I enjoyed Ben's confusion over the importance of Lil' Sebastian as it was a good way of maintaining him as an outsider, but I felt like his whole "Ice Town" past was just addressed in "Media Blitz," even with scandal-seeking local newswoman Joan Callamezzo, so some of the Ben stuff in this one came off as repetitive. I did like how Joan, and the rest of the media, were portrayed as crisis-manufacturers. "Leslie, how big of a disaster will this be? On a scale from 9 to 10"?
The April-Andy stuff fell a little flat too, and it kind of represents what I was afraid of when I previously wrote that I wasn't exactly crazy about the two of them hooking up. Yes, Andy's "awesomesauce" reaction to April's "I love you" was lame, but he's...lame. That's his deal. And she should know that. Also, it's kind of why she likes him in the first place. I just don't want all of their stories now to wind up being baby-step relationship stuff. I enjoy it when they're both just hanging out and being ridiculous. Like their "free stuff" contest in "Indianapolis."
The curse storyline played out well, but I especially liked it when Chief Ken threw a big handful of mystery dust right in Ben's face at the end - fake cleansing him of his shameful past. It was also nice to see that the modern-era Pawnee citizens feel so much guilt over past atrocities committed against the Native Americans that they cower in fear over the mere mention of a curse.
But despite the "curse," everything turned out great in the end and it looks like the Fest will wind up being a big success. They even found the "gone missing" Sebastian in the Corn Maze. Because, as Andy so eloquently put it: "horses love mazes." Ann also had a funny little side story that involved Pawnee's one and only Jersey Shore clone. I liked the fact that she, for whatever shame-spiraling reason, dyed a chuck of her hair red.
Overall, "Harvest Fest" presented us with more of a "feel good" episode than a laugh riot, but one can never dismiss all the lovely little joys that Parks brings us on a regular basis. The question now is...where do they go from here? Is there another big project on the horizon? What's going to keep Ben in Pawnee? He and Leslie seemed to be moving closer in this one, but more ground needs to be covered before they become an actual item.