Parks and Recreation – “Soul Mates” – review

Leslie and Ben have a great friendship, loaded with feelings for each other. It reminds me a lot of Jim and Pam in the early days of The Office. You really root for the two of them to get together. It’s also worrisome. When two characters that like each other get together, it usually ruins them. It loses the “will they, won’t they” vibe, and that’s why we like watching them. At the moment, we don’t have to be too concerned, because Ben turns down Leslie.

Don’t worry, it’s not because he doesn’t like her. He went to Chris about dating someone at the parks department and was told straight up that it wasn’t okay. Of course, Leslie doesn’t know this right off the bat and has Ann sign her up for one of those stupid dating websites. The darn thing goes and finds her 98% match. With Tom. Awesome.

Tom’s attitude when he finds out about the match is priceless. He teases Leslie hard in front of everyone, calling her pet names, singing dating songs. Clearly, NOT the best soul mate. His explanation for how this preposterous match happened is completely typical of Tom. He made different profiles for the different kind of women her wanted to meet (Leslie got the “nerd” Tom).

Chris is starting a big health initiative at the Pawnee government. He wants to get rid of red meat, which leads to a wager between him and Ron. If Chris can make a turkey burger that tastes better than a real burger, then red meat goes bye-bye. Ron’s simple confidence is awesome. It leaves Chris perplexed that Ron doesn’t do any preparations except for buying some beef. I liked that they each had their own kind of side-kick/cheerleader; Ron having April, and Chris getting Andy. It was no surprise that Ron won the wager, but it was hilarious how quickly everyone chose Ron’s beef over Chris’s turkey. Even Chris agreed immediately after taking a bite. Turkey can never beat cow.

In the episode following Andy and April’s wedding, the newlyweds seem so happy together. They really are adorable. Hopefully Leslie and Ben can keep that kind of chemistry after they inevitably get together.