[8.1/10] So to get it out of the way – I hate the giant soda bit here, and if I don’t stop and catch myself it comes close to souring me on the episode out of the gate. There’s nothing wrong with exaggerating for comic effect, but you can’t then knock down your own soda-strawman, and complaining about the soda cup you can stick your head into is a bridge too far. That said, it’s like two minutes in an otherwise great episode and I should learn to compartmentalize it, because the rest of this is very good. I like the soda tax a dilemma for Leslie. Lots of episodes have her facing some challenge in government, but rarely is she unsure of herself. This tax (which is a reference to a real soda tax in New York City) legitimately makes her uncertain of what she ought to do, with public health vs. jobs, not to mention the threat of a recall, leading her to waffling, and not in a good J.J.’s diner sort of way. But I like that the thing that pulls her back is Ron, and not Ron giving her one of his trademark motivating speeches. Instead, it’s him admitting that he tried to fire her…four times. It’s a mildly shocking revelation, and a reminder that Leslie would absolutely be a pain in the ass for someone like Ron. But I also like the point of the gesture – that he kept her around because she’s someone who sticks to her principles rather than kisses the behind of whoever’s around, and that will serve her well even if she’s in uncharted territory. Speaking of ass-kissing, I also like the dichotomy between Ben needling his congressional campaign interns over font sizes like a vice principal on the one hand, but then trying to be the cool boss when he realizes they’re all connected. Ben’s attempts to be cool are hilarious in their ineptitude (especially his out-of-date *SNL* reference). But I like that they bring it back to his relationship with April, and the fact that he thinks of her as a friend and someone who has potential, and I like even more that his disappointment and hurt motivates her to do better, albeit in her own, very April-y way. The last story is not bad either. Andy is great for comedy here as he tries to run track and exercise, and him and Chris always make for a good pairing. I also like the focus on Chris’s part of the story here, trying to face internal challenges rather than external ones. It’s a nice direction to take the character after his funks last season, and Tom even gets a nice moment of pointing out that Chris can fall to pieces over small things and maybe it’s a sign he needs some support. Overall, it’s a great episode with a dilemma for Leslie that brings out a startling truth but also an inspiring one, a challenge for Ben and April that makes Ben a dork (or at least a bigger one) and motivates April, and provides a good direction for Chris this season to boot.

Leslie, like every Democrat in the US and every leftist in Brazil, one of the first decisions is... to raise taxes.