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S07.E07: Donna and Joe

ElectricBoogaloo

By ElectricBoogaloo
in Parks & Recreation [V]

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

(edited)

Donna and Joe tie the knot, while April attempts to keep the wedding running smoothly. Ron creates an awkward situation between Tom and Lucy. Jen Barkley arrives at Ben and Leslie’s house with an interesting opportunity.

  Edited by The Crazed Spruce
removed second episode description
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scrambled eggs

scrambled eggs

(edited)

There's been a schedule change. "Donna and Joe" will air this Tuesday, but at 8:30 it'll be a repeat of "2017." Then on 2/10 we'll have "Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington," followed by episode 7-9.

Edited by scrambled eggs
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XtremeOne1

XtremeOne1

So we're going to have an hour and half next week?  Why the schedule change. Not that I'm sad for 90 minutes of park and rec.

 

What a sweet episode. I think my favorite part was the Gary thing. Jerry and Donna have a different relationship then the rest, sure she's mean to him too but she's also pretty tolerant of him. The fact that she maneuvered it so he could get his real name was just so sweet...the little wink. *TEARS UP*...

 

Hilarious episode too but that little topper stands out for me.

  • Love 9
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fruittree36

fruittree36

(edited)

So we're going to have an hour and half next week? Why the schedule change. Not that I'm sad for 90 minutes of park and rec.

No, a tweet from Michael Schur (@kentremendous) says since they only did 13 episodes 1 week would only have 1 new epi. This is it.

So much in this episode. Jen Barkely (your life is gross, my life is amazing), Lavondrious, Ginuwine, nicey-meany, GARRY!!!, drunk Ben.

I'm appreciating this abbreviated, accelerated last season.

Edited by fruittree36
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stopeslite

stopeslite

THAT WAS AMAZING IT WAS ALL OF THE FANTASTIC.

 

Seriously. It's just all everyone writing what they want to make the characters happy now, and I'm eating up every bit of it. After this many seasons, we all deserve to have it go out in a flame of happiness and joy. 

 

ALSO GARRY. Love that Donna did that for him. Finally someone does a little something nice for him. 

 

The only thing I didn't like was that my station cut off Donna and Joe's kiss to get to the commercial. They barely leaned in for each other and it cut off. 

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BoogieBurns

BoogieBurns

This show finally did a traditional wedding. I'm so proud. That Garry thing got me all teary-eyed, I look like 17wheatthins' avatar. (crying my eyeliner off)

 

I'm also really happy that Ben and Leslie finally made it to an event and got to have fun. It seems like a Parks!Emergency has come up every time Leslie is supposed to have fun in the last 3 seasons. They dance so badly! 

  • Love 1
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Galileo908

Galileo908

Well this was ANOTHER wedding this show pulled off flawlessly. This was a perfect Donna Wedding. As Seelouis said, it's great to see people at a tv wedding that aren't a part of the cast. It really does seem like these people have families.

 

What a sweet episode. I think my favorite part was the Gary thing. Jerry and Donna have a different relationship then the rest, sure she's mean to him too but she's also pretty tolerant of him. The fact that she maneuvered it so he could get his real name was just so sweet...the little wink. *TEARS UP*...

I loved the whole thing with Garry. They're still kinda bashing him over "this is the new name we'll be calling Jerry," but it's his real name. And he's absolutely happy over it. I think that this is one sign that this show is about to end and I'm all sad now.

 

But you know what chases those blues away? Drunk Ben. And Hungover Ben. And Leslie calling 867-5309 a hundred times and singing it over the phone.
 

Poor Ron, missed out on some food and a limestone discussion! Also...Michigan; I bet that church got its limestone from Rogers City.

Another sign of character development: I don't think the old Ron would've missed out on that.

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Mya Stone

Mya Stone

April making Ginuwine cry, followed by Andy comforting him required me to pause the TV because I was laughing so hard.

Jim O'Heir killed his talking head. I felt all the feelings.

We actually saw the triplets! In action! And it didn't include poorly recited child acting lines! (Poor Rachel Dratch.) Leslie telling her she would be devastated more by her leaving her than Ben leaving her, and Ben's look to the camera? Amazing.

  • Love 7
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stanleyk

stanleyk

So I enjoyed this episode more than I have some others from this season, and Kathryn Hahn's is one of my favorite recurring characters, so that made me happy. The scene with April dressing down Donna's relatives deserved a rewind. "Majorca is off the table!"

 

But I think I've figured out what I find off about this season (in addition to the rushed pace and effort to cram lots of ideas into 13 episodes): the world has gotten too big. The cornerstore of this show - and I think one of the things that made it great - was small, parochial, morbidly obese Pawnee, with its raccoons and its bloodfeud with Eagleton. While the show is still nominally set in Pawnee, the place doesn't inform the show anymore. No more crazy open town meetings, random citizen complaints, or Leslie's infectious enthusiasm that made a small-time plan seem like a huge chance for victory.

 

Part of the humor of the show was the bigness of their dreams compared to the smallness of their world: the borderline pathos of Leslie being so sure she'd be president someday, while she was sitting behind the desk as the second-in-command of a parks district in a small city. But in the current world of the show, it's not far-fetched that Leslie could one day run for President, since she's now overseeing a large federal department and has apparently been courted to run for federal office, or that Ben could be in Congress. And that's a tone shift that's just a little too jarring for me. I would love to see a return to the slower pace and smaller stories of the earlier seasons, but we seem to be careening towards the end with, I feel, too little feeling for what made this show great in an attempt to give everyone a big, happy ending.

  • Love 3
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Ms Blue Jay

Ms Blue Jay

(edited)
There's been a schedule change. "Donna and Joe" will air this Tuesday, but at 8:30 it'll be a repeat of "2017." Then on 2/10 we'll have "Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington," followed by episode 7-9.

 

So I didn't know this before the episodes aired.  I taped the 2 episodes of Parks, fully expecting them to be 2 new episodes.

 

On my cable listings, the second episode was labelled as a Parks episode but I think it said "2015" and I didn't understand that it was a rerun.

 

You could not imagine my absolute terror when I pressed "play" and (for some reason here in Toronto) they aired a rerun of "Modern Family" in its place.  Thank goodness I didn't miss anything real!

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
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peeayebee

peeayebee

(edited)

I'm not sure I bought the way Ron was behaving re Tom and Lucy. I noted last week that he was smiling a lot more, which also seemed strange. I'm just going to put all this down to his reconciliation with Leslie, that it mellowed him a little.

 

I did love a few lines from him, like when Garry and his wife were canoodling, Ron shouted, "Control yourselves, Gergiches!" I also loved when Tom got betw Ron and his appetizers -- "Dammit, son! The small hamburgers!"

 

It's so funny that Gergich getting his Garry name back is one of the most satisfying things about the ep. 

 

I'm very glad that Ben didn't embarrass himself. I was afraid he was going to say something offensive at the restaurant.

 

I LOVED the way Adam Scott delivered this line: "I'd be a Congressman – or woman. I mean, equal rights. That doesn't apply."

 

Craig's trigger words cracked me up. I was surprised by his nice singing voice.

 

Did Leslie call one of their children 'Hunter?'

Edited by peeayebee
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scrambled eggs

scrambled eggs

Willy Wonka and the Policy Makers!

 

I meant to look up if that's a real t-shirt.

 

This was another great episode. The "Garry" twist was perfect and almost made me cry. I love how Ginuwine became a recurring character. Drunk Leslie and Ben is always hilarious, especially them dancing. 

 

I am so excited that Ben finally has the opportunity after 25 years to run for office again. 

  • Love 2
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Athena5217

Athena5217

Donna has been a great supporting character, but we haven't seen much of her personal life like we have with April or Tom. This lack of development has made her simultaneously fantastic and one-dimensional much of the time. So I was thrilled to see a Donna-centric episode and I loved seeing the Meigle family. I want to hire April to come talk to my family at our next holiday gathering.

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pennben

pennben

 

What a sweet episode. I think my favorite part was the Gary thing. Jerry and Donna have a different relationship then the rest, sure she's mean to him too but she's also pretty tolerant of him.

 

Agreed.  I thought it was also a nice nod to the actors playing those roles.  They both started out as essentially background players and were ultimately promoted to series regulars at the same time. 

 

I hated the whole name joke and it played out way too long, but what a lovely payout on the way to the end of the show.

  • Love 3
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Michele

Michele

(edited)

The Garry thing was fabulous, honestly. The fact that Donna did that, knowing exactly what would happen...I just love the relationship between those two. It's really nice. 

 

And can I say that I absolutely LOVE where they went with Ben running for Congress? Because on a lesser show, it would have been this whole dramatic thing and Leslie would have been jealous, but here she's 100% on board the minute the opportunity comes up. Like, theoretically, this could put him on the path to the White House and I totally believe Leslie would be okay with that, even though only a couple of seasons ago they were talking about her being there. That, to me, is amazing and such great character development.  

 

I like how Leslie's drunk dancing hasn't really changed but Ben's is a hell of a lot looser than it was when he came to town. 

 

I also audibly screeched when Questlove showed up as Donna's brother. It was so unexpected, yet really fitting.

Edited by Michele
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spanana

spanana

This was my favorite episode of the season by a long shot.  It helps that I just love Donna, though it also partially just made me regret that we haven't had more Donna centric episodes.   

 

Also I've long been in the camp that hates how mean everyone is to Jerry, even if I know it's supposed to be for comic effect.  It's the one thing that has never really worked for me on this show.  So the Donna/Garry moment was quite possibly my favorite thing about this whole episode.

  • Love 6
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biakbiak

biakbiak

(edited)

Did Leslie call one of their children 'Hunter?'

I believe she called them all collectively monsters.

Nicey-meany is joining awesomesauce in my Andy Dwyer based vocabulary.

I did love how diverse the Meagles were. Plus, her dad was on 227!

Edited by biakbiak
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King of Birds

King of Birds

I guess it makes sense that Jean-Ralphio would not be at Donna's wedding (since she's voiced displeasure with him previously). BUT- I kept thinking he was gonna pop up to "dance up" on drunk!Leslie when she was on the floor.

 

Very late in the show to find out about the Meagle family craziness, but I got a kick out of how April kept them in line.

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Lizzing

Lizzing

The only thing I missed was Diane; I'm not sure how she'd have worked into Ron's storyline, but I sure thought she'd be there for the wedding.

 

Questlove just made me laugh, tossing the microwave and declaring no popcorn for anyone.  And, coincidentally, I just saw him on Say Yes to the Dress, where he was a great, supportive brother to his sister who was getting married (he paid for the gown).  Soo much coolness in one show!

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jacksgirl

jacksgirl

Loved Donna's dress! And loved April handling the Meagles. Don't think her career will be a wedding planner- but love how unselfish she can be when she needs to be. Side story- when Joe was first introduced- he sang a song to Diane's daughters at a school activity to calm them down. This is to the tune of "Are You Sleepting".

                                "Eyes are watching, ears are listening, lips are closed, hands are still

                                  Feet are really quiet, you should really try it, listen well, listen well"

 

Anyway, I caught that epi on repeat, wrote down the song and use it with my kindergartners, who love it. I always think of P and R when we sing it.

Excited for Ben's career possibilities! The P and R Lovefest continues....

  • Love 3
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stopeslite

stopeslite

 

The only thing I missed was Diane; I'm not sure how she'd have worked into Ron's storyline, but I sure thought she'd be there for the wedding.

 

It wasn't until about 10:30 last night that I suddenly thought "Wait, why wasn't Diane at the wedding?!?!"

  • Love 1
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Kip Hackman

Kip Hackman

It was nice to be able to fully digest an episode, without jumping right into the next one. I don't binge-watch Parks, so the pacing of the season has felt a little off to me.

 

Next week, I'll watch the 8:00 episode on Tuesday and the 8:30 on Wednesday. Which is probably what I should've been doing all along.

 

 

  • Love 1
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kennyab

kennyab

It wasn't until about 10:30 last night that I suddenly thought "Wait, why wasn't Diane at the wedding?!?!"

 

I wondered at first, but I totally buy that Diane's not a wedding person and was just staying home with the kids instead of getting a sitter. Not to mention the fact that any person Ron would probably allow as a sitter was already at the wedding.

  • Love 2
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MelsW

MelsW

(edited)

I love Donna’s family and the recurring Ginuwine appearances. No more than three Meagles are allowed on an international flight at the same time (HA!).

 

April keeping them in line was my second favorite thing about this episode. The first was Donna’s “gift” to Garry.


I almost forgot! Another great bit was when Jennifer Barkley showed up unannounced. I loved her distaste for children (my life is amazing, yours is gross) but the most awesome part was when she said something to the effect of “It’s so big” when one of the kids ran by, referring to him like he was a raccoon or other wild animal she came across in the yard.

Edited by MelsW
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Michele

Michele

It's from a popular, insanely catchy 80's song called 867-5309/Jenny :) 

She's also singing it in the background in Ben's message to Jen and then says, "Oh, it's ringing!" so presumably she was making her phone calls at the same time, lol.

  • Love 1
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Beach Party

Beach Party

Leslie and Ben appear to be living child-free.  For the past six episodes there's not much of them parenting.  They are out on their own doing their own thing. Then episode 7 they use the wedding to getaway for the night.

 

So funny at the restaurant that Ron groaned when Tom denied him the second platter item... crab cakes!

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truebluesmoky

truebluesmoky

 

Leslie and Ben appear to be living child-free.  For the past six episodes there's not much of them parenting.  They are out on their own doing their own thing.

 

But haven't we more or less just seen them during traditional business hours when their kids would be with the nanny? There have also been a couple nighttime moments after the kids are in bed. This show isn't about Leslie and Ben as parents. It's started out as a workplace comedy like The Office, in which the majority of the main cast shared a workplace. We didn't need to see much of Jim and Pam parenting CeCe and Philip, because The Office was about their Dunder Mifflin lives. We don't need to see much of Leslie and Ben parenting the triplets because, even though the workplaces have changed, Parks & Rec is about the main characters' professional lives and friendships.

  • Love 13
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MelsW

MelsW

Leslie and Ben appear to be living child-free.  For the past six episodes there's not much of them parenting.  They are out on their own doing their own thing. Then episode 7 they use the wedding to getaway for the night.

 

 

I like the way the writers are handling the triplets. If this became the "Ben and Leslie Parenting Show", I would have checked out and declared this final P&R season dead to me. This has always been a show revolving around the workplace and still is. Throwing kids in the mix in the final season(s) reeks of shark jumping (see Cousin Oliver of Brady Bunch fame or Olivia from the Cosby Show for reference). Most of the show takes place in the office...where there are no children during business hours. I am so glad the writers didn't let the fact they have children ruin the whole essence of the show.

  • Love 7
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Michele

Michele

(edited)

Leslie and Ben appear to be living child-free.  For the past six episodes there's not much of them parenting.  They are out on their own doing their own thing. Then episode 7 they use the wedding to getaway for the night.

 

Meh, I prefer it. And it's not like the kids haven't been mentioned or anything, we've seen them with them and they've been mentioned...but yeah, as it's been pointed out, this is a workplace comedy, NOT a family show. Not to mention the fact that a big reason for the time jump was specifically Amy not wanting to deal with being pregnant/kids since she already had two of her own.

 

Personally, I like the approach they've had with the kids. We've seen them, and I LOVED Rachel Dratch playing the in waaaay over her head nanny. It was so fitting. 

 

Speaking of which, the bit parts/guest stars they had in this episode were so great. I mentioned Questlove before and it was SO GOOD but even Ginuwine (who I had totally forgotten was Donna's cousin), and even the family April was admonishing in the kitchen were so funny without saying anything. 

 

Also, I am totally Jen when it comes to kids, though I don't say it out loud. I worked as a preschool teacher's aide for 7 years and that is ALL I need. 

Edited by Michele
  • Love 3
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TeeVee329

TeeVee329

Of all of this show's many wonderful supporting characters, Jennifer Barkley is hands down my favorite so I was thrilled she was back.  Her cracking herself up imaging Ben and Leslie were off to the putting up of a new scarecrow gave me life!


Donna and Joe have actual family and friends!

 

The little abbreviated history Donna gave about her and the other bridesmaid, Michelle, was hilarious.

  • Love 4
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Beezel

Beezel

The little abbreviated history Donna gave about her and the other bridesmaid, Michelle, was hilarious.

 

 

I also liked how Craig reminded Michelle she was on thin ice. While I initially didn't care for the character at all, he's growing on me a little this season. 

 

Loved Andy's announcing Lavondrius and the microwave incident. 

 

Garry thing got me all teary-eyed

 

 

I watched it a few times and chocked up a little each time. The wink just puts me over the edge. 

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thuganomics85

thuganomics85

Garry!  Garry!  Garry!  Loved that gift from Donna!  I hope nothing changes this; this will be a nice little ending for him.

 

Really liked this episode, which is interesting since we really never spent that much time on Donna' relationship with Joe.  But, I think it's just that I've grown to like her so much, that I'm just glad that she is happy, and from what we've seen, Joe is a good guy.  But, I like how this show has taken a smaller character like her, and has made her an important part of the Parks group.  Liked that we got to touch on her relationships with both Leslie and April.  Overall, while I don't think she's my favorite (it hard to pick, really), I do think Donna has been an important part of the show, and this was a nice moment for her.

 

I kind of figured they were going in a "Ben runs for office" story-line, so that reveal wasn't too surprising.  But, I'm curious to see how this will go, and how Leslie will be supporting him, as oppose to running herself.  Plus, having Jennifer Barkley back in this, should be fun.  I also wonder if 

Paul Rudd coming back as Bobby Newport will play a part in this story-line.

 

I knew that Tom and Lucy's problems would work out in the end, but it was still nice seeing Ron fix what he accidentally caused (of course, Tom preventing him from eating those delicious small burgers was probably enough for Ron to realize he was on thin ice with him.)  And, while I still find it a bit rushed, I do think Lucy brings the best out of Tom, so I'm all for it at this point.  Of course, Ron would be excited about churches for their architecture.  He's got a point; I'm not huge on "organized religion" either; but some churches can be quite impressive to look at.

 

This might have been the best use of April so far this season.  Loved how she caused Ginuwine (glad they brought him back) to freak out, and Andy needed to give the poor guy a hug.

 

Craig was just hilarious in this one.  And, I kind of want a spin-off of him and Typhoon, even though they only had one moment.  But, it was an awesome one!

 

I actually kind of like that this finale season is mainly a happy one.  For this show, I would be perfectly fine with a nice ending for everyone.

  • Love 2
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