I don’t usually give spoiler warnings before these recaps, because I’m assuming the reader is well aware of the fact that the entire point of a recap is to reiterate what happened in an episode. But because something truly awesome and tear-inducing happened in tonight’s Parks and Recreation, I really do want to warn you: If you haven’t seen tonight’s episode, don’t read this. Come back and read this once you’ve experienced for yourself the screams and the tears and the general flood of happiness.
Remember Diane? Well, it’s pretty clear that Ron likes her, and Diane invites him to go trick-or-treating with her and her two daughters – whom Ron describes as “loud.” Ron doesn’t seem up for the challenge, but when Andy hears her invitation, he of course decides to tag along, giving Ron no choice but to partake in the yearly tradition of begging for sweets.
Meanwhile, Leslie goes house hunting with Ann, as she and Ben have decided to move in together once he gets back from Washington, D.C, which should be soon as the campaign Ben’s been working on has just ended.
Oh, and just in case anyone forgets that this is supposed to be the Halloween episode, Pawnee’s City Hall is hosting a scary movie night, which Donna live-tweets (not unlike Retta who live-tweets whenever she watches TV). During the movie, Ben calls Leslie to tell her that Jennifer (whom he was working under during this campaign) wants him to work on the campaign of someone who wants to run for governor of Florida. Ann, of course, attempts to cheer Leslie up by suggesting that they scare Tom when he comes out of the bathroom. They end up scaring Jerry instead, causing him to have a heart attack.
Back on the trick-or-treat trail, Diane ends up having to leave, as she has a Vice Principal emergency (apparently a bunch of kids decided it would be hilarious to defecate on the school’s soccer field), thus leaving her two daughters in the care of Ron, who doesn’t really understand children, and Andy, who is basically a giant man-child. Things spiral out of control at an alarming rate when one of the girl’s tiaras breaks. In his attempt to fix the situation, Ron breaks her sister’s tiara to make things even. Needless to say, this did not work, and Diane is incredibly angry when she finds out.
As for Jerry, the doctor says he’s going to be fine, but his hospital bill is massive. To help him pay for it, Leslie organizes an enormous garage sale and auction, where she tries to auction off “a night with sexy nurse Ann.” Ann is having none of it, until some good-looking dude starts off the bid. The “night with sexy nurse Ann” auction ends up falling through though, as Ann runs away when the winner turns out to be a middle-aged guy wearing a tank top and quite a few questionable tattoos.
It seems like garage sales just aren't the place for romance, as Diane shows up to talk to Ron, only to storm out when he doesn’t apologize for what he did on Halloween. The two good things that do come out of this garage sale-auction hybrid, though, are the $1200 raised for Jerry’s hospital bill (even though it won’t pay for everything), and Tom's new business idea Rent-A-Swag, wherein he rents one of his jackets to a high schooler for $20 a week! Honestly if that’s all it costs, I’d rent clothes from Rent-A-Swag all the time. Someone should really get started on this business venture.
It seems like romance is the ultimate winner tonight, though (I keep forgetting this is the Halloween episode), as Ron shows up at Diane’s house with flowers, chocolates and grout cleaner to apologize. He even goes re-trick-or-treating with Diane and her children to make up for ruining their Halloween.
The most romantic – and best – moment of the entire episode, though, came at the end when – just as Leslie was about to cancel the lease on the house – BEN SHOWS UP AND PROPOSES! And Leslie being Leslie, doesn’t let him propose right away, as she wants to remember every little detail when he finally does pop the question.
I’ll admit it: When Ben got down on one knee, I screamed. I gasped. I may have had a few tears in my eyes. Leslie and Ben are literally one of the most genuine, perfect couples on television, and it makes me so happy – and it should honestly make everyone happy – to see how happy they are together.
To be completely honest, I’m still basking in the aftermath of Ben’s proposal, and I actually have no idea how I’m supposed to concentrate in my classes tomorrow when Leslie and Ben are engaged. Someone please send help. Or my own personal Ben Wyatt (either will do, but I would prefer the latter).