Can We Please Take A Moment To Appreciate Ben Wyatt And Calzones?

Parks And Recreation returns this week after a honeymoon hiatus to fill the consistency void in the Thursday night comedy lineup.  I — for one — welcome back our consistency overlords with open arms and request they reign over us for eternity. I defy you to name a live action network sitcom that has regularly delivered the way Parks has since 2011. YOU CANNOT. It’s impressive.

A big part of the recurring quality is the show’s ability to employ callbacks and running gags in a manner that isn’t just re-telling a joke, but building on it. And for my money nothing showcases this more than Ben Wyatt’s calzone obsession (except for maybe Ben Wyatt’s Game of Thrones obsession). I recently stumbled upon this GIF wall showcasing all the Wyatt-Calzone brilliance and it needs to be shared.

I know, they aren’t in order (I prefer to leave them how the GIF maker created them because ART) but they still tremendously outline how a one-bit joke was subtly built on until it came to its only logical food poison-y conclusion (or did it?). The audience has to do some work over multiple seasons, but the writers also don’t take them for idiots. All of which makes it so great. Not to mention that Ben is still kinda/sorta a Pawnee outsider and calzones are, in fact, the worst.

Thank you for your time.