- Leslie: I'm a judge, so I don't want to seem partial, but Trish will win this over my dead body.
Leslie has been appointed as a judge in the Miss Pawnee Beauty Pageant. April, upon learning that the prize is $600, joins the pageant and hopes for Leslie's vote, but Leslie says she can't show favoritism. Tom calls in some favors to earn himself a judge spot as well.
Dave shows up at the Parks Department hoping to ask Leslie out. When he doesn't recognize any of the female politicians pictured in her office, she turns him down.
Ann gets Mark to fix her shower, promising to cook him dinner in return. Mark calls it the "weirdest second date ever".
At the beauty pageant, Leslie and Tom meet the other judges, including former winner Jessica Wicks. Things don't go the way Leslie plans, however. She favors a contestant named Susan who is smart, plays the piano and does charity work; the other judges, however, prefer the very attractive but ditzy and talentless Trish. April goes along with the show initially but immediately drops out when she learns that the prize is actually $600 worth of gift certificates for fencing and sporting goods.
Mark and Ann are eating dinner while it's raining outside and things are going well until Ann discovers that Andy is living in the pit at Lot 48. Mark suggests they let Andy eat with them to get him out of the rain, and Ann complies, albeit reluctantly. Andy spends the rest of the night interrupting their conversations and spoiling romantic moments. Once the rain is clear, Ann kicks him out, but Andy remains convinced the night went very well for him.
As they try to decide the winner, Leslie tries to convince the other judges to consider Susan or the other contestants, but the winner is Trish. Leslie makes a speech congratulating Susan anyway, proclaiming the "Susans" of the world will carry on, even when they lose to the "Trishes" of the world. Dave shows up at the pageant to ask Leslie out again, but Leslie again turns him down. He gives her his number in case she changes her mind. When he leaves, he barely looks at Trish, which impresses Leslie. She calls him, and the next day, she asks him out to dinner. He also shows that he has learned who each of the women in the photographs in her office are, giving her some hope that maybe this can work.
Meanwhile, Tom has tried to pick up girls at the pageant by giving him his house keys. None of them showed up, but he reveals that he has been robbed twice.
Tropes
- Beauty Contest: The whole plot of the episode.
- Bittersweet Ending: Trish still wins the beauty pageant, but Leslie gives an encouraging speech to Susan and the other contestants about how people like them will always continue on and stay strong despite the crap they go through.
- Blatant Lies: When Ann finds out Andy has been living in the pit:Ann: You've been here a whole week?Andy: Yes...one week...only.
- Brainless Beauty: Trish is certainly pretty, but she's also dumber than a brick. April invokes this for laughs.
- Casanova Wannabe: Tom. So, so much.
- Casting Couch: Implied to be the case with the 1994 Miss Pawnee winner, Jessica Wicks. One elderly male judge states offhand that he "made her," cueing a sickened expression from Wicks.
- Comically Missing the Point: When Ann says it's time to leave, Andy says, "C'mon, Mark!"
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Andy absolutely won't get it through his head that Ann really doesn't want him back, nor that his attempts to get between her and Mark aren't working.
- Only in It for the Money: The only reason April bothers with the pageant, despite finding the whole thing "idiotic", is because the winner gets $600. When she finds out it's not actually cash, but a gift certificate for a sporting goods store, she immediately quits.April: I can be idiotic for $600.
- Pet the Dog: Mark suggests that Ann bring Andy in to share dinner with them since it's raining and Andy clearly isn't doing well on his own.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Played for Laughs with Trish, who briefly mentions that the "birthrate of immigrants" is "troubling" and the United States needs to "put a stop to it."
- Rogue Juror: Leslie wants to give the award to an intelligent and musically talented girl who does a lot of charity work while everyone else wants to give it to a very hot but talentless and racist moron. Sadly, it doesn't work out in Leslie's favor.
- Ship Tease: Between Leslie and Officer Dave.
- Shout-Out: One of the categories on Leslie's custom "judge card" for the beauty contest judges is called the "Naomi Wolf Factor."
- True Beauty Is on the Inside: Leslie believes in this and states as much in her speech to Susan and the other contestants.
- Worthless Treasure Twist: The $600 prize money is actually in the form of coupons for sports products. When April learns of this, she immediately walks off the stage.
