Episode Commentary: End of the World

With “End of the World,” “Parks and Recreation” builds on Pawnee, Indiana’s role as a microcosm for modern America at its most idiotic.

This time, it’s Harold Camping’s apocalyptic predictions. Of course, for Pawnee it’s never as simple as mere Christian extremism—its apocalyptic prediction comes from a bizarre local cult that worships a god named Zorp, who take to a local park to await the apocalypse, reading their religious texts and playing ceremonial music on flutes hand-carved by an enterprising Ron Swanson, who sees a chance to profit from the Zorpies’ insanity.

Meanwhile, Entertainment 720 is dead and buried, but Tom and Jean-Ralphio decide to throw one last big party.

But the crux of the episode is a far more timeless comic situation: Leslie and Ben’s relationship is finally revisited, with Leslie forced to contend with the possibility of Ben moving on.

Showing the program’s knack for continuity, the catalyst of Leslie’s anxiety is Shauna Malwae-Tweep from the Pawnee Journal, a character that’s been popping up almost since the beginning, usually in romantic pursuit of one of the male characters. Ben catches her eye, sending Leslie into hysterics. Amy Poehler’s performance makes this episode—for the first time this season, Leslie gets pushed to her emotional limits, and the result are a series of pretty hilarious, almost nonsensical monologues.

Entertainment 720 manages to die with dignity, finally proving something besides irritating. 720 never belonged on “Parks and Recreation.” The whole charm of the show is quiet, Midwestern Pawnee’s detachment from the high life of the coasts, and trying to bring that glitz and glamour to Pawnee was just awkward and forced.

Tom’s story digs deeper than usual, and we even get to see his ex-girlfriend Lucy again. Tom can sometimes come off as a manic cartoon, and Entertainment 720 only exacerbated that problem. Lucy was a humanizing influence, and it looks likely she will be returning, which is promising. Tom may now get some room to grow.

But is there enough room for Tom—or anyone else—to do much developing?

The show is bursting at the seams these days, with more interesting stories and characters than it has time for. The balancing act has been masterful so far. Will it stay that way? This week featured at least five storylines, as have most episodes this season. How long can it continue like this without doing anyone a disservice?

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