S05E06 - Ben's Parents

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode that introduces us to Ben's parents, Julia and Steve! Leslie and Ben announce their engagement to the gang and go through engagement party details with Ann, although Ben is nervous about his parents coming because they are divorced and hate each other. When Ben's parents arrive, all hell breaks loose. Ben's father, Steve Wyatt, brings his much younger girlfriend, Ulani, whom Ben's mother, Julia Wyatt, completely detests. The two waste no time taking shots at each other, and their catty behavior becomes completely unbearable. Leslie does her best to diffuse the situation, but Ulani's presence was something Leslie and Ben hadn't predicted. Finally, Leslie calls upon the thing she is sure will fix everything ... her masterpiece: the Knope-Wyatt Unity Quilt. Meanwhile, Tom and Jean-Ralphio are preparing to pitch Tom's idea, "Rent-A-Swag", to Ron, who is considering investing some start-up money. After a flashy, loud, ridiculous rehearsal in front of April and Andy, April convinces them they need to start over and tailor their pitch to Ron - simply, to the point, etc. At the engagement party, Ron learns Tom is partnering with Jean-Ralphio ... a fact that does not make him happy. Determined to make the pitch work for Ron, Tom prepares to pull an all-nighter, but Jean-Ralphio lazily implies he has no interest in the project, and instead wants to go clubbing. Finally, when Leslie and Ben's engagement was announced, Chris was very happy for them, yet disproportionately affected by this news. Later, at the engagement party, and feeling raw from his therapy sessions, Chris has an emotional breakdown, happy for his friends, but depressed because he's alone. Desperate to not let Chris' unexpected happy-sad outburst ruin the engagement party, Ann, April, and Andy try their best to comfort and contain the delirious, giggling, blubbering mess that is Chris Traeger. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Can Leslie convince Ben's parents to get along? Will Ron like Tom's business pitch? Can Champion, the 3-legged wonder dog, help Chris out of his funk? Will Leslie's mother, Marlene Griggs-Knope, make things better or worse? Can Tom be successful partnering with Jean-Ralphio again? Will Chris be able to get past this outburst and start clean? Does the Knope-Wyatt Unity Quilt save the day? What new idea does Jean-Ralphio come up with? Is Dave Matthews Band considered a "good" thing, or a "bad" thing? Podcast viewers, tune in for another great episode, and also to support Benslie! Hopefully they can make it past this. Many thanks to our incredible sponsor, Pawnee "What If".