The recent Parks & Rec reunion special got fans reminiscing about many of the wonderful characters that the series offered over its seven-season run. The residents of Pawnee, Indiana are indeed a motley, oftentimes absurd bunch.
One of the more ridiculous side characters was Jean Ralphio Saperstein, the quasi-entrepreneur who showed up at events and lingered in the Parks Department to share business pitches and quotable one-liners. Jean Ralphio was definitely one of Parks & Rec's zanier creations, and it was a pleasure to see him reemerge during the reunion. Nevertheless, the character certainly had a windy, sometimes disparaging road throughout the series. Here are five ways that he got worse throughout.
Separating From Tom
Jean Ralphio came onto the show as Tom Haverford's business partner and best friend. As the series carried on, however, the two grew apart. This was largely due to Jean Ralphio's arrogance and hedonism, which forced Tom to take the high ground and continue his career without Jean Ralphio holding him back.
Their relationship reached a boiling point in the season five episode "Ben's Parents," where Jean Ralphio failed to help Tom prepare a pitch for his next project, forcing Tom to fire him. The decision ultimately helped Tom and although Jean Ralphio did return as one of Tom's employees, the dynamic duo was nevermore.
Losing Business Prowess
Partially because he parted ways with Tom, Jean Ralphio became less and less business savvy as the show carried on. In the beginning, he matched Tom in ambition, but after being let go, he let his goals fall to the wayside. He became less of an over-the-top wanna-be-tycoon and more of a spoiled bum, drifting in and out of reality.
He forwent his bizarre corporate ideas for merely ridiculous escapades. While it was hilarious to watch Jean Ralphio in this post-entrepreneurial state, the character became all the more scummy in the process.
Pining For Adultery
A major extrovert, Jean Ralphio never had an issue speaking his mind, especially when it came to sexual appetites. Relentlessly, but usually to no avail, he took his shot with just about every woman in Pawnee.
However, as the show carried on, he became more and more upfront about his willingness to sleep with married women. In later episodes, he tried to get frisky with both Ann and Leslie, expressing his interests straightforwardly without letting their married statuses hinder his lustful desires. It made for some great comedy but was undeniably deplorable on the character's part.
Living Off Of His Family
Despite being unemployed most of the time, Jean Ralphio was able to live luxuriously without going broke throughout the entire series. This is because he comes from old money. He inherited a large sum of cash after his grandfather died, and spent most of the show's later seasons living with and off of his uber-wealthy M.D. father, Dr. Lu Saperstein.
Once again, this downward spiral in Jean Ralphio's life is probably linked to him losing his business affinity and falling behind Tom. As his drive faded away, he became less responsible and more egregiously needy.
Becoming A Convict
We don't know for sure how many crimes Jean Ralphio committed in his life. Odds are he has more than a couple of fraud charges under his belt. If given the chance, he definitely would've tried getting in on the Fyre Festival. He's also hinted at being liable for stalking, sexual harassment, and in the series finale, faking his own death to collect the insurance money.
In the season 6 finale, we even learn that he's under house arrest. We don't know what crime led him to the arrest, but the judge apparently gave him two ankle bracelets in an unprecedented security measure. Whatever he did, the man and his crimes are now on the record... and the bar exam.
Annoying The Rest Of The Characters
To everyone in the Parks department, Jean Ralphio is an endless source of annoyance. He's been testing all the other characters' patience since Tom first brought him in for an interview with Ron in season 2. His irritating energy did not dissipate with time. If anything, he got even more outrageous in later seasons, becoming a mental burden even on his best friend and his own father.
Luckily for the fans, watching Jean Ralphio bother the other characters never got any less entertaining, but we can't help but empathize with his ones who had to put up with it diegetically.
Getting Hooked On Drugs
It's hardly a surprise to find out that Jean Ralphio has some sort of narcotics running through his zesty veins. What exactly the man is on remains a mystery, but we can only suspect it is some sort of wild stimulant. In the season 7 episode "Two Funerals," Leslie asks him why he is so strange, to which he emphatically responds "PILLS, BABY."
Whether those pills are prescription or not, or if he was abusing them, is anyone's guess. It's also unclear if he was on these pills from the beginning, Regardless, if the pills are the culprits behind his personality, he should consider weening off of them immediately.
Singing Obsessively
Whether he's creating a rap about someone in the room or answering a question with a jingle, Jean Ralphio's humor is highly melodic, especially in the latter half of Parks & Rec.
Usually, he'll be talking normally and then add a little music to his voice for the last few words of a sentence. Happily for the audience, those last few words usually create a hysterical punchline. Nevertheless, it eventually becomes difficult to see Jean Ralphio's singing as anything more than a rehashed trope on the writers' behalves or a weird verbal tick for the character.
Suggesting Incest
One of the more brilliant additions to Jean Ralphio's character development on Parks & Rec was the choice to introduce his twin sister, Mona Lisa Saperstein during season 5. Mona Lisa and Jean Ralphio shared very similar personalities and played off of each other hilariously. However, things could get a little strange when lustful matters came about.
While the brother-sister duo never did anything weird on screen, certain circumstances suggested that both would be okay with incestuous activity. This became most evident in the season 6 episode "Moving Up," when Mona Lisa entered a room with Jean Ralphio and two other guys and immediately thought of having a four-way. Disturbingly, Jean Ralphio did not seem fazed.
Becoming Desperate
Behind his bottomless positive energy and blissfully optimistic outlook, Jean Ralphio slowly became more desperate as Parks & Rec carried on. Without aspirations, he simply grew static and aimless in life, hopping between jobs and places to stay because he was "technically homeless."
This became most evident in the reunion special when he explained how lonely he was and put his personal phone number on the screen in hopes that someone, anyone would call him up just to talk. To be fair, he was practicing social distancing. Still, it's definitely a sad thing to see.