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| Left to right: Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, and Jim O'Heir |
Welcome to Parts of Rec, a new column that will attempt to take the weekly brilliance of NBC show Parks and Recreation and cut it into the bare essentials. After all, time is precious and sometimes you cannot read pages and pages of reviews. While it will be impossible to bottle all of the highlights, I will do my best to cover the plot, as well as memorable moments and just what makes it great in general. Make sure to look for Parts of Rec every Friday following the episode.
Season 5, Episode 20
"Jerry's Retirement"
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| Left to right: Rashida Jones, Rob Lowe, and doctor |
"When one Jerry leaves, the office naturally selects another Jerry. Ah, nature."
-Ron (Nick Offerman)
News comes out that Jerry (Jim O'Heir) is retiring. To celebrate his quitting, Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Adam Scott) decide to spend the day with him making all of his dreams come true. Meanwhile, Ann (Rashida Jones) and Chris (Rob Lowe) decide to look into sperm donating before backing out. Also, Tom (Aziz Ansari) is worried about being the new clumsy Jerry with his own nickname: Filo. It soon becomes clear that Jerry hasn't achieved everything that he wants, but is enjoying meeting dead governors and going different places. Ann and Chris talk about ways to have sex and procreate. Tom talks to Ron (Nick Offerman) about how to avoid becoming the next Jerry, as he used to be one. This problem is solved by having Ron volunteer until they find a new intern to replace him. Leslie also visits Jerry to say her goodbyes only to be treated for breakfast with his family, which appears to be awkwardly optimistic. Tom is happy and Jerry gets to come in once a week thanks to Ron. Everything is as it should be.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Aziz Ansari |
I apologize ahead of time for not having a picture of Tom from the episode as I couldn't find one.
It was a tough call between Jerry and Tom. While Jerry wins the sympathetic, tender moment of having dinner with his family and celebrating his last day, I feel like Tom deserves to win just because we finally get to see a more sympathizing side to him. His whole rant about how he used to be a Jerry makes him more vulnerable and more interesting. Also, it would seem catastrophic to see him become the next Jerry, which seems even unfair from what little hazing he gets in the episode. He isn't even trying to be funny, but his insecurity really helps to sell some of the scene's bigger laughs. Thankfully, this is as close for now as we'll get to seeing someone try to be Jerry, which could go catastrophic.
Best scene: This is another Jerry-centric episode that manages to show why he is a lovable character. Probably the best moments come towards the end when Leslie comes to visit his family as they have breakfast. His enthusiasm and the breakfast song all add up to one very weird breakfast that is heartwarming in humor, if just because Leslie immediately regrets the decision. Seeing everyone hug so enthusiastically is also pretty awkward and manages to show how Jerry could be so happy despite being the butt of almost everyone's jokes. While the big reveal at the end that Jerry is only working part time is somewhat of a let down, the build up to Jerry's retirement is something that the show has gotten good at. They manage to make these characters sympathetic while still keeping the comedy coming strong.
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