The Leslie Knope recall campaign continues to be in full swing this episode, referencing the movement to recall President Obama and other political backlash situations of recent years. As the ever-irritating Councilman Jamm (really, what’s up with his ‘fro?) puts it, “This will be blown way out of proportion. You have my word on it!”
The focus of Thursday night’s episode, however, is not primarily on the struggling Councilwoman Knope, but rather on the various situations concerning her friends and coworkers. Donna is particularly in the spotlight this week, having accidentally sent a personal, inappropriate tweet about a fireman through the Parks Department’s Twitter account rather than her own. Councilman Jamm jumps at the opportunity to further embarrass Leslie and manages to twist the entire situation into a media circus.
Meanwhile, Ron Swanson is urged by Ben to redo his will now that he is married and has children, especially since he has had the same will since he was eight years old. According to Ben, Ron’s plans for “all of my belongings shall transfer to the man or animal who has killed me” just won’t fly anymore. As has been alluded to throughout much of the series, Ron is a man of incredible wealth, having lived simply all his life and never being one to spend lavishly on friends or family. Though his initial plans are to leave his loved ones a minimal amount for transportation back from his funeral ($50 for cab fare, to be exact), he soon changes his mind and wishes to leave it all to them. But his immense wealth calls for far more meetings and paperwork than he cares for, not to mention the realization that leaving his children such large amounts will mean they never have to work a day in their lives. In the end, Ron settles for going with his original will, but leaving his kids five percent of his fortune (an amount Ben scoffs at initially, but then is almost rendered speechless when he sees just how much five percent is). All in all, it’s a humorous B-plot that makes way for a lot of hilarious Ron-isms.
In what is arguably the C-plot, Tom finds a new romantic interest in “Nadia Whatever-her-last-name is”, a doctor who ventures into the Parks Department to reserve space for a free health-screening event. It’s a predictable storyline that does result in Tom getting a date in the end (perhaps this Nadia will help fill the empty void left by Rashida Jones’ Ann Perkins?), but it does provide for some fun April gimmicks and Tom’s entertaining English accent.
But back to Donna and the investigation by Councilman Jamm. As more and more social media posts by Donna are read aloud, it is revealed that Leslie Knope may just be what the show originally painted her out to be in the first season— kind of annoying. Donna’s posts paint a portrait of Leslie that harken back to her early days as a female Michael Scott, which does feel a little odd since the show has changed so drastically since then. Nevertheless, this allows for Leslie to get in a heart-to-heart with Rob Lowe’s Chris Traeger, who as fans know is leaving the show soon. “Do you think I’m annoying?” Leslie asks. “I think a lot of things. I like thinking. And racquetball!” is Chris’ response, but it still leads into a heartwarming reflection of his time in Pawnee and Leslie’s relationship with her coworkers.