"Donna & Joe" is the seventh episode of Season 7 of the NBC television series Parks and Recreation, and the 119th episode overall. It premiered on February 3, 2015 to 3.45 million viewers.
Plot
It's the day before Donna and Joe's wedding and Craig is on high alert. Donna asks her maid of honor, April to make sure the Meagles behave themselves at her wedding. Her family loves drama but they also give good presents.
Leslie and Ben prepare for the rehearsal dinner and thank their maid, Roz, for her effort at the impossible task of watching the triplets. Jennifer Barkley arrives and Leslie assumes she's going to ask her to run for an office but instead she asks Ben to run for Congress.
The rehearsal party is held at Tom's Bistro. Leslie wants Ben to run for Congress but she tells him she's neutral. She suggests he pretend as if he were running to see how it feels. After a few sips of wine they both get drunk and he makes a toast to Donna and Joe. Meanwhile, Ron accidentally tells Lucy that Tom could imagine marrying her, which upsets Tom. Ron tries to backtrack but only makes things worse by telling her Tom wants kids and to live on an island. In the kitchen, April and Andy have wrangled all the trouble-causing Meagles. Donna compliments April on how smooth the event is going.
The next morning Leslie and Ben wake up hungover and discover Ben left drunk messages for Jennifer, accepting the offer to run for Congress so Jennifer released a campaign video. Leslie called 867-5309 one hundred times. They meet Jennifer at JJ's Diner and she suggests to not back out, as it could destroy his career.
At the wedding, Ron tells Tom and Lucy to stop acting awkward and be honest with each other. Tom tells Lucy he is serious about their relationship and Lucy rests her head on his shoulder. The wedding ceremony proceeds without a hitch, with Leslie as a bridesmaid and April as maid of honor.
Outside the church the press confronts Ben about Jennifer's leaked campaign video. He is frustrated because he is currently trying to deal with an issue for the triplets but he realizes he loves solving problems and his work at City Manager speaks for itself so he officially declared his run for Congress.
At the wedding reception everyone teases Terry for the name of "Garry" on his name card and they decide to call him Garry, his real name, from now on. Donna winks at him and he realizes it was her doing. He is secretly over the moon with happiness. The whole group congratulates Ben on his decision to run for Congress and he toasts Donna and Joe's future.
Donna mentions to April that she misses some of the usual Meagle drama. As Craig prepares to serenade the happy couple (in reality serenading himself), April lets Donna's estranged brother LaVondrius into the wedding with a microwave they were fighting over decades ago. He smashes the microwave on the dance floor and Donna thanks April.
Notes
- Joe states that "Vitalogy" by Pearl Jam was written about Donna. In Halloween Surprise, Andy talks about the hat he was wearing when he first heard it.