S05E12 - Ann's Decision

Live from Pawnee: A Parks and Recreation Fan Rewatch Podcast

This week Mark and Allen break down the Episode where Ann wants to be a mother! Empowered by her newfound independence, Ann decides to date herself for a while instead of getting swept up in a new boyfriend's personality. Six weeks into the experiment, she comes to a realization: she's ready to be a mom. It's a big decision, but she tells Leslie she's ready to go to the sperm bank and look into having a child on her own. Leslie tries to be supportive, but is quietly convinced that Ann is making a huge mistake. At the sperm bank, they run into Sewage Joe, who claims to be a frequent donor, and his patronage is enough to scare Ann off. Leslie inadvertently helps Ann realize that her ideal sperm donor should be someone she knows. With a new wave of enthusiasm, Ann narrows it down to three potential sperm donors and brings them into the office, pretending she's interviewing them for a blog. Meanwhile, Ben tries to make headway on his task for the wedding: finding a caterer. He arranges a taste testing of the three best catering companies in Pawnee, and has invited his own personal panel of experts: Chris (the veggie lover), Ron (the meat lover), and Tom (the foodie who takes photos of food instead of eating it). Ben breaks the three-way tie with his own input, deciding on the caterer who served an appetizer of "mini calzones." The day after the taste testing, Chris, Ben and Ron are all completely crippled by horrible food poisoning, and they haven't even seen Tom yet - god knows what this is doing to that poor little bird-like man. Finally, while Leslie is busy with her councilwoman duties, April is tasked with her worst nightmare: leading a public forum for the Pawnee Commons every day that week. She decides the best way to survive the ordeal is to imitate Leslie; she even dons one of Leslie's famous pantsuits to tackle the task. But Leslie's chipper methods just aren't suitable for April, and the first meeting quickly spirals out of her control. April tries to persist, continuing to channel Leslie, but with little or no success. As always, we tackle the tough questions, such as ... Will Leslie try to take control of the situation? What ended up happening to Tom? How does April get along with the crazy Pawnee residents? Who are Ann's three potential sperm donors? Do they ever figure out the exact source of the food poisoning? Can April figure out how to effectively handle the public forum? Does Ann end up picking a winner? Who does Ben end up selecting as the wedding caterer? What is Andy's mistake that stresses out April, but provides great snacks? Loyal viewers, whip yourself up a tasty dish, tune your podcast dial, and come along on our journey! Have we ever let you down before? Many thanks to our fantastic sponsor, often imitated but never duplicated ... JJ's Diner.