History Recap / ParksAndRecreationS04E18

Ann and Tom think Ben is really tightly wound right now. Tom is happy that he and Ann have not broken up recently. Ben gets a call from Buddy Wood, who is heading back to Indianapolis to do another story and cancels the interview with Leslie. Ben suggests everyone go to bed early to get an early start on work tomorrow. Leslie suggests getting a drink to blow off steam. Ben declines, deciding to go over polling numbers. Leslie, Ann, and Tom head out to the bar.

At dinner, April and Andy see Chris at the restaurant eating alone. April, knowing that he's still reeling from his break up with Millicent, invites him to join them. Chris introduces Linda to the salad dressing he likes to take with him to restaurants. April and Andy note that Chris and Linda seem to be hitting it off and decide to try to get the two together to help Chris.

Paul, an airport employee, arranges things for the interview, after thanking Leslie for getting new name tags for the staff. Leslie meets with Buddy Wood, who is disgusted with the condition of Pawnee and the airport. Buddy is condescending and rude throughout the interview as Leslie tries to defend Pawnee and the airport. Buddy brings up Leslie's dating scandal and ignores what she wants to say about her proposed improvements to the town. Leslie starts to criticize Buddy, letting slip that she's had a few drinks. Buddy calls attention to her drunken state, and Leslie storms off clumsily, ending the disastrous interview. Buddy is thrilled at the idea of broadcasting the interview in the morning, and Leslie fails to talk him out of airing the tape.

Chris has to leave, and before he does, he asks Linda out. She politely declines, citing the fact that she just got out of a relationship. After Chris leaves, Ron suggests they go to JJ's Diner, but Linda suggests that she and Ron go back to his place. Ron accepts her offer, to April and Andy's astonishment.

Later in the morning, Leslie and her team have arrived at Buddy's house. Leslie begs him to get rid of the tape but Buddy angrily reveals that the airport staff lost the bag containing his equipment and he no longer has the tape. The group quickly leave in the limo, with Ben breaking open a bottle of champagne to celebrate this amazing stroke of luck.

Ron arrives at work in a cheery mood, wearing his "Tiger Woods outfit" (which he always wears the day after having sex) and gives April and Andy donuts and cash. Chris arrives and mentions that he intends to ask Linda out later. After Chris leaves, April and Andy tell Ron he has to let Chris know that he and Linda are dating. Ron approaches Chris and tells him what happened. Chris appreciates Ron's honesty and hugs him, admitting that he is very lonely.

Leslie reflects how lucky she is to have Ben and her campaign team. She also notes how lucky she is that the tape was lost, unaware that the airport staff deliberately threw the luggage with the interview footage out because of Buddy's rudeness.

* PetTheDog: April continues becoming nicer to Chris and trying to cheer him up following his break up from Millicent by trying to set him up on a date with Professor Linda.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Jerry stays up until four in the morning stuffing envelopes, then realises he's used the wrong forms. After a few seconds of disappointment, he gets straight back to work.

* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: Leslie stumbles over her words while drunk.

* PetTheDog: April continues becoming nicer to Chris and trying to cheer him up following his break up from Millicent by trying to set him up on a date with Professor Linda.

Leslie has an interview on Buddy Wood's Indianapolis morning show. Buddy is a famous reporter whose interviews tend to be the "lucky charm" that gets candidates elected, so Leslie considers this a huge break.

Ron and April help Andy prepare for his Women's Studies final.

Ann and Tom think Ben is really tightly wound right now. Tom is happy that he and Ann have not broken up recently. Ben gets a call from Buddy Wood, who is heading back to Indianapolis to do another story and cancels the interview with Leslie. Ben suggests everyone go to bed early to get an early start on work tomorrow. Leslie suggests getting a drink to blow off steam. Ben refuses, deciding to go over polling numbers. Leslie, Ann, and Tom head out for a drink.

Paul, an airport employee, arranges things for the interview, after thanking Leslie for getting new name tags for the staff. Leslie meets with Buddy Wood, who is disgusted with the condition of Pawnee and the airport. Buddy is condescending and rude throughout the interview as Leslie tries to defend Pawnee and the airport. Buddy brings up Leslie's dating scandal and ignores what she wants to say about her proposed improvements to the town. Leslie starts to criticize Buddy, admitting she's had a few drinks. Buddy calls attention to her drunken state, and Leslie storms off clumsily, ending the disastrous interview. Buddy is thrilled at the idea of broadcasting the interview in the morning, and Leslie fails to talk him out of airing the tape.

Chris has to leave, and before he does, he asks Linda out. She politely declines, citing the fact that she just got out of a relationship. After Chris leaves, Ron suggests going to JJ's Diner, but Linda suggests that she and Ron go back to his place. Ron accepts her offer, to April and Andy's astonishment.

Ron arrives at work wearing his Tiger Woods outfit (which he always wears the day after having sex) and gives April and Andy donuts and cash. Chris arrives and mentions that he intends to ask Linda out later. After Chris leaves, April and Andy tell Ron he has to let Chris know that he and Linda are dating. Ron approaches Chris and tells him what happened. Chris appreciates Ron's honesty and hugs him, admitting that he is very lonely.

* BrickJoke: When Andy wants to bail out of his final, Ron tells him that grownups face their problems head on. Later, Andy and April try to convince Ron that he has to tell Chris about going out with Linda:
-->'''Andy:''' You know, Ron, someone once told me that this is not how grownups deal with tough situations. We face them, head on.

* TheMatchMaker: April tries to set up Chris, still sad from breaking up with Millicent, with Andy's women's studies professor. Professor Linda ends up sleeping with Ron instead.

* NightmareFetishist: After Chris describes the book he was reading (a limbless woman who attempted to swim the English Channel immediately drowned in her attempt), April comments that it's cool.

Leslie has an interview on Buddy Wood's Indianapolis morning show. When he interviewed five people running for local election last year, they all won, so Leslie considers this a huge break.

Ann and Tom think Ben is really tightly wound right now. They're still working on their relationship. Ben gets a call from Buddy Wood, who is heading back to Indianapolis to do another story and cancels the interview with Leslie. Ben suggests everyone go to bed early to get an early start on work tomorrow. Leslie suggests getting a drink to blow off steam. Ben refuses, deciding to go over polling numbers. Leslie, Ann, and Tom head out for a drink.

Andy takes his oral final exam, reciting facts when his teacher, Linda, just wants to hear what he got out of the class. He passes his class (having only taken it pass/fail). Ron offers to take Andy and April out for a steak in celebration, and Andy invites Linda along.

Leslie, Ann, and Tom are enjoying themselves, teasing the absent Ben for being grumpy and uptight. Leslie gets a call from Ben, who tells her that Buddy Wood's flight out of Pawnee is delayed, and if they get to the airport in time, he will do a brief interview with her. However, Leslie is drunk, and the cabs are taken. They take Tom's rented hot tub limousine to the airport.

At dinner, April and Andy see Chris at the restaurant. They invite him to join them. Chris introduces Linda to the salad dressing he likes to take with him to restaurants. April and Andy note that Chris and Linda seem to be hitting it off.

Paul, from the airport staff, arranges things for the interview, after thanking Leslie for getting new name tags for the staff. Leslie meets with Buddy Wood, who criticizes Pawnee and the airport. Leslie defends her town and the airport. Buddy brings up Leslie's dating scandal and ignores what she wants to say about her proposed improvements. Leslie starts to criticize Buddy, admitting she's had a few drinks. Buddy calls attention to her drunken state, and Leslie ends the interview.

Buddy is thrilled at the idea of broadcasting the interview in the morning, and Leslie fails to talk him out of airing the tape.

Chris has to leave, and before he does, he asks Linda out. She politely declines, citing the fact that she just got out of a relationship. After Chris leaves, Ron suggests going to [=JJ's diner=], but Linda suggests that she and Ron go back to his place. Ron agrees, to April and Andy's astonishment.

Ben, Leslie, Ann, and Tom decide to take the hot tub limo to Indianapolis in the hopes of talking Buddy out of airing the interview. It's going to take them several hours.

It's now 4 in the morning, and Donna suggests to Jerry that they wrap things up. Jerry learns that he has put the handout flyers in the envelopes instead of the mailing flyers. He cheerfully prepares to do the entire job over.

Next morning, Leslie and her team have arrived at Buddy's house. Leslie begs that he destroys the tape. He angrily tells her that the airport staff lost his bags and he no longer has the tape. The group quickly leave in the limo, breaking open a bottle of champagne.

Ron arrives at work wearing his red shirt and gives April and Andy donuts and cash. Chris arrives and mentions that he intends to ask Linda out later. After Chris leaves, April and Andy tell Ron he has to let Chris know that he and Linda are dating. Ron approaches Chris and tells him what happened. Chris appreciates Ron's honesty.

Ann and Tom break up (again) when Ann is annoyed at the anniversary gift Tom gave her.

Leslie reflects how lucky she is to have Ben and her campaign team. She also notes how lucky she is that the tape was lost, unaware that the airport staff lost the tape on purpose because of Buddy's rudeness.

Leslie is preparing to be interviewed by Buddy Wood, a famous Indiana TV reporter whose interviews tend to be the "lucky charm" that gets candidates elected. Unfortunately, Buddy cancels to cover a breaking story, upsetting Ben and causing him to bury himself in campaign work. Leslie, Tom, and Ann use the free time to go to a bar, where they complain that Ben isn't fun anymore. Leslie gets drunk with them, and Tom is happy that he and Ann have not broken up recently.

Meanwhile, Andy passes his final exam in his women's studies class, so he invites his professor, Linda Lonegan, to join him, April, and Ron for a celebratory dinner. April spots Chris at the restaurant eating alone and, knowing that he's still reeling from his break up with Millicent, invites him to join them. She tries to set Chris up with Linda and although they have much in common, she turns down his offer of a date with the explanation that she just ended a relationship; she then invites Ron back to her place immediately after Chris leaves.

Donna is about to leave for the night, but is distracted by Jerry quickly and mechanically stuffing campaign mail, watching in amazement as he goes.

Ben calls a drunk Leslie and tells her the interview is back on. Leslie is interviewed in the decrepit Pawnee airport, where she knows most of the staff. Buddy is disgusted by the airport and Pawnee in general. He is very condescending and rude in the interview, but Leslie is so drunk she is unable to defend herself and stumbles over her words. When Buddy presses Leslie on the romance between her and Ben, she storms off clumsily, ending the disastrous interview. Leslie, Ben, Ann, and Tom try to drive overnight to Buddy's house in Indianapolis to stop Buddy from airing it, but he reveals the airport lost his luggage, which contained the taped interview. Ben celebrates Leslie's luck by popping champagne and everyone is happy that Ben has loosened up. Unbeknownst to anyone, Leslie's friends in the airport threw Buddy's luggage in the trash after seeing how badly he treated her.

Ron comes to work the next day in his Tiger Woods outfit (which he always wears the day after having sex). Andy and April convince him to tell Chris what happened with Linda. Chris appreciates Ron's honesty and hugs him, admitting that he is very lonely.

Donna wakes up and sees Jerry still stuffing envelopes, but it turns out he did it wrong and has to start all over. Jerry simply gets back to work.

Ann once again breaks up with Tom after he gives her 48 condoms to celebrate going 48 hours without breaking up.

Leslie is scheduled for an interview with Buddy Wood, but when he cancels, she goes out drinking with Tom and Ann. However, the interview is suddenly rescheduled at the Pawnee airport. Wood complains about Pawnee in general and its airport in particular, but Leslie is too drunk to adequately defend her town, and the interview ends in a disaster.

Andy has finished his Women's Studies course, and to celebrate, Ron, Andy, and April go out for lunch, inviting Andy's professor, Linda Lonegan, to join them. Chris is at the restaurant, and April, knowing that he is depressed, invites him to join them, hoping he and Linda can hook up. However, Linda is more impressed with Ron and goes home with him.

The next day, Ben, Leslie, Ann, and Tom journey to Wood's home in Indianapolis to convince him not to air the interview. However, he explains that he can't air the interview, because the airport crew lost his luggage containing the video. Unbeknownst to Leslie and her friends, the airport staff, in support of Leslie, purposely lost the video due to Wood's treatment of Leslie and of Pawnee.

* TheMatchMaker: April tries to set up Chris, still sad from breaking up with Jerry's daughter, with Andy's women's studies professor. Linda ends up sleeping with Ron instead.

** This trope manifests directly when Ron, April, Andy, and Chris are all dining out, accompanied by Andy's Women's Studies professor. The waitress asks Chris (and has done so many times before) to please stop bringing his own dressing to the restaurant. Chris' response is to brush her off, and then hawk the dressing to Professor Linda, ''right in front of the waitress.'' Ron, when he orders [[BigEater his third steak,]] places his order nice and early, with a smile, and a "please, and thank you." Guess which one Professor Linda decides to spend the night with?

Andy has finished his Women's Studies course, and to celebrate, Ron, Andy, and April go out for lunch, inviting Andy's professor, Linda Lonegan, to join them. Chris is at the restaurant, and April, knowing that he is depressed, invites him to join them, hoping he and Linda can hook up. However, she is more impressed with Ron and goes home with him.

The next day, Ben, Leslie, Ann, and Tom journey to Wood's home in Indianapolis to convince him not to air the interview. However, he explains that he can't air the interview, because the airport crew lost his luggage containing the video. Unknown to Leslie and her friends, the airport staff, in support of Leslie, purposely lost the video due to Wood's treatment of Leslie and of Pawnee.

** Though Leslie can steamroll people if she thinks they're getting in her way, by and large she has a reputation for great thoughtfulness and consideration, even to menial workers. Her kindness towards the workers at Pawnee's municipal airport (she knows them all by name) ends up paying off.
** This trope manifests directly in the episode where Ron, April, Andy, and Chris are all dining out, accompanied by Andy's Women's Studies professor. The waitress asks Chris (and has done so many times before) to please stop bringing his own dressing to the restaurant. Chris' response is to brush her off, and then hawk the dressing to Professor Lonegan, ''right in front of the waitress.'' Ron, when he orders [[BigEater his third steak,]] places his order nice and early, with a smile, "please, and thank you." [[spoiler: Guess which one Professor Lonegan decides to spend the night with?]]
* TheMatchMaker: April tries to set up Chris, still sad from breaking up with Jerry's daughter, with Andy's women's studies professor. Linda ends up sleeping with Ron instead.