'A Parks and Recreation Special' Review: Pawnee's finest discuss mental health with a tribute to Li'l Sebastian
Spoilers for 'A Parks and Recreation Special'
'We could all use a little Knope right now' - reads the tagline for 'A Parks and Recreation Special' reunion, and while Leslie Knope is our only hope in times like these, the half and hour reunion of the NBC sitcom is a clear reminder of how important it is to check up on each other's mental health amidst the ongoing Coronavirus crisis. Aimed at donating funds through the Feeding America charity for COVID-19 relief, the special sees the much-awaited reunion of the cast five long years after the series wrapped it's seven-season run in 2015, as Leslie goes around calling people on her phone-tree book to check up on how they are doing and whether they are practicing safe social distancing, the episode highlights how it is also important to check up on the one person who is the common thread keeping everyone together and sane.
All we need is some much-needed tribute to Li'l Sebastian, and voila - beating quarantine's a** has never been easier.
The special begins with Leslie calling up her congressman husband, Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) who is homeschooling their kids and pretty much unraveling, running out of things to do amidst self-isolation. The two are clearly apart, and while Leslie tries to shut down all parks and recreations venues under her jurisdiction, Ben resorts to writing bizarre scripts surrounding 'Cones of Dunshire' - the boardgame he is still so obsessed with.
This sparks off the conversation surrounding mental health amidst the pandemic outbreak, and even Ron Swanson's inherent penchant for social distancing can't overshadow the importance of checking up on your friends in times like these.
After Ben, it's Ron's turn as Leslie asks him if he is practicing safe social distancing. Ron is locked up in his cabin with his wife Diane, and pretty much winning at quarantine because staying locked up with no socializing is practically heaven for him. He claims to have stocked up with 12 years worth supply of venison meat and later, even plans on rubbing his ex-wife Tammy with deer grease and leave her out for the wolves when he spots her lurking outside the cabin to disrupt their lives once again.
Speaking of couples, April and Andy are doing just fine as well. Andy has managed to lock himself up in the shed, as usual, and April is wearing mismatched clothing items out of the garbage bags they have stuffed all their belongings in. Technically, on the surface they are fine, but underneath it looks like they too, might be unraveling.
In her call to Ann Perkins and her husband Christ Traeger, Leslie is thrilled to know they are doing alright. But worry lingers with Ann going back to nursing and lending all the help she can as Chris continues to be a super blood donor because of his uncomparable immunity that is still not compromised. This causes Ann to self isolate away from her family, but worry not, their house is big enough to permit that within the same property.
Speaking of Ann, her biggest fan after Leslie, Tom Haverford is struggling, even in Bali. His entrepreneurial mind has gone into a frenzy as he comes up with one business idea after another - none of which would work ideally. Donna chimes in with complaints about homeschooling her kids - only made bearable by the fact that her new man has a Mercedes.
It is only when Leslie catches up with people like Joane Calamazzo and Jean Ralphio Saperstein that the real unraveling of people struggling to cope in these times shines through. Joane has no friends thanks to her catty talk show and her only comfort are the million dolls and martinis she is drowning herself in. Jean Ralphio too has been banned from everywhere and by every social contact he had and has now resorted to advertising his telephone number on local TV just to have people call him so he can talk to someone.
But they aren't the only ones suffering. In all of this, as Leslie calls up Ron again, she talks about how she wishes she could catch up with people know and check on their state amidst quarantine - clear signs of a social butterfly nearing panic all because their carebear personas don't have enough people to shower their love with.
Leslie's only respite in all of this is Ron realizing how much she needs someone to check up on her, and soon, the entire phone-tree chain who clearly were sick of Leslie checking up on them thrice a day, get on a group video call with Andie doing a home concert of the Li'l Sebastian tribute to lighten up the mood. Ben drops his usual complaints of how unnecessary the hype surrounding the deceased pony is and everybody once again asks him to shut the eff up - just like the good old days.
It's only made better by Gary still being completely useless at everything he does as he continues to put random filters on his face, having no idea what he's doing or how his face is appearing on the screen. And as the finest of Pawnee sign off, they remind kids once again to be nice to their parents, and adults - to be nice to each other, check on their friends, and show up in times of need because mental health is just as much a priority along with keeping physical fit amidst the crisis.
'A Parks and Recreation Special' reunion aired on Thursday, April 30, at 8:30 PM ET/PT, only on NBC.