Jerry Gergich is an interesting character. He is clearly the show's punching bag. Constantly getting harassed and picked on at work, yet he always is able to remain positive and diligent. Possibly the most interesting thing about him is his considerable talent for the arts. We have seen brief glimpses of this in Season 2's "The Camel" (his pointillist photomosaic of city hall), and Season 2's "Telethon" (his master piano playing). Jerry might just be the most talented and impressive person in Pawnee, which makes his awkward and clumsy nature at work even funnier to watch. In "Jerry's Painting" we see these unusual quirks front and center. The painting that Jerry paints represents everything about Jerry, the good and the bad. The skilled and the inept. It's also just flat out funny, and it is this unusual painting that drives this entire episode.
The painting that Jerry painted features a topless centaur Greek goddess Diaphena, which looks very similar to Leslie. Something that he admits was just an accident and unconsciously painted while thinking of powerful women. Much like in Season 2's "Pawnee Zoo," Leslie is forced to defend herself against the right-wing conservatives, who think the painting is an offensive representation of bestiality. Many of my favorite Parks and Rec storylines involve ones where Leslie is forced to defend herself on television, whether it is for things that she believes in or things where she is falsely accused of something she did not do. In this episode, Leslie stands by the painting that Jerry painted and is willing to go toe to toe with local conservative activist Marcia Langman. This storyline is the show at its best as we see the conflict of political views told in a very comedic manner.
The B-plot is much more simple but still very funny. Ben decides to reluctantly move in with April and Andy after he determines to permanently live in Pawnee. One of the great thing about Ben's character is how he is basically the only mature and normal character in the show. His reactions to everyone doing "childish" things are hilarious, and we get a lot of this as he learns to adjust in the crazy home that Andy and April have made for themselves. Ben making an attempt to teach April and Andy how to function as normal adults is great. For example Ben teaching them how to do laundry. "You always separate your lights from your darks." "That's racist."
There's also a great scene towards the end of the episode of Andy and April going shopping, which I won't spoil, but really showcases why the relationship of Andy and April work so well. Overall, this episode showcases everything that is so great about the show from a character standpoint and story standpoint. It's a bold episode, but works very well because at this point the show knows exactly what it is and all the characters are fleshed out enough where the show does not have to explain why the characters are doing what they are doing. It's fantastic and definitely one of the stronger episodes of the season.
