Parks & Recreation has various memorable moments and episodes, but season 3’s “The Fight” is the best of the series. Parks and Recreation aired on NBC from 2009 to 2015, with a total of seven seasons in which viewers got to know some of Pawnee’s most notable citizens. The series followed Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), an eternal optimist working at the Parks and Recreation department in Pawnee, Indiana, as well as her coworkers and friends, such as Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), and Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari).
Season 1 focused on Leslie’s efforts to turn the pit next to Ann’s house into a park, and this was the start of their friendship, with Ann constantly visiting Leslie at her office, despite having a job as a nurse. The subsequent seasons followed the development of their friendship and other aspects of their lives, but season 3 was witness of their first fight, which along with other events and unforgettable jokes, made the episode the best of the series.
“The Fight” is one of the most fun Parks & Recreation episodes from beginning to end. The episode opens with the mystery of the broken coffee machine, with everyone ending up blaming each other and arguing - only for Ron to tell the camera that it was him who broke it after it burned his hand, so he punched it. Besides, things were starting to get “a bit chummy” at the office, and a bit of action was needed (had April not been involved in the argument, she would have praised Ron’s move). Once everything is back to normal, Chris lets Ben and Leslie know that they need another health department public relations director, and Leslie suggests Ann as replacement, mainly so they can spend more time together, as Ann had been dating a lot and Leslie felt left behind. This is the root of the Leslie vs Ann fight, as Ann agrees to attend the job interview but isn’t really interested in it, and Leslie really wanted her to take the job.
“The Fight” is also the episode that saw the infamous Snake Juice, Tom’s alcoholic beverage. The whole department attends the launch of Snake Juice at the Snakehole Lounge, including Ann, who, according to Leslie, was supposed to be preparing for her interview. After a few shots of Snake Juice, Leslie begins to insult Ann’s dating lifestyle, and Ann fights back criticizing Leslie for moving too slow with Ben. Leslie then claims that she always has to keep Ann motivated or she wouldn’t go anywhere, and they decide they shouldn’t work together. Leslie and Ann’s friendship had been pretty chill and “perfect” up to this episode, and the fight was a necessary milestone in their relationship which ultimately made it better and stronger, as they learned what the other was truly feeling and thinking.
The effects of Snake Juice is the best moment of the episode, with the Parks Department (except Donna and Chris) displaying their drunk personalities: Leslie cries, Tom doesn’t change much, Ann can barely speak, Ben is giggly, Andy sings, April talks gibberish, Ron likes to dance, and Jerry laughs a lot. “The Fight” sees April’s alter-ego, Janet Snakehole, as the “rich widow with a secret” that appeared in later episodes, and is the episode where Janet and Andy’s Burt Macklin meet. Parks & Recreation’s “The Fight” is the series’ peak comedy with a dose of drama, which helped integrate Ann better to the series and delivered one of Leslie’s most memorable life lessons: “friends, waffles, and work. Or waffles, friends, work”, but “work is third”.
Next: Parks & Rec: Did Leslie Ever Get To Build Her Park?
