Plot: It’s Galentine’s Day and Justin decides to track down Leslie’s mom’s old boyfriend. April and Andy are a thing that is happening, but not fast enough. Tom and Wendy are not a thing. Ann and that person Ann’s dating are a gross and boring thing. But the best thing of all is Leslie and Ron, who are a thing of beauty.
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Ann Is Mean: Okay, Ann’s not mean in this episode, but there is an odd Ann interview moment in which she says she bought that guy she’s dating towels and shampoo for Valentine’s Day. “Things humans usually use,” is how she describes it. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to take away from this. Mark is supposed to be the anti-Andy: he has a job, treats Ann well, seems pretty normal. His character is grossly underdeveloped, which is why he’s so completely boring, but I feel like we’re supposed to assume he’s a grown adult. But he doesn’t own towels or shampoo? Is this supposed to be a comment on how Ann can’t find a grown adult to date, a shortcut to actual writing of Ann’s character? I don’t understand.
Jerrybashing: Nobody knows if Jerry is married, although he insists that they’ve met his wife many times.
Somebody Get Tom Some Therapy: Tom is gross again in this episode, trying to blackmail Wendy into dating him. We see them reconciled somehow at the very end, but it isn’t clear how, and it certainly doesn’t involve his groveling apologetically like it should.
April Is My Patronus: This is the first time you can tell that April really wants to punch Ann, all of the time, just because. Since I have similar feelings about Ann, I love this.
There Is Only One Ron Swanson: …and only Ron Swanson catches on that the find-the-old-boyfriend event could turn out badly for Leslie and her mother. Ron’s character could so easily slip into ridiculousness and one-dimensionality, but it doesn’t, because of episodes like this. Ron sees the problem coming and is there when Leslie needs him.
The LOL moment: You’d think I’d hate Andy as a character, but his complete naivete saves him every time. In this episode, Andy has to play classic hits for the old people’s holiday party, and isn’t sure how to tell if they are enjoying themselves because nobody is flashing him. Seriously, the biggest testament to Chris Pratt’s acting is that he was able to develop a character who can say shit like that and make me think “Awww” instead of “Eww.” And when the old lady compliments Andy at the end and he deadpans “If I’m not mistaken, that was the old-lady version of flashing. Nailed it,” I actually did LOL.
I thought the Ann-Towels thing was more like she’s not that into Mark and didn’t know what to get as a gift, so bought a weird, non-romantic gift? Maybe? I feel like she becomes less mean as the show goes. Or maybe I just became numb to her meanness?