History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS04E15

* HiddenDepths: Andy is usually portrayed as cheerfully oblivious to his own screwups but here he's tortured by the fact that he can't offer anything useful to Leslies campaign.

* RomanticRain: Tom tries to invoke this by standing outside in the rain for Ann, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome but it doesn't work]].

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex-boyfriend does? Exaggerated when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''handcuffs him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back. Not the best day for Ben.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex-boyfriend does? Taken UpToEleven when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''handcuffs him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back. Not the best day for Ben.

* RomanticRain: Tom tries to invoke this by standing outside in the rain for Ann, [[RealityEnsues but it doesn't work]].

* {{Flanderization}}: Dave's reappearance takes his unusual speech patterns up a notch. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Louis C.K. makes it work.]]

* {{Flanderization}}: Dave's reappearance takes his unusual speech patterns up a notch. [[TropesAreNotBad Louis C.K. makes it work.]]

* RomanticRain: Tom tries to invoke this by standing outside in the rain for Ann, but since ThisIsReality, it doesn't work.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex-boyfriend does? [[spoiler:Taken UpToEleven when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''handcuffs him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back.]] Not the best day for Ben.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex-boyfriend does? [[spoiler:Taken UpToEleven when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''chains him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back.]] Not the best day for Ben.

At the studio, Ron sees several posters for his Duke Silver persona. He doesn't want his co-workers to know about this aspect of his life, so he recruits April to get rid of anything she sees with Duke Silver on it. Tom admits that he told his co-workers about his date with Ann.

Leslie and Ben meet with Police Chief Trumple, who will be retiring soon. Ben is, as usual, nervous in the presence of a police officer. Leslie hopes to get Chief Trumple's endorsement for her campaign. He explains that Bobby Newport's family has spent a lot of money on the police department, so it's a tough decision for him. He will let her know his decision at his retirement party.

Andy has written a song for Leslie's campaign. He recruits the rest of the team as backup singers. Ron is not happy to learn that they will be recording at DoubleTime studio.

As Ben and Leslie leave the police station, they run into Dave, Leslie's old boyfriend, who is back from San Diego. He's in town for the retirement party. Leslie invites him to dinner with her and Ben.

At the dinner, Leslie talks up Ben to Dave. Dave says he could get Chief Trumple to endorse Leslie. When Ben takes a bathroom break, Dave tells Leslie he's still in love with her.

Dave tells Leslie and Ben that he plans to apply for Chief Trumble's job. He tries to get a chance to talk privately with Leslie but she refuses. When he steps outside for a bit, Leslie tells Ben what Dave said about being in love with her. Ben freaks out because of his issues with policemen.

Ann is angry at Tom, but he thinks he can deal with it. Andy has each person sing on their own so he can determine who the problem is. Chris is first, and his singing is enthusiastic but awful. During the recording of the song, Tom tries to make a grand gesture but Ann leaves in anger.

Leslie ends the dinner without dessert. Dave and Ben talk in the men's room. Dave thinks Leslie still cares for him, but Ben tries to convince him that he and Leslie are in love. Ben refuses to let Dave talk to Leslie. Dave handcuffs Ben to a bathroom stall. Dave then goes to talk to Leslie, telling her lies about what Ben said. Leslie gets a call from Ben, who tells her he's in the men's room. Leslie drags Dave to the men's room to get him to uncuff Ben.

It starts to rain, and Tom thinks that if he waits for Ann in the rain, she'll find it really romantic. Andy is struggling to get the song right, so Ron suggests he take a walk to clear his head. A drenched Tom shows Ann what he did, but she's not impressed.

Leslie apologizes to Ben as they head to the retirement party. At the party, Leslie has a talk with Dave, saying she hopes he and Ben can be friends. He apologizes and says he doesn't understand why she likes Ben. She tells him about the time Ben punched a man who called her a "bitch", and Dave is impressed.

Andy returns to the studio, saying they have to completely start over. Ron tells him to listen to the song one more time before making his decision. Ron has added a saxophone to the mix, and Andy loves it.

Ben talks with the chief, telling him that Leslie's plans for the police department do long-term good, while Bobby Newport's ideas are just for the short term. Trumple ends up giving Leslie his endorsement.

As the group leaves the recording studio, Tom apologizes to Ann in song. He wears her down and she says she'll go out with him.

Pawnee Police Chief Hugh Trumple is retiring and Leslie hopes to win his endorsement for her City Council campaign before Bobby Newport does. At the station, she and Ben run into Dave Sanderson, Leslie's ex-boyfriend who is visiting from San Diego to attend Trumple's retirement party. Leslie invites him to dinner with her and Ben, much to Ben's dismay since he has an extreme fear of cops.

Meanwhile, Andy has written Leslie's campaign theme song "Catch Your Dream" and invites the Parks Department, Chris, and his band Mouse Rat to Doubletime Sound Studio to help sing for it and record it. Ron realizes it is the same studio where he records under his Duke Silver persona and he asks April to destroy any evidence of Duke Silver that is present there.

At dinner, Dave privately tells Leslie that he is still in love with her and wants her back, despite Leslie insisting that she is in love with Ben. Dave refuses to listen and says he is considering remaining in Pawnee to become the new Police Chief. The dinner becomes so awkward that Leslie eventually tells Ben that Dave still loves her. Dave and a frightened Ben have a private talk about Leslie in the men's room that ends with Dave handcuffing Ben to the urinal. Dave tells Leslie that Ben ran away, but when Ben calls her phone, the ruse is up.

At the recording studio, Andy keeps making everyone sing numerous takes of "Catch Your Dream" but feels none are good enough. Tom keeps acting like he and Ann are a couple although Ann absolutely is not interested and regrets their one brief date. Chris becomes concerned upon hearing about it. Tom tries numerous ways to woo Ann but they only annoy her.

At the retirement party, Ben, despite his extreme anxiety, succeeds in getting Trumple's endorsement for Leslie. Dave finally accepts that Leslie has moved on with her life and loves Ben, though he and Leslie remain friends. To help Andy, Ron secretly records a Duke Silver saxophone track to lay over "Catch Your Dream" that Andy loves, finally finishing the song. Meanwhile, Ann eventually agrees to go on a second date with Tom just so he would stop annoying her about it.

* CallBack: When Dave brings up that Ben's "shrimpy", Leslie argues that he still can pack a mean punch as evidenced by how he punched Derek in retaliation for calling her a bitch back in [[Recap/ParksAndRecreationS04E13 "Bowling For Votes"]].
* CringeComedy: A RunningGag has Ben completely breaking down in high-pressure social situations, usually when his disastrous past as a teen mayor gets brought up. It's amplified here thanks to his crippling fear of cops.

* TheMissusAndTheEx: Gender inverted example with Ben, Dave, and Leslie. Dave is still in love with Leslie and tries to get Ben out of the way, but eventually accepts that she's moved on with her life and lets her go.

Pawnee's police chief is retiring, and Leslie hopes to get his endorsement for her campaign before he leaves office. At the retirement party, Leslie's old boyfriend, Dave, shows up and confesses that he is still in love with Leslie.

The rest of the group go to the music studio to record the campaign song that Andy has written. It's the same studio where Ron records his Duke Silver music, and he enlists April's help to remove any signs of Duke's existence from the studio. Tom and Ann, who have gone out on a date, argue over whether or not they are together.

* TheMissusAndTheEx: Dave and Leslie.

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Ben and Dave have this dynamic when they're compared as love interests for Leslie, with bookish, campaign managing Ben spending much of the episode nervous around tough, plain-speaking, cop Dave.
--> '''Dave''': I guess I'm just surprised that's the guy you fell in love with. He's very... well he's shrimpy and he's small.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops. Guess what Leslie's ex boyfriend does? [[spoiler:Taken UpToEleven when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''chains him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back.]] Not the best day for Ben.

* TheBusCameBack: LouisCK returns as Dave Sanderson.

--> "Catch your dream\\

--> '''Dave''': "I guess I'm just surprised that's the guy you fell in love with - he's very...well he's shrimpy and he's small."
--> '''Leslie''': "Shrimpy or not he's smart and he's cute and he's kind and he's funny and he's got a great face with nice hair and..."
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Ben's worst fear is cops...guess what Leslie's ex boyfriend does? [[spoiler: Taken UpToEleven when Dave ambushes Ben in the bathroom and ''chains him to the urinal'' to get Leslie back. Not the best day for Ben.]]