"Galentine's Day" is frankly an episode that is a whole lot better than it had to be. For most sitcoms, having an episode take place on Valentine's Day is all they need in a premise. However, this episode is perfectly structured, original and simultaneously ends some already on-going storylines, while even further developing current ones. It's funny, sweet, smartly written, and just a straight up blast from beginning to end.
The episode is all about the Parks Department attending the Edward Phillips Senior Center Valentine's Dance where Leslie plans on reuniting her mother with an old flame who she decades ago lost touch with. An idea made by her current boyfriend, Justin. In this, we get a great guest appearance from veteran actor John Larroquette. All the best scenes occur at the dance as we see April's crush on Andy continue to grow, which Aubrey Plaza does a wonderful job portraying by the way. Andy's rock band, currently named Mouse Rat, makes another appearance. They are forced to play old tunes to blend in with the environment rather than play their original songs. I frankly love the covers, and enjoyed how actually good they are. The writers purposely didn't make them terrible just for comedic purposes.
I know this is just a sitcom episode, and I may be overanalyzing this, but I do see this episode as a wise depiction on life and love. If you really pay attention to how characters act in this episode, you can start to put the pieces together on what makes people fall in love, how to connect with others, and even form meaningful bonds that last. As someone who has seen this show from beginning to end, I can honestly say I have learned a lot about life from watching this show, and it is episodes like this one that offer great life lessons. The show is more than just a joke machine, which is what makes it so great.
