There are a number of amazing proposals on TV, but there’s still nothing like Ben and Leslie’s in Parks and Recreation. In the place that’ll be their future home together, at a time where everything is questionable—their love is forever. It always was. The scene gets better and better with every viewing because it feels real. It feels earned. Yes, some proposals are supposed to be big, grand, and elaborate—there’s undoubtedly beauty in them, too. But when Ben proposes to Leslie, it’s about the beauty in the ordinary. In the same way that their first kiss happens at the office where their first meeting also took place, their proposal is a simple moment that promises forever in a way that’s outright perfect for them.
It’s perfect because it’s a showcase of the detail that the empty space can be full of possibilities. It’s a sign of all the ways her chaos will marry with his calm. It’s all the ways they’ll continue filling this space with the love they have for each other. It’s sweet and sincere, and it’s a gesture that says, I’ll choose you over any job, any day.
As Jerry also notes in the episode, you can’t really plan for your future when life is unpredictable. Both Ben and Leslie are people with big dreams, but the decision to embrace their love and choose each other is the proof they both need to realize that they can climb every ladder together. They can be together, in the here and now because while everything else is unpredictable, what they both know with absolute certainty is that their love for each other will only ever grow.
It’s so easy to appreciate how it all happens, too because she isn’t expecting Ben there. She’s expecting to say goodbye to this house she’s already too attached to, only he’s right behind her. He’s beside her before she has to do the hard thing alone because since Ben Wyatt came into the picture, he’s been an equal partner to Leslie Knope. Two steps ahead, watching over and taking care of her. As someone who’s always so used to doing things on her own, Ben and her friends are the reminders that no one achieves anything alone. Even if they couldn’t keep the house, he wouldn’t have let her do this alone and that’s also what the proposal signals.
In addition to all of this, the exact words when Ben proposes to Leslie always get me. The whole “I love you and I like you” that we get later on is always so precious because it’s so quintessentially Leslie and Ben. But everything during this proposal is so tender and honest—real and wholesome. These aren’t just words, but their entire hearts on display. “I’m thinking about my future. I’m deeply, ridiciculously in love with you. And above everything else, I just…want to be with you forever.” Unfiltered. Perfect.
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There’s also something about the way Leslie takes in the moment that always makes me weep, and it has so much to do with her character journey that it makes for genuinely excellent writing. Everything that she’s ever wanted, the career and the type of love she’s dreamed of are both in her life today. She’s happy in a way that she wants to remember, and it’ll never not be refreshing to watch moments like this on TV. And the performances? Amy Poehler and Adam Scott consistently deliver these significant beats with such astounding performances that I might actually never have the words for them.
What are your thoughts on Ben and Leslie’s proposal? Let us know in the comments below.
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