Operation Ann

"Operation Ann" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 60th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 2, 2012.

In the episode, Leslie (Amy Poehler) is determined to find Ann (Rashida Jones) a date for Valentine's Day, Ben (Adam Scott) struggles with a scavenger hunt, and Chris (Rob Lowe) is depressed about his love life.

Plot

Leslie (Amy Poehler) hosts her annual "Galentine's Day" party for her female friends but feels bad that Ann (Rashida Jones) doesn't have anyone with whom to celebrate Valentine's Day. She asks the parks department to set Ann up with someone at a Valentine's Day singles mixer that they are organizing. Chris (Rob Lowe), who is still depressed about being dumped by Millie, decides to DJ the mixer. Meanwhile, Leslie has given Ben (Adam Scott) a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt filled with intricate riddles hidden all over Pawnee in order to discover where she wants to meet him that night, but she made it exceedingly difficult. Andy (Chris Pratt) and Ron (Nick Offerman) help Ben out, and Ron turns out to be very eager and adept at solving riddles, despite his claims to the contrary. They agree to split up and find the riddles out of order to more quickly find the last one.

At the mixer, Chris plays depressing music that puts a sour mood on the event. Ann arrives and Leslie unsuccessfully tries to set her up with numerous men. April (Aubrey Plaza), who dislikes Ann, refuses to help her, so Tom (Aziz Ansari) steps up to help Ann out, making Ann feel better with his humorous efforts. Chris tells Leslie he is sad because he is 44-years old and still single, believing Millie may have been his soulmate, but Leslie cheers him up with a pep talk, but says he is also at fault for being single since he dumped Ann. Chris later plays upbeat music and everyone has a good time at the mixer. A grateful Ann decides to go home, but Leslie catches her applying make-up in her car. Thinking Chris was playing good music because he was in a better mood since he asked Ann out, Leslie follows them despite April's protests.

Ben, Ron, and Andy fail to find the last riddle, but Ron correctly guesses the meeting spot will be Li'l Sebastian's memorial site. Leslie tells Ben about Ann and Chris, and the two agree to catch them on a date to expose Chris' hypocrisy about workplace dating. To their shock, they find Ann on a date with Tom. April arrives, explaining she saw Ann laughing with Tom and convinced her to at least give a date with Tom a try. Leslie is touched that April helped Ann out. Leslie and Ben leave Ann and Tom alone on their date, which Ann quickly admits was a mistake after Tom reverts to his usual chauvinistic attitude. The next day, Ron sheepishly asks Leslie to organise a riddle scavenger hunt for his birthday.

Reception

The episode was viewed by 3.60 million viewers, indicating a 3.15% increase from the previous episode, but still making it the third-lowest viewed episode of the series, after Bowling for Votes (3.49 million) and Road Trip (3.55 million).^[1]

Critical reaction to the episode was positive. Christopher Peck of Blast Magazine said that the episode's writers "challenged themselves...while not sacrificing the consistency and rhythm of its rise-and-fall joke," and that the "'operation' was successful." He awarded the episode an A-.^[2] In another positive review, Matt Fowler of IGN called the episode "the strongest episode in a long while," saying it "nailed every single comedic beat." He awarded the episode a 9.5, or "Amazing."^[3]

References