History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS03E15

* DoesNotUnderstandSarcasm: When Tom jokingly tells Andy to remind him to ask the very old Ethel Bevers where she was when Lincoln was shot, Andy makes sure to note that:
-->'''Andy:''' Remind... Tom... ask... something.

** It may not be intentional, but Ron's circular "desk-prison" bears a passing resemblance to Jeremy Bentham's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon Panopticon.]]

Ann starts her part time job at City Hall. Leslie makes a celebration of her first day, filling the office up with balloons, much to the chagrin of Ann's cranky office mate Stuart. April warns Ann that she filled one of the balloons with poison gas.

Leslie and Ben are together, but they have to hide their relationship because of Chris' no-dating rule. They are enjoying what Leslie calls "the bubble" - the beginning of a relationship when everything is simple and fun. Ben tells Leslie he has a meeting with Leslie's mother Marlene, a notoriously tough politician in the Pawnee school system who wants Ben to approve the purchase of four new school buses despite a difficult budget season. Leslie denies any relationship with her, not wanting to spoil their relationship "bubble".

Chris, as the new full-time city manager, makes some changes at the Parks department, giving each employee a job of which he feels they are capable. Jerry becomes head of Public Relations, April becomes assistant to the entire office, Tom is given the assignment of digitizing the city archives on the nightmarish fourth floor with Andy as his assistant, Ron is given a circular desk in the main office where he is accessible to everyone, and Donna gets a new ergonomic keyboard for her computer.

Leslie confesses to Ben that Marlene is her mom and warns him about her ruthless ways. She also accidentally spills coffee on Ben. When he meets with Marlene, she requests four new school buses. Ben has trouble talking with her and the meeting doesn't go well. After Ben tells Leslie what happened, Leslie talks with her mom, who considers Ben a pushover. Marlene has now put in a request for ten school buses. Leslie coaches Ben for how he should act at his next meeting with Marlene.

* WretchedHive: [[RunningGag Again]], the fourth floor of city hall. According to Tom, there's a whole room up there where they store the knives they've confiscated from people who went to the fourth floor to stab someone.

* HiddenDepths: After April asserts that there's poison gas in one of the balloons which will kill Ann, Andy appears and correctly (and inconceivably) points out that it would kill everyone. Apparently he learnt this in "school", but it's still pretty baffling he knows anything at all.

* TooDumbToLive: One Pawnee citizen made tea out of the water from the park sprinklers despite there being signs explicitly saying not to drink the water, and she tries to complain about it to Ron after getting sick from it.

* TooDumbToLive: One Pawnee citizen made tea out of the water from the park sprinklers despite there being signs explicitly saying not to drink the water, and she tries to complain about it to Ron after getting sick from it.

Chris, as the new city manager, makes some changes at the Parks department, giving each employee a job of which he feels they are capable. Jerry becomes head of Public Relations, April becomes assistant to the entire office, Tom is given the assignment of digitizing the city archives on the nightmarish fourth floor with Andy as his assitant. Ron is given a circular desk in the main office, where he is accessible to everyone, and Donna gets a new ergonomic keyboard for her computer.

Leslie confesses to Ben that Marlene is her mom and warns him about her ways. She also accidentally spills coffee on Ben. When he meets with Marlene, she requests four new school buses. Ben has trouble talking with her and the meeting doesn't go well. After Ben tells Leslie what happened, Leslie talks with her mom, who considers Ben a pushover. Marlene has now put in a request for ten school buses. Leslie coaches Ben for how he should act at his next meeting with Marlene.

April complains to Andy about her new job. Tom tries to charm his way out of his duties, but fails as all the old ladies working there are more friendly with Andy. Despite his discomfort, Ron believes everything will eventually go back to normal as it has with past city managers that implemented drastic changes that never stuck. Donna, however, is concerned the overly-determined Chris will not do so, and demands that Ron talk to him.

* ForeShadowing: In the scene where Jerry gets a folder that Leslie meant for Ben-it contains a private message-Leslie tries to pass it off as a typo and everyone is laughing at Jerry. Ron, however, is ''not'' laughing. He's giving Leslie a very stern look, which she misses completely. Ron has already figured out that Leslie and Ben are in a relationship and he's also upset at how careless they're getting.

* Foreshadowing: In the scene where Jerry gets a folder that Leslie meant for Ben-it contains a private message-Leslie tries to pass it off as a typo and everyone is laughing at Jerry. Ron, however, is ''not'' laughing. He's giving Leslie a very stern look, which she misses completely. Ron has already figured out that Leslie and Ben are in a relationship and he's also upset at how careless they're getting.

April complains to Andy about her new job. Tom tries to charm his way out of his duties, but fails as all the old ladies working there are more friendly with Andy. Despite his discomfort, Ron believes everything will eventually go back to normal as it has with past city managers that implemented drastic changes that never stuck. Donna however is concerned the overly-determined Chris will not do so, and demands that Ron talk to him.

Leslie and Marlene have coffee together, and Ben interrupts their meeting to call Marlene out on her new request. Ben shows more confidence and he wins Marlene over. Marlene starts flirting on Ben without Leslie's awareness of it.

An uncomfortable Ben tells Leslie they should tell her about their relationship, but Leslie does not want to lose the bubble. Fed up, Ben storms into Marlene's office and tells her that he is dating her daughter and asks her to keep it secret, as they could get fired if word gets out. Marlene laughs off the situation and they make a deal for two school buses. Marlene then tells Leslie she approves of Ben.

Ann starts her part time job at City Hall. Leslie makes a celebration of her first day.

Leslie and Ben are together but they have to be careful because of Chris' rules. Ben tells Leslie he has a meeting with a Marlene Griggs-Knope, and Leslie denies any relationship with her, not wanting to spoil their relationship "bubble".

Chris makes some changes at the Parks department, giving each employee a job of which he feels they are capable. Jerry becomes head of Public Relations, April becomes assistant to the entire office, Tom is given the assignment of digitizing the city archives, and Andy will be working with Tom. Ron is given a circular desk in the main office, where he is accessible to everyone, and Donna gets a new ergonomic keyboard for her computer.

Leslie confesses to Ben that Marlene is her mom and warns him about her ways. She also accidentally spills coffee on Ben. When he meets with Marlene, she requests four new school buses. Ben has trouble talking with her and the meeting doesn't go well.

Ben tells Leslie his meeting didn't go well. Leslie talks with her mom, who considers Ben a pushover. Marlene has now put in a request for ten school buses. Leslie coaches Ben for how he should act at his next meeting with Marlene.

April complains to Andy about her new job. Tom tries to charm his way out of his duties. Ron, tries to tell Donna that city manager shakeups usually peter out, but Donna tells him that probably won't happen with Chris.

Leslie and Marlene have coffee together, and Ben interrupts their meeting to call Marlene out on her new request. Ben shows more confidence and he wins Marlene over. Marlene hits on Ben without Leslie's awareness of it.

Ron, frustrated with his new duties, complains to Chris about the changes he's made. He has put everyone in jobs that they are not suited for. Chris thinks they'll adjust, but Ron warns him that isn't the case. They make a deal: everything goes back to normal, except that Ron keeps his circular desk for a week.

Ben tells Leslie her mom hit on him. This has destroyed Leslie's "bubble". Leslie comes up with a drastic solution, but Ben goes to Marlene and tells her that they are together and that they could get fired if word gets out. They make a deal for two school buses. Marlene tells Leslie she likes Ben.

Tom has decided to look into other job possibilities.

-->'''Andy:''' Remind...Tom...ask...something.

The parks department welcomes Ann to her new office in city hall and fill it with balloons, much to the chagrin of her cranky officemate Stuart. April warns Ann that she filled one of the balloons with poison gas.

Leslie and Ben are dating, but they have to keep their relationship a secret due to Chris' policy forbidding relationships between government employees. They are enjoying what Leslie calls "the bubble", or the beginning of a relationship when everything is simple and fun. It is suddenly threatened, however, when Ben has a meeting with Leslie's mother Marlene, a notoriously tough politician in the Pawnee school system, who wants Ben to approve the purchase of four new school buses despite a difficult budget season. Afraid of ruining the bubble, Leslie initially tells Ben she is not related to Marlene. Right before Ben's meeting, however, Leslie admits Marlene is her mother, making him nervous and causing him to capitulate to all of her demands during the meeting. Marlene considers Ben weak, so Leslie becomes determined to prove that he is a tough boss to impress Marlene.

Meanwhile, Chris, as the new city manager, has enacted numerous changes to the Parks Department. He promotes Jerry to public relations director, appoints April as everyone's assistant, places Tom on the nightmarish fourth floor with Andy as his temporary assistant, and makes Ron sit in the middle of a circular desk after the removal of his office to force him to interact with people. Despite his discomfort, Ron believes everything will eventually go back to normal as it has with past city managers that implemented drastic changes that never stuck. However, Donna is concerned the overly-determined Chris will not do so and demands that Ron talk to him. On the fourth floor, Tom's attempts to charm some of the elderly women into doing his work fails miserably, as they ignore him and all adore Andy.

Leslie trains Ben for his next meeting with her mother. He impresses Marlene so much with his tough negotiation skills that she becomes flirtatious with him. An uncomfortable Ben tells Leslie they should tell her about their relationship, but Leslie does not want to lose the bubble. Fed up, Ben storms into Marlene's office and tells her that he is dating her daughter and asks her to keep it secret. Marlene laughs off the situation and tells Leslie that she approves of Ben.

Ron tells Chris the changes do not play to his staff's strengths - Jerry only does well when he's in the background, Tom only does well if there's someone to impress, and April only does well if people leave her alone. Chris takes in Ron's well-reasoned arguments and they cut a deal where Chris will return everything to the way it was after Ron does one more week of interacting with the public. Nevertheless, Tom is frustrated with the experience and begins to contemplate leaving his city hall job to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests.

* DoesNotUnderstandSarcasm: When Tom jokingly tells Andy to remind him to ask the very old Ethel Bevers where she was when Lincoln was shot, Andy makes sure to note that.

Leslie becomes nervous when her new boyfriend Ben has a business meeting with her tough mother, Marlene. Meanwhile, Chris tries to make some changes in the parks department, much to the chagrin of the staff.

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* DoesNotGetSarcasm: When Tom jokingly tells Andy to remind him to ask the very old Ethel Bevers where she was when Lincoln was shot, Andy makes sure to note that.