One of the many great things about Parks and Recreation is how they are able to develop their characters. Now, I'm not saying that every sitcom has to develop their characters. Some of the very best sitcoms like Seinfeld for example got by just fine by keeping the characters exactly the same. However, when shows are able to simultaneously develop their characters while still remaining consistently funny and fresh, it's a pretty incredible feat. I believe Parks successfully did this in its 7 season run, and it's episodes like "Tom's Divorce" that helped keep these characters multi-dimensional and real despite their quirky characteristics.
"Tom's Divorce" centers around the news that Tom and his wife, Wendy, are separating. Leslie finds this info out in a great cold open where she is sent to run an errand at the creepy and disturbing fourth floor of City Hall. Which includes the DMV, probation offices and divorce filings. Now, up to this point, we know that Tom and Wendy had a green card marriage (not a real marriage), because Wendy is Canadian. What we didn't know is that Tom actually had feelings for Wendy (not mutual by the way), and despite it only being a green card marriage, Tom is very depressed by the separation. The whole episode revolves around the gang trying to cheer Tom up.
Overall, this episode may not be one of the funnier episodes in Season 2, but it does have some great moments and helps to flesh out one of its key characters. Among the better scenes in the episode are the gang dining at Jurassic Fork. The dinosaur puns seem to only get funnier and funnier. Also, they end up at one of Tom's favorite strip-clubs, The Glitter Factor, and we get some great moments there as well. The main storyline is solid, but the scenes with Andy, Ann, and Mark are ok, and the whole Andy being jealous of Mark is starting to get really old. Hopefully that will be the last of that storyline for a while.
Quick side note: Aziz Ansari's acting is surprisingly really good in this episode. He's a really underrated dramatic actor and if you watch his show Master of None you can see even more of his dramatic chops on display.
"Tom's Divorce" centers around the news that Tom and his wife, Wendy, are separating. Leslie finds this info out in a great cold open where she is sent to run an errand at the creepy and disturbing fourth floor of City Hall. Which includes the DMV, probation offices and divorce filings. Now, up to this point, we know that Tom and Wendy had a green card marriage (not a real marriage), because Wendy is Canadian. What we didn't know is that Tom actually had feelings for Wendy (not mutual by the way), and despite it only being a green card marriage, Tom is very depressed by the separation. The whole episode revolves around the gang trying to cheer Tom up.
Overall, this episode may not be one of the funnier episodes in Season 2, but it does have some great moments and helps to flesh out one of its key characters. Among the better scenes in the episode are the gang dining at Jurassic Fork. The dinosaur puns seem to only get funnier and funnier. Also, they end up at one of Tom's favorite strip-clubs, The Glitter Factor, and we get some great moments there as well. The main storyline is solid, but the scenes with Andy, Ann, and Mark are ok, and the whole Andy being jealous of Mark is starting to get really old. Hopefully that will be the last of that storyline for a while.
Quick side note: Aziz Ansari's acting is surprisingly really good in this episode. He's a really underrated dramatic actor and if you watch his show Master of None you can see even more of his dramatic chops on display.
