Pawnee Rangers

Pawnee Rangers is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the NBC television series Parks and Recreation.

Plot

Ron (Nick Offerman) is the leader of a Boy Scout-like group called the Pawnee Rangers, with Andy (Chris Pratt) as his assistant. Girls are not allowed to join the Rangers, so Leslie created the girls-only Pawnee Goddesses, with Ann (Rashida Jones), who is not fitting in too well, and April (Aubrey Plaza), whose morbid tattoo on her arm gets her the Goddesses' approval, as her assistants. Leslie is determined to prove that her group is better than Ron's to avenge the past rejection, so she arranges a weekend camping trip for the Goddesses at the same camping ground as the Rangers. Meanwhile, after noticing that Ben (Adam Scott) is feeling down, Donna (Retta) and Tom (Aziz Ansari) invite him on their annual "Treat Yo self" trip, where they spend a day spending extravagantly on things they don't need. Jerry (Jim O'Heir) is left alone in the office, so Chris (Rob Lowe) gives him the day off. Jerry invites Chris to have lunch with him, which Chris initially declines, but after Jerry's attractive daughter Millicent "Millie" Gergich (Sarah Wright) shows up to join her dad, Chris quickly decides he'd like to share a meal with them after all.

The Pawnee Rangers become jealous of the Pawnee Goddesses, who appear to be having a lot more fun on the trip, as they have puppies, pillow fights and candy, while the Rangers are only given beans and told to build a meager shelter. Leslie is glad her efforts to make the boys jealous worked, but the Goddesses, after a public forum, decide to let the Rangers join them if they want. Every Ranger - including Andy - defect to the Goddesses, making Leslie feel sorry when she spots Ron sitting at a campfire all alone. She apologizes for being so competitive and Ron laments that children no longer want to learn tough survival skills, admitting Leslie has the better group. The next morning, Ann, who had been trying to get the Goddesses' approval, catches a mackerel in the river and gets the attention that she had wanted. However, she reveals to the documentary crew that she had bought the mackerel at the store and left it in the water for 30 minutes to make it look like she had caught it. To make Ron feel better, Leslie takes out an ad in the paper for a new group of self-reliant survivalists called "The Swansons", and Ron is surprised to find a group of eager children in his office ready to join.

Ben is unable to enjoy himself with Tom and Donna, but opens up after splurging on a Batman costume. He starts to cry and tells them about a recent break-up, not mentioning it is Leslie. Chris hits it off with Millie during lunch and tells Jerry that he plans on asking her out on a date. Jerry is fine with Chris dating Millicent, but Chris insists on telling Jerry that he slept with Millicent, much to Jerry's discomfort.

References