ben’s moving up in the world, and Ron is going to get exactly what he wants: the same damn office and job he’s had forever. Even Andy’s life next season is alluded to: could Bert Macklin be bringing his talents to the Pawnee Police Department?

I’ve been gushing about the ending of the episode, but ‘Win, Lose, or Draw’ does a solid job story wise throughout the first two-thirds, building up the requisite drama of a season-long campaigning story arc, giving Bobby the lead, then Leslie, then Bobby wins, then the recount we all knew was coming. This constant flux finally brought Leslie’s bottled stress to the surface, and the show goes through the necessary paces of her coming to terms with losing, and reassuring us all that Leslie/Ben is the best, healthiest sitcom relationship we’ve had in a long time (and unlike ones like Daphne & Niles on Frasier, don’t ruin the show).

If there’s any complaints I had, it was the way the story just dropped the ball with Chris at the end of the season. His tryst with Bobby’s campaign manager ends without fanfare – and leaving last week’s ending feeling like a total misdirection – when she runs out of town to deal with a Congressional campaign. The door is defintiely open to revisit a Chris/Jen pairing next season: they certainly have the sexual chemistry (it sounds like, anyway) and with Ben working for Jen, I’m sure they’ll all be in close proximity at some point.

‘Win, Lose, or Draw’ is a fairly predictable episode of television, especially a season finale. But the sentimentality, eternal optimism, and sense of camraderie at the heart of Parks & Recreation is always what drives the show, and as expected,  it managed to do a fantastic job reminding us what a family they are. A great season finale, and one we now know is NOT the last one we’ll get from one of the best comedies on television. More reasons to celebrate.

Grade: A

Other thoughts/observations:

– “Clear alcohols are for rich men on diets.” Damn straight, Ron.

– long hair Chris is starting to return (along with super-tan Chris)…. guess he’s getting ready for that role as Jeff Ashton this summer (womp, womp).

– Leslie crying in the voting booth was another raw, touching moment we don’t get often on P&R…. it was awesome. My favorite moment of the episode.

– I could honestly see the voting rules for a tie that were stated still being in practice in the right parts of the US.

– Today in Donna’s Two Seconds: she solves April’s dilemma, and is probably the first non-Andy, non-Leslie to ever be hugged by April.

What did you think of ‘Win, Lose, or Draw?’ Feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below, and stop back next week for my final thoughts on Parks & Recreation‘s fourth season!