History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS02E01

* LiteralMetaphor: Mark talks about how he hit rock bottom when he fell into the pit, in that he literally hit his head on a rock at the bottom of the pit.

* HopeBringer: Leslie for the Pawnee gay community.

* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: The Bulge, the gay bar of Pawnee.

* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: The two penguin husbands. There is a degree of TruthInTelevision to justify having them in the plot, as [[http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/gay-king-penguins-berlin-hamburg-zoo-moved-homosexual-a6988506.html some zoo penguins are known to have gotten into same-sex pairs together]].

* AluminumChristmasTrees: It turns out gay penguins are actually quite common, both in captivity and the wild.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: In-universe, nobody knew both penguins were male.
* WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame: The Bulge, the gay bar of Pawnee.

Leslie performs a wedding ceremony for two penguins at the Pawnee zoo. However, it turns out that both penguins are male. Leslie receives a cake and T-shirts from The Bulge, a local gay bar, thanking her for supporting their cause. In addition, April's gay boyfriends Ben and Derek are thrilled with Leslie's actions and invite her to a party the next night at The Bulge as the guest of honor.

Leslie is concerned that she appears to have taken a political stand, something most government workers try to avoid. Not helping is when
Marcia Langman from the Society for Family Stability Foundation confronts Leslie, calling for Leslie to not only annul the penguin marriage but also resign.

Mark, after having fallen into the pit and hit his head, has reevaluated his life. Ann took care of him while he was in recovery, and she thinks he became a nicer person after hitting his head. Mark asks Ann out, but she says no, fearing it would be weird for Leslie. She tells Leslie about it, and Leslie appreciates that Ann won't go out with Mark for her sake.

At The Bulge, Leslie tells Tom that they will not take a stand. However, she is given free drinks and so much applause that she advocates the gay cause. Next morning, Ron confronts her with the information that she must appear on ''Pawnee Today'' to defend herself against Marcia Langman's calls for her resignation. On the show, Leslie is verbally attacked by both Marcia Langman and ''Pawnee Today'' host Joan Callamezzo. Callers to the show also call for Leslie's resignation. Leslie refuses to annul the marriage and apologizes for "having fun". She later visits Ann and tells her she should go out with Mark, or at least she shouldn't refuse to date him because of Leslie.

Ultimately, rather than give into the demands, Leslie decides to transfer the penguin husbands to a zoo in Iowa, solving her problem.

* TakeAThirdOption: Rather than let Marcia Langman get her way, Leslie decides to [[spoiler:take the two penguin husbands over to a zoo in another town]].

Leslie is concerned that she appears to have taken a political stand, something most government workers try to avoid.

Mark, after having fallen into the pit and hit his head back in the last episode, has reevaluated his life. Ann took care of him while he was in recovery, and she thinks he became a nicer person after hitting his head. Mark asks Ann out, but she says no, fearing it would be weird for Leslie. She tells Leslie about it, and Leslie appreciates that Ann won't go out with Mark for her sake.

Leslie performs a wedding ceremony for two penguins at the Pawnee zoo. However, it turns out that both penguins are male. Leslie receives a cake and T-shirts from a gay bar, thanking her for supporting their cause. In addition, April's gay boyfriends are thrilled with Leslie's actions and invite her to a party the next night at the gay bar as the guest of honor.

Mark, after having fallen into the pit and hit his head, has reevaluated his life. Ann took care of him while he was in the hospital, and she thinks he became a nicer person after hitting his head. When she broke up with Andy, he told her he was headed to Kansas. Mark asks Ann out, but she says no. She tells Leslie about it, and Leslie appreciates that Ann won't go out with Mark for her sake.

At the gay bar, Leslie tells Tom that they will not take a stand. However, she is given free drinks and so much applause that she advocates the gay cause. Next morning, Ron confronts her with the information that she must appear on ''Pawnee Today'' to defend herself against Marcia Langman's calls for her resignation.

Andy, dressed in a nice suit, visits Ann. He tells her he has an office job. He apologizes for his behavior and tells her he misses her. When she turns down his offer to get back together, he accepts and leaves. Outside, he heads straight for the pit, where he has pitched a tent so he can protect Ann.

On the show, Leslie is verbally attacked by both Marcia Langman and ''Pawnee Today'' host Joan Callamezzo. Callers to the show also call for Leslie's resignation. Leslie refuses to annul the marriage and apologizes for "having fun". She later visits Ann and tells her she should go out with Mark, or at least she shouldn't refuse to date him because of Leslie.

Leslie transfers the penguins to a zoo in Iowa, solving her problem.

* {{Polyamory}}: April's relationship with her two gay boyfriends Ben and Derek.

While Ann considers going out with Mark, Leslie accidentally becomes an icon for the gay community of Pawnee after marrying two male penguins.

* TheBusCameBack: Played with. Ann states that Andy went away to hike mountains, so he was PutOnABus in-universe, but he never missed participation in any other episodes later.

** Pawnee seems to be actually filled with them.

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* IDontWantToRuinOurFriendship: Ann doesn't want to go out with Mark, because she fears it would be weird for Leslie.

* ShipperOnDeck: Leslie for Mark/Ann.

* UnfortunateImplications: In universe, Leslie marrying two penguins is seen as a political act, something that she lampshades constantly that she did it just because it was cute (plus, to reiterate once again, no one knew both penguins were male).

'''Pawnee Zoo'''

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Martha is a threatening moral guardian that wants Leslie to resign for marrying those penguins. Joan as well.
* BlatantLies: Martha states she doesn't want to be unreasonable, but she wants Leslie to annul the marriage of the penguins, repay the value to the contributors and then resign.
* TheBusCameBack: Played with. Ann statement of how Andy went away to hike mountains, so he was PutOnABus in-universe, but he never missed participation in an episode.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Martha shows to be a satire of a Christian MoralGuardian in her very first appearance, even stating how gays marrying ruins marriage for everybody else.
* HopeBringer: Leslie for the gay community.

* MoralGuardian: Martha, who becomes a recurring antagonist to Leslie's freedom of speech.

* {{Polyamory}}: April's relationship.
* RealMenWearPink: Played with, as Tom wears pink, Leslie points out she knows he isn't gay, but he is feminine.

* UnfortunateImplications: In universe, Leslie marrying two penguins is seen as a political act, something that she lampshades constantly that she did just because it was cute.

* TheBusCameBack: Played with. Ann statement of how Andy went away to hike mountains, so he was PutInABus in-universe, but he never missed participation in an episode.