Ron: Do whatever the hell you want. What do I care?
Leslie: Right, but then after, when I pressed you, what did you say?
Ron: I believe I said that I thought we worked well together and that I might disagree with your philosophy but I respected you. And I said that you'll get a lot of job offers in your life but you only have one hometown.
Leslie: Yes, that's how I remember it.
Leslie has found out about Ron's upcoming birthday, a date he has kept secret for years. Leslie promises a horrified and annoyed Ron that she will throw a big surprise party for him.
Tom informs the department that the more prosperous neighboring town of Eagleton has built a tall fence in the shared Lafayette Park to keep Pawnee residents out of their side. Leslie suspects it is the work of Lindsay Carlisle Shay, the Parks and Recreation director of Eagleton. It's especially personal for her as Lindsay was Leslie's former best friend and coworker in the Pawnee department. While Leslie takes care of the fence situation, she puts April in charge of planning Ron's birthday. April makes sure to do so while Ron is in earshot.
Leslie holds a public forum, where the citizens complain about the fence. One boy named Joey has a broken arm from trying to climb the fence. Leslie promises the citizens that she will tear down the fence. Lindsay shows up at the Parks Department. She and Leslie discuss the fence, and Leslie expresses her disappointment that Lindsay has put up the fence. Lindsay refuses to take it down, all the while condescendingly insulting everyone in the process.
The next day, Leslie, Ben, and Tom attend Eagleton's public forum, which is held in a beautiful country club and is catered. Leslie has brought Joey and his mother, and she gives a presentation, mentioning what happened to Joey. The Eagleton citizens reject the idea of taking down the fence, citing the poor maintenance of Pawnee's side of Lafayette Park. It also isn't helped when it's revealed Joey was illegally selling fireworks to other kids. Lindsay condescendingly thanks Leslie for her attempts. On the way home, Leslie expresses her disappointment. She tells Ben and Tom that she had been offered the Eagleton job first, but when she refused, Lindsay took the job.
At the Parks Department, April has been making preparations for the party in front of Ron. He is getting worried, so he talks with Ann. She tells him of the extravagant surprise birthday party that Leslie once threw for her, making him even more paranoid, and he resorts to sleeping in his office to avoid any potential surprises at home.
Leslie brings her co-workers and several bags of trash to the park with the intent to throw the bags over the fence into the Eagleton side as revenge. Lindsay shows up and the two of them argue, which quickly turns into a physical fight. Police from both towns arrive, and when neither woman is willing to apologize, they are both taken to jail in each other's town.
The next morning, Andy discovers that Ron has spent the night in his office. Ron has been getting increasingly paranoid, refusing to go home. Andy "accidentally" lets slip that he's part of the kidnap squad.
Ann gets Leslie out of the very luxurious Eagleton jail. Ann consoles Leslie, explaining that Lindsay built the fence because she is jealous that Leslie was offered the Eagleton job first and wants to get a rise out of her. She also adds that if Leslie wants her to, she would beat Lindsay with a baseball bat. This gives Leslie an idea.
Leslie starts the Pawnee Wiffle Ball League in the park, with the fence serving as an outfield. Kids from both towns have signed up. When Lindsay shows up to see what's going on, Leslie thanks her for the fence – it makes a great backdrop for the game, and Pawnee could never afford such a nice fence. Lindsay is impressed by how fast Leslie turned the fence into something positive and remembers why she and Leslie joined the parks department in the first place. With their relationship on the mend, the two agree to get a drink together.
That evening, Ron is still hiding in his office. Leslie enters and brings him to the conference room, where she has set up a private steak dinner, whiskey, and a TV playing his favorite movies for his birthday. She explains that all the things April was doing were just to mess with him. They share a heart-to-heart about that past job offer, and Leslie leaves a contented Ron be to enjoy his birthday in peace.
Tropes
- The Beautiful Elite: The people of Eagleton are far more affluent and prettier than the people of Pawnee. Tom lampshades this during the Eagleton public forum.Tom: Look how pretty the people are!
- Berserk Button: Don't insult JJ's waffles or feed them to your dog around Leslie.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Ann offers to whack Lindsay with a baseball bat for Leslie.
- Birthday Hater: Ron.Ron: I don't like loud noises and people making a fuss, and I especially don't like people celebrating because they know a piece of private information about me. Plus, the whole thing is a scam. Birthdays were invented by Hallmark to sell cards.
- Cat Fight: Leslie and Lindsay have one in the garbage, with Leslie at one point shoving coffee filters down Lindsay's pants.
- Comeback Tomorrow: When Lindsay calls Pawnee a horrible nightmare from which Leslie will never wake up:Leslie: (to the documentary crew in a talking heads segment) "What?! I'm not asleep! I'm awake, I'm wide awake! And I got my eyes on you!" That's what I would have said if I had thought of it in the moment. What did I say instead?
- Continuity Nod: Back in "Summer Catalog", Ron mentioned how his first wife tried to throw him a surprise birthday party and he freaked out. He still hates surprises in general.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Donna herself is pretty wealthy and owns a Mercedes, and she thinks the people of Eagleton are a bunch of aggravating snobs.
- When Lindsay passive-aggressively insults Ben and Ann, April is then shown holding up a pair of scissors with a murderous look on her face. She may go out of her way to make fun of Ann and Ben, but no one else is allowed to (plus she probably hates the Eagleton snobs as much as everyone else in Pawnee does).
- Former Friend of Alpha Bitch: Lindsay Carlyle Shay used to be Leslie's best friend, but then got a nose job, moved to Eagleton, and became a real snob.
- Gilded Cage: The Eagleton jail. The officers are extremely polite and they serve scones for breakfast.
- Luxury Prison Suite: The Eagleton jail is like a nice hotel room, the police are like polite butlers, they serve freshly baked scones for breakfast, and they even give gift bags to people when they leave.
- Paranoia Gambit: Leslie enlists April and Andy to convince Ron he's going to be given a wild surprise birthday rager, with dozens of guests and party games — in other words, his worst nightmare. Ron's an unshaven, quivering wreck in two days.
- Retcon: Eagleton was originally introduced in "Kaboom" as being "two towns over", but now has a boundary with Pawnee.
- Troll: Leslie enlists April's help in making Ron believe his surprise birthday party will be an over-the-top affair, which April gladly does.
- Snobs Versus Slobs: The Eagleton residents (snobs) regard the Pawnee residents (slobs) with a mixture of contempt and pity.
- We Used to Be Friends: Lindsay and Leslie. They had made a pact to stick together and make Pawnee better, but then Lindsay took a job in Eagleton (which Leslie had passed up).
