S05E05 - Halloween Surprise

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode that shows us the origin of Tom's "Rent-A-Swag" business idea! When Diane Lewis invites Ron to go trick or treating with her and her daughters, he initially declines, but an excited Andy wants to join them, and gets Ron to agree. That night, Ron and Andy go trick-or-treating with Diane and daughters Zoe and Ivy, but in the middle of it, Diane gets a call about some sort of "vice-principal emergency". Fortunately, Andy assures Diane (to her relief) that he and Ron will continue taking the girls trick-or-treating while she deals with the emergency. Unfortunately, Ron's attempts to provide direction and counsel for the young girls goes ... let's say poorly ... ruining their Halloween. Diane leaves Ron an angry voicemail, causing him to reflect that ... maybe ... he isn't ready for an entire family. Meanwhile, Leslie (with bestie Ann as support) is viewing houses in preparation for she and Ben to move in together when he returns from DC. In DC, Ben announces the campaign he's been working on is complete, and they have won! April leaves immediately because, why not, while Jennifer Barkley talks to Ben about what he's doing next, and offers him the opportunity to work on another campaign. When Ben relays this to Leslie, he promises that nothing is set in stone, and everything is still preliminary ... but Leslie still feels like everything is now topsy-turvy, the future is very uncertain, and has no idea what will happen with her and Ben. Finally, Chris announces to the gang that for Halloween, the City Manager's office will be throwing a scary movie night in the courtyard, specifically a screening of the 1986 horror camp classic, "Death Canoe 4: Murder at Blood Lake". Excited about just receiving a "Most Improved Patient" award from his therapist, Dr. Richard Nygard, Chris has become more introspective, and has decided to "face his fears", so to speak. For Chris, this means attending the scary movie night dressed up as his greatest fear. During the scary movie night, Leslie talks with Ann regarding Ben's situation, and Ann tries to cheer up Leslie by having them both scare Tom when he comes out of the bathroom. They do so, but instead surprise Jerry, apparently causing him to have a mild heart attack. Jerry is rushed to the hospital, where Ann confidently assures everyone Jerry will be fine, and Jerry is in a good mood, except a bit worried about the medical bills. To help out Jerry, Leslie arranges for the Parks Department to hold a garage-sale-slash-fundraiser to help pay hospital expenses. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Jerry really be okay? Can this be the end for Ron and Diane? Does Leslie end up leasing the house? What is Chris' greatest fear? What items does the gang bring to the fundraiser? Is there some sort of gift Ron can bring for the girls? Will Ben take the job in Florida? Why did Dr. Richard Nygard give Chris his "Most Improved Patient" award? What is the deal with Ann's "ex-boyfriend" boxes? Loyal podcast viewers, Season 5 seems to keep getting better and better ... will this episode continue the trend? Only one way to find out - tune in and see how we score it! Many thanks to our amazing sponsor, The Pawnee Mystery Closet.