Parts of Rec: "Are You Better Off?"

Amy Poehler

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 22

"Are You Better Off?"

Left to right: Poehler, Rob Lowe, and Adam Scott

"This case just remained interesting."

-Andy (Chris Pratt)

It has been a year since Leslie (Amy Poehler) was elected as an official. To celebrate, she holds a town meeting to celebrate the achievement. However, this only leads everyone to come out and berate her for what she did wrong. Meanwhile, Andy (Chris Pratt), under the guise of Bert Macklin, decides to investigate a pregnancy test that reveals that someone is pregnant. Tom (Aziz Ansari) is also having trouble breaking up with Mona Lisa (Jenny Slate) while trying to determine if he should sell his business. As more and more people gang up on Leslie, she becomes discouraged, asking everyone if they are better off than they were a year ago. It isn't until Ben (Adam Scott) tells her to just accept it and move on. However, there has been an organization created to kick Leslie out of office. By the end, Tom doesn't sell the business and results in his competitor setting up shop across the street. Leslie is about to face a dilemma with this new organization. April (Aubrey Plaza) reveals that she has been accepted into a veterinary school. However, Andy doesn't solve the pregnancy case. The episode ends with him talking to Ron (Nick Offerman) and the reveal that it could be his girlfriend Diane (Lucy Lawless).

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Left to right: Scott, Lowe, Chris Pratt, and Rashida Jones

MVP: Andy (Chris Pratt)

Leave it to the season finale to finally get a bunch of interesting ideas in the air. Who is Tom's competitor? How will Leslie deal with being hated? Will April move away? However, the consistent glue in this particular episode lies in the return of Bert Macklin, whose quest to solve a pregnancy gives Andy some of the better material of the season. It is an enjoyable ride, especially since everyone seems to be having sex on the show. It serves as a solid version of suspense on the show before giving us a cliffhanger: is it Diane? At very least, this episode has managed to help us anticipate for the next season, even if it had a lackluster lead up to it.

Best scene: In the style of Soap, the series managed to leave us with a lot of questions. While it was through the process of deduction that we could have figured out that it was Diane, it is still nonetheless a clever reveal. Also, it was worth it just to see Andy's face. Here's hoping that Macklin returns next season for a whole bunch of crazy shenanigans. Also, fingers crossed that it doesn't involve Mona Lisa, who I have loathed as an inferior Jean Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) replacement.