Season 5 may not represent the prime of Parks and Recreation, the Michael Schur-created NBC comedy, but it does represent a lot of what made the show so great. A bit of a more optimistic, less relationship-inclined version of The Office, Parks and Rec has continued to endure as a workplace comedy that both presented challenging topics and served as quality comfort watching.
Featuring one of the best casts on television, season 5 allows them to shine, in Pawnee and in Washington, D.C. This is especially true since it served as the final complete season with both Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe in the cast. IMDB has a solid batch of rankings and ratings for the best episodes from the arc.
“Bailout” - 8.2
“Bailout,” an episode that comes in the middle of the 5th season is best known for being a shimmering statement to the high quality of the guest stars on Parks and Rec. In this episode alone, the great talents of Jason Schwartzman and Jenny Slate are put to use, as a video store owner and as Jean-Ralphio’s sister, respectively.
Even though “Bailout” is a stand-alone episode, it still works expertly as a supremely funny tale. The quote from Ron Swanson when he orders a party platter, “I know what I’m about, son,” remains in the outer lexicon today.
“Women in Garbage” - 8.2
“Women in Garbage” is a Parks and Rec episode that has produced a ton of memes. In fact, reaction gifs of Leslie and April picking up trash in safety vests are still widely circulated. In addition to the subplot about trash in the show, “Women in Garbage,” also shows off different sides of Ron and Tom.
The audience sees Ron as having a soft spot for taking care of Diane’s children. And they also see the yearning ambition behind Tom, who refuses to give up his basketball-oriented (and too high) Rent-a-Swag ambitions.
“Sex Education” - 8.2
“Sex Education” is an early episode in the fifth season run of Parks and Rec and, as such, it sees a lot of time spent in the nation’s capital with a major element of the story tracking Ben’s congressional game plans. But the episode stands out the most for its unlikely pairing between the technologically-oriented Tom and the stoic traditionalist, Ron.
Unlike in “Women in Garbage,” Ron and Tom have their arcs together, which results in a ton of comedy. The best moment is when they realize Jerry checks his email by searching for Yahoo on Alta Vista.
“Animal Control” - 8.4
One of the biggest elements of season 5 is the increased role of Jeremy Jamm, the detestable Pawnee councilman who is always at odds with Leslie and makes it that much harder for her to fill her role as a city councilor in the growing pains of her work. But amidst the government work, it is Ron Swanson who gets to shine yet again!
So many great Ron episodes are on this list and it speaks to how treasured his character was on the show. This time, Diane’s children get him sick and he is forced to realize that he is not taking good enough care of himself. It leads to the invention of a banana burger. Par for the course for Ron.
“Are You Better Off?” - 8.5
Parks and Recreation was defined by its boundless optimism, but one of the best storylines was one that forced the audience to be disheartened by the way locals were treating Leslie.
This season five finale begins the story of Leslie getting recalled from the city council and, as written by Michael Schur, it goes to great lengths to investigate the petulant discontentment that many seem to harbor for people who only ever try to do good. It was a rebuke of so much in the world that Schur still works against today and it proved to be an invaluable set up for the show’s endgame.
“Emergency Response” - 8.7
“Emergency Response” sets up a number of big threads, joyous and otherwise, that witness resolution in the coming installments of the season. On the disappointing side of things, Andy fails his personality exam to become a police officer. It is crushing to see his sadness, but this is doubly true for Chris Traeger, a relentless beam of optimism who feels discouraged by the end of the episode, even though he’s thoroughly hysterical for its duration.
It also sees the cliffhanger of Ben and Leslie potentially ready to get married, as if it’s one of the balls she is juggling that she is ready to bring back down to Earth.
“Halloween Surprise” - 8.8
Parks and Recreation could pull off holiday episodes with the best of them. This 5th season edition of a Halloween episode is one of the best examples of how funny the show could be whenever it spent some time on annual events. There are so many important revelations throughout the installment, too.
Ron becomes willing to go trick-or-treating with Diane’s kids, Ben is given an offer to work on a campaign in D.C. that would keep him away from Leslie for even longer, Chris’ biggest fear is old age, and Jerry is capable of having a “fart attack.” Yes, all of these are given equal importance in Schur’s script.
“Two Parties” - 8.9
“Two Parties” is the episode of Parks and Rec that features Ben’s bachelor party and Leslie’s bachelorette party. As expected with Leslie Knope, her party is quickly sidetracked by Jamm’s petty squabbling, her sense of civic duty, and her inability to give herself a break from her work even for a second.
But Ben’s party, centered around board games, is quickly hijacked by the interests of his friends. What results are cameos from a number of Indiana athletes, like Reggie Wayne Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts and Roy Hibbert of the Pacers.
“Ron and Diane” - 9.0
There’s a reason why “Ron and Diane” is one of the funniest episodes of season five. It was written by Megan Amram and Aisha Muharrar and directed by Dan Goor. Those are some amazing comedic names.
Expectations are subverted throughout this episode, as Jerry is shown to have a perfectly happy home life, even in the face of perpetual mocking. But the true heart is in the title as Ron successfully navigates the re-intrusion of Tammy into his life and commits to Diane fully. He even reveals his jazz alter ego, Duke Silver, to her.
“Leslie and Ben” - 9.3
Could there be any other episode from season 5 in the number one position on the list? “Leslie and Ben” is an all-time classic episode because it features the wedding of the lovely couple of Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope.
Of course, no sitcom wedding has ever gone off without a hitch and Parks was not immune to this comedy of errors. But when all is said and done, the episode becomes intensely sweet. Not only is Ben and Leslie’s relationship affirmed, but her friendship with Ron is treated with such reverence. The heart soars when we think of this episode!
