History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS04E08

-->'''Leslie''': That's insane! You love ''Harry Potter''! You've seen all eight movies!

* HypocriticalHumor: Ron states that he would never be miserly with his gold that he buried underground.

* {{Determinator}}: Ann calls Leslie out for her single-mindedness, as while it's usually admirable, it also causes Leslie to sometimes be oblivious to other people's feelings.

* FreezeFrameBonus: When Jerry shows Tom his old ID card, you can see that the name tag reads "Garry Gergich". One episode later, it's revealed that Garry is "Jerry's" real name.

** Tom gives Jerry the credit for the new Parks and Recreations logo. It's kind of backhanded but it counts.
* RacistGrandma: Rose, who appears at the public-input meeting to express her concern that the park might be the home of a basketball court, and thus might attract "the kind of people" who play basketball. Ben and Leslie cut her off before she can spell out exactly what she means, but given the looks she was getting from the other attendees, her point came across.

* WhatTheHellHero: Ann calls Leslie out on being a steamroller and constantly ignoring what other people want, which helps Leslie pull her head in a bit and realise how awful she's been to Ben.

-->'''Leslie''': The current title [for Indiana's smallest park] is held by Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Terryville. Well, you know what? Terryville sucks old car tires and so does Martin Luth... [[{{beat}} oh wait.]] No. No, he does not suck old car tires. He was one of the greatest men in history. Sorry. Sometimes I get competitive.

-->'''Leslie''': The current title [for Indiana's smallest park] is held by Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Terryville. Well, you know what? Terryville sucks old car tires and so does Martin Luth... [[{{beat}} oh wait.]] No. No, he does not suck old car tires. He was one of the greatest men in history. Sorry. Sometimes I get competitive.
* TheyDo: Ben and Leslie are unable to deny their feelings any longer and get back together at the end.

-->'''Leslie''': The current title [for world's smallest park] is held by Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Terryville. Well, you know what? Terryville sucks old car tires and so does Martin Luth... [[{{beat}} oh wait.]] No. No, he does not suck old car tires. He was one of the greatest men in history. Sorry. Sometimes I get competitive.

Andy, wanting to do more with his life, decides to take a class at Pawnee Community College and enlists April to help him decide which one. The college is offering a "shopping period" where prospective students can try out different classes to see which one they want. Ron suggests Andy try something new, but April thinks he should take something he already knows so he can get an easy A.

At the college, Andy tries a beginner's guitar class, but he quickly finds himself bored with it. Ron suggests that Andy challenge himself with something he's never looked into before and they resume looking around. Andy tries an Introduction to Lasers class but leaves when it turns out they won't be using real lasers. Having tried both April and Ron's suggestions, Andy makes his decision the same way he makes every decision: at random. He flips through the class catalog and his finger lands on Intro to Women's Studies, which he finds fascinating.

Leslie complains about her problems about Ben with Ann. She and Ben only have their work keeping them close now, and soon they won't even have that. Leslie ignores Ann's advice to lay off and listen to Ben. As part of her plan to keep dragging out the smallest park project for as long as possible, Leslie holds a public forum for the park with Ben. She encourages everyone to participate, but is annoyed when the usually disagreeable Pawnee townspeople are supportive of the park and Ben puts an end to the forum after 45 minutes.

Later that night, Ben and Leslie meet at the tiny park. Leslie admits that her recent actions were selfish and inconsiderate and apologizes. The two reluctantly agree to keep their distance from each other. As Ben prepares to leave, Leslie adds that they could just say "screw it" and get back together, as she misses him badly and wants him back more than anything. Ben worries about the ramifications, but Leslie asserts that she doesn't care if getting back together with him will jeopardize her City Council campaign or her job. She asks Ben what he wants. He kisses her, ready to face the consequences of their relationship.

--->'''Andy:''' I don’t think so. I don’t remember applying for that.
--->'''April:''' No, Andy. Ron... Swanson... scholarship.

* OhCrap: Andy has one of these as he gets ready to attend his first day of class:

* HypocriticalHumor: Ron states that he would never be miserly with his gold.

Andy tries to register for his class but is shocked to learn that it will cost nearly a thousand dollars. April suggests having her parents pay for, but Andy refuses it because he feels it would be embarrassing to ask.

* BigEater: Ann once ate a whole cheesecake at a potluck so Leslie wouldn't look bad. When Ben asks why she didn't throw it away, Ann only replies that it was delicious and with everything Leslie's done for her, she would eat ten cheesecakes if she had to.

Later that night, Ben and Leslie meet at the tiny park. Leslie admits that her recent actions were selfish and inconsiderate and apologizes. The two reluctantly agree to keep their distance from each other. As Ben prepares to leave, Leslie adds that they could just say "screw it", as she misses him badly and wants him back more than anything. Ben worries about the ramifications, but Leslie asserts that she doesn't care if getting back together with him will jeopardize her City Council campaign or her job. She asks Ben what he wants. He kisses her, ready to face the consequences of their relationship.

Ben informs Leslie that when this project is finished, he's going to decrease his time working with the Parks department. Leslie does not take this well. Desperate to keep him around, Leslie decides to delay the opening of the park for as long as possible so they can keep working together.

Andy tries to register for his class, but is shocked to learn that it will cost nearly a thousand dollars. April suggests having her parents pay for, but Andy refuses it because he feels it would be embarrassing to ask.

Leslie complains to Ann about how Ben called her a steamroller. Ann tries to get a word in edge wise but Leslie won't let her finish. Ann finally snaps and yells to Leslie that she ''is'' a steamroller and Ben is right about her overbearing need to have things go her way. Realizing Ann is right, Leslie realizes she needs to leave Ben alone.

** While bemoaning his lot as a mindless government drone, Tom groans that he'll become like Jerry in the future, living in a middle class house with a loving wife and three beautiful kids that he eats home-cooked meals with, and calls it a miserable existence.

--->'''April:''' No, Andy. Ron...Swanson...scholarship.

Chris assigns Tom and Jerry the task of changing the new font for the Parks and Recreation department logo.
Leslie and Ben are working on a new project: a tiny park, Indiana's smallest park, that will be built on the site of the last remaining telephone booth. This should be a quick project as Ben doesn't foresee any obstacles.

Andy decides to take a college class and gets April to help him decide which one. The college is offering a "shopping period" where prospective students can try out different classes to see which one they want. Ron suggests Andy try something new, but April thinks he should take something he already knows so he can get an easy A.

Ben informs Leslie that when this project is finished, he's going to decrease his time working with the Parks department. Leslie does not take this well.

Andy tries a beginning guitar class, but he soon finds himself bored silly. Ron suggests they try a few more classes. Andy tries Introduction to Lasers but leaves when it turns out they won't be using real lasers. Having tried both April and Ron's suggestions, Andy makes his decision the same way he makes every decision: at random. He chooses Women's Studies.

Leslie discusses her Ben problem with Ann. She and Ben only have work now, and soon they won't even have that. Leslie ignores Ann's advice and decides to drag out the tiny park project to keep Ben around longer. Leslie and Ben hold a public forum for the park. She encourages everyone to participate, but Ben puts an end to the discussion after 45 minutes.

Leslie sets up the new park with a busy schedule of events. When some citizens come to complain, she informs them that there have been no studies done on the park and she has some ideas on how the citizens can protest. When Chris and Ben show up and see the protests, Ben cancels all events and says the park will just be a patch of grass. Chris calls Ben and Leslie a dream team, but Ben responds that Leslie is a team of one and a steamroller.

Jerry puts a damper on Tom's enthusiasm for the job. He suggests Tom just do what he's supposed to do as the best way to survive the job. He even mentions that he has his original [=ID=] card from when he started at the Parks department. Tom has an idea.

When Andy signs up for his class, he and April are shocked to learn that it will cost nearly a thousand dollars. Andy refuses April's suggestion of having her parents pay for it because it's too embarrassing.

Leslie complains to Ann that Ben called her a steamroller. Ann tries to get a word in edge wise but Leslie won't let her finish. Ann finally yells to Leslie that she ''is'' a steamroller. Leslie agrees and realizes she needs to leave Ben alone.

April and Andy try to sell Mouse Rat [=CDs=] and candy bars at exorbitant prices to raise money for school. When Ron comes looking for April, they tell him they can't pay for college, and Ron offers Andy the "Ron Swanson" scholarship.

Ann encourages Ben to talk to Leslie.

Tom suggests to Chris that they make limited edition Parks department gear using the logo from Jerry's old [=ID=]. Tom gives credit to Jerry for the inspiration.

Ben and Leslie meet at the tiny park. Leslie is trying very hard to be considerate. She takes responsibility for her recent actions and apologizes. She does suggest, however, that they get together anyway. Ben worries about the ramifications, but then they kiss anyway.

-->'''Andy:''' As ready as I’ll ever be. Oh, crap. I forgot my books and my computer.

Leslie and Ben are collaborating on a project to establish the smallest park in Indiana at a corner of an intersection where the last payphones in town have been taken down. However, Ben tells Leslie that he plans to focus on other departments after it opens because the pain of their failed romantic relationship when he's around her has gotten too much for him to bear. Leslie, desperate to keep him around, decides to delay the opening of the park for as long as possible so they can keep working together.

Chris assigns Tom and Jerry to create a new logo for the Parks Department, which is basically just choosing a new font, but Tom wants to do much more.

Andy, wanting to do more with his life, decides to take a class at Pawnee Community College. April suggests that Andy take an easy class in order to get a high grade, so he chooses the beginner's guitar course. Andy quickly becomes bored with the class, so Ron suggests he challenge himself with something he's never looked into before. Andy tries out an Introduction to Lasers class but finds that boring as well, so he randomly picks something out of the class catalog and his finger lands on Intro to Women's Studies, which he finds fascinating. Unfortunately, he cannot afford the registration fee, so he and April try to raise money by selling high priced candy bars at the shoeshine stand. However, Ron comes to the rescue, telling them he'll pay for the class.

Tom goes overboard with his and Jerry's assignment, making plans to remodel existing parks and pitch a reality show. Jerry tells Tom these plans are outlandish and aren't part of their original assignment, but Tom argues that he's a dreamer. Jerry points out that Tom's big dreams were what doomed Entertainment 720. Tom becomes despondent about his future as a mindless bureaucrat, but when he sees Jerry's first ID card from 1977, he becomes inspired by its font. He pitches the font for the new logo, along with a line of limited edition merchandise based on it, which are well received by Chris.

Leslie holds a public forum on the smallest park and tries to drag it out as long as possible, but is annoyed when the usually cantankerous Pawnee townspeople are supportive of the park and the forum ends quickly. Leslie subsequently distributes flyers around town stating that the park will hold loud events and other falsehoods, prompting a protest demanding an environmental impact report which will take a year to release, allowing Leslie and Ben to keep working together. Ben shuts the protest down by refuting all of Leslie's claims, and tells Chris that he no longer wants to work with Leslie because she never respects his wishes and always demands things to go her way.

As Leslie complains about this to Ann, Ann tells Leslie that Ben is right about her overbearing need to have things her way, but after seeing how sad she is, Ann privately asks Ben to talk to Leslie. Ben meets with Leslie at the smallest park where the two reluctantly agree to keep their distance from each other. As Ben prepares to leave, Leslie adds that they could just say "screw it" and she wants him back and doesn't care if getting back together will jeopardize her City Council campaign or her job. The two kiss, ready to face the consequences of their relationship.

Andy goes in for his first day of class, and though he doesn't seem to quite grasp the concepts being taught, he takes them in with gusto. His professor finds him odd.

Leslie and Ben have collaborated on a project to establish the Smallest Park in Indiana at a corner of an intersection where the last payphones in town have been taken down. However, Ben tells Leslie that he plans to focus on other departments after it opens because the pain of their failed romantic relationship when he's around her has gotten too much for him to bear. Leslie, desperate to keep him around, decides to delay the opening of the park for as long as possible so they can keep working together.

Andy, wanting to do more with his life, decides to take a class at Pawnee Community College. April suggests that Andy take an easy class in order to get a high grade, so he chooses the beginner's guitar course. Andy quickly becomes bored with the class, so Ron suggests he challenge himself with something he's never looked into before. Andy tries out an Introduction to Lasers class but boring as well, so he randomly picks something out of the class catalog and his finger lands on Intro to Women's Studies, which he finds fascinating. Unfortunately, he cannot afford the registration fee, so he and April try to raise money by selling high priced candy bars at the shoeshine stand. However, Ron comes to the rescue, telling them he'll pay for the class.

Leslie and Ben work on a new project: the smallest park in Indiana. However, after this project wraps up, Ben intends to transfer to another department. Leslie delays work on the project to keep Ben around longer.

Andy decides to take a course at the local college. Ann and Ron accompany him as he tries out several different classes.

Chris gives Tom and Jerry the job of designing a new logo for the Parks Department.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Ron concurs with Andy's Women's Studies teacher when she calls marriage a form of slavery. April also admires Joan of Arc for not being afraid as she was being burned at the stake.
* {{Determinator}}: Ann calls Leslie out for her single-mindedness, as it's both a good and bad thing.

* ShoutOut: Tom re-does the Parks and Recreation logo using the "handguns as R's" font from ''Series/TheSopranos.''

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Ron concurs with Andy's Women's Studies teacher when she calls marriage a form of slavery.

-->'''Leslie''': The current title [for world's smallest park] is held by Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in Terryville. Well, you know what? Terryville sucks old car tires and so does Martin Luth... [[{{beat}} oh wait.]] No. No, he does not suck old car tires. He was one of the greatest men in history. Sorry. Sometimes I get competitive.”