First, Sunday evening I had another fabulous beer from North Peak Brewing- specifically, Berserker, an offering from their Grizzly Peak Series.
Last night, I enjoyed an Eos Hefeweizen. A solid example of the style, this Hefe had prominent banana and clove flavors and reminded me how much I love the Public House Hefeweizen.
This leads me into today's "story" topic. I've got to admit, I have no love for the state of Nebraska. I dated a guy from Nebraska once, and he was horrible, so now the whole state is kind of ruined for me. I know, it's petty, but Ron Swanson feels the same way about blondes thanks to his first ex-wife. Speaking of Ron Swanson, the series finale of Parks and Recreation aired last night. I don't normally get too attached to television shows, but I was absolutely in love with the town of Pawnee. So, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge some of my favorite episodes, one from each season, of this beautiful show.
Season One
Not gonna lie, season one is the weakest, an opinion that's shared by most media outlets and even the cast and crew of the show. It's still important, though, and my favorite episode of the season is episode three, The Reporter. The episode does a wonderful job of highlighting Andy and Ann's ultimate incompatibility, introduces recurring character Shauna Malwae-Tweep, and spotlights one of my favorite underrated P&R friendships "workplace proximity associate"-ships: Ron and Tom. Two fundamentally different people who grow together and mentor each other in their own special way. In this episode, we learn that Tom and Ron play online Scrabble with each other while at work, and Ron always beats Tom. It's a beautiful little subplot.
Season Two
Season two may have been the hardest season to pick only one favorite episode. The obvious choice is The Hunting Trip (episode 10), due to the hilarious antics of Leslie and the gan in the woods, as well as April and Andy's B-plot, but that's not the episode I'm going to pick. My choice is episode 22, Telethon, which is the first episode I saw. The episode has so much going on that it serves as a wonderful introduction to the show. We see Mark propose to Ann. We see Tom chaperone for a local celebrity. The episode is also the second appearance of recurring character Barney Varmn (my second-favorite recurring character after Ethel Beavers).
Season Three
By contrast, season three's choice was the easiest to make: Episode thirteen, The Fight. In this episode, Tom invites everyone to the Snakehole Lounge for the release of his new, high-end, alcoholic beverage Snake Juice. We get to see everyone get drunk and sloppy (including Ron dancing in a tiny hat), we see Ann and Leslie have their first fight, and this episode is the birth of Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole. This episode also led me to discover one of my favorite books- Leslie gives Ann a copy of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, and one day while I was in a used bookstore, I found a copy and bought it solely because it was mentioned on the show.
Season Four
Season four was one of the best for the series, full of amazing episodes, but few are better than the season's fourth episode, Pawnee Rangers. This episode may be one of the most widely-known due to Tom and Donna's (and Ben's) B-plot revolving around "the best day of the year," Treat Yo Self day. However, Ron and Leslie's camp-group face-off is just as wonderful. Maybe I'm biased since I'm a former girl scout, but the entire plot line, from crafts and merit badges to puppy parties and Ann pretending to fish was just solid gold.
Season Five
Season five saw Ben and Leslie get married in one of the best episodes of the show (with Ethel Beavers' best appearance), but that's not the episode I've chosen to focus on. Instead, I'd like to briefly talk about the seasons' tenth episode, Two Parties. In this episode, we see Ben's bachelor party turn into something amazingly beautiful and we get to see Leslie's bachelorette party go horribly wrong. I don't want to spoil too much of the episode, so I'll just throw out some of the key buzzwords:
- Wamapoke Indian Artifacts
- Paunch Burger
- Settlers of Catan
- Indianapolis Colts
- April Ludgate makes a male stripper feel insecure
Season Six
It was hard for me to pick a favorite episode of season six. They're all solid episodes, but none really stand out. I've chosen episode 20, One in 8,000. In this episode we learn that Leslie is pregnant.... with triplets (an excellent nod to an earlier episode in which Leslie goes on a date with a doctor, played by Poehler's then-husband, Will Arnett). We also watch Ron give Donna some valuable relationship advice and see Andy struggle to keep a secret from April. The episode also features an appearance by Keegan Michael-Key and.
Season Seven
It's really hard for me to pick one episode (of the twelve in season seven) to talk about. The critically-acclaimed fourth episode, Leslie and Ron, served as our link between 2014 and the 2017 Pawnee in which season seven is set. Episode five, Gryzzlbox, dips its toe into the data mining debate. In episode seven, Donna even gets married, in the show's least-hyped wedding. The finale, One Last Ride, is absolute gold but I don't think I can talk about it in a dignified way. So, I'll discuss episode nine: Pie-mary. Pie-mary has some of the most sentimental value of the season, with April and Ron going on a scavenger hunt and Donna and Garry taking a trip down memory lane. The real highlight is Leslie and Ben's story line, which tackles the issue of gender norms and spousal roles in the political spotlight. In a masterful show of self-awareness, the episode evens calls back to season two episode Woman of the Year.
It's possible that Parks and Recreation affected me more than any other show- perhaps even more than my junior high obsession, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It taught me a lot about enthusiasm, Ginuwine, and waffles. It gave me hope that someday, I would find my own lovable band of weirdos to call a family.
In other, more pertinent news, the OG/Six Row collaboration label has officially been approved! We're brewing together very soon and I will keep you updated on when you can find Fraise Cassee on shelves or taps near you!
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