5x05 Halloween Surprise

[9.3/10] It’s easy to get swept up in the episode with the big moment at the end, but there’s so much great stuff that leads up to that point. I really like the main story here, because it’s a nice dramatization of the simple idea that we can plan and plan and plan and envision how our lives are going to go (and lord knows that’s in-character for Leslie) but that we cannot control how things work out, and sometimes the twists and turns of life can surprise, sometimes even in wonderful, life-changing ways.

It’s a little on-the-nose, but I like the way that Leslie projects her own insecurities onto Jerry. The whole “fart attack” thing is kind of lame humor, but it’s better that Leslie works really hard to try to take care of and raise money for Jerry as a way to reassure herself about the uncertainty in her own life. The fact that Jerry is the one who says he’s not worried about life holds in the future so long as he has his loved ones has a nice bit of poetry to it, and it sets up what’s to come very well.

It also, in a roundabout way, dovetails into the superb B-story of the episode, where Ron is hitting it off with Dianne, but is a bit out of sorts when it comes to her kids. It’s no surprise that young, energetic, noisy things would not be Ron’s forte, but the whole story is done in a kind of adorable fashion. Halloween as a way to bring that to a fore is a nice choice, and I like the subsequent detail, where Ron refuses to apologize for his crappy job as a substitute parent (breaking the tiara is perfect Ron logic), but then is coached up by April and comes clean about how he’s not really acquainted with kids but wants to learn. It’s very sweet.

April and Andy don’t have too much to do here, but they’re used well. Again, April as a voice of reason is a rare but encouraging thing, and it fits with her and Ron’s special relationship. And Andy, as an overgrown kid, is right at home with Diane’s daughters, especially when he’s trying to practice observations for police training.

The rest of the cast is well-used in small doses. Ann selling her old boyfriend stuff because she’s “dating herself” is mild, but her reaction to Leslie trying to auction off a date is good. Donna’s live-tweeting and horror movie fascinations are very funny. And Chris’s journey to therapy – facing his fear of getting old – leads to some nice material for him too.

And yeah, the episode nails that last moment where Ben proposes to Leslie, that bumps this one up a notch. It’s a well-done swerve, with the episode really suckering you into believing that Ben will take the job managing the governor’s campaign in Florida under Jennifer Barkley. But then he fulfills Jerry’s prophecy, saying that whatever he does, he just wants to be with Leslie. The ring box in a box is the perfect touch, as is Leslie stopping him because she wants to remember the moment where she thought her life was a “pile of crap” and it turned out to be perfect. It’s heartwarming as all get out, and one of those high points for the show.

Overall, this one has a very strong A-story and B-story, with lots of good laughs and nice character moments for everyone else, including that wallop of a capper at the end. Certainly one of the show’s finer installments.