Chris and Ben have been asked to look into Eagleton's financial crisis. Leslie, in the middle of a recall, decides to ingratiate herself with the Pawnee voters by criticizing Eagleton, first at the press conference for the annual Pawnee-Eagleton basketball game, then at Chris and Ben's financial meeting with the Eagleton government. Ben and Chris agree that an Eagleton financial breakdown will affect the whole region and that Pawnee is Eagleton's only hope, but they know that Leslie will not agree.
When Ron receives an unsolicited magazine, he decides to go "off the grid", destroying as much information about himself as he can. Unfortunately for him, Donna and Tom find this so entertaining that they have been posting his process on Facebook. Ron decides to buy an RV to prevent having an address, but Diane finds him and scolds him that he is now a father and husband, and he can't hide from the world anymore. They reach a compromise: Ron gets a new phone, but only Diane and her daughters will be able to reach him.
April goes to the veterinary school in Bloomington for orientation, taking Ann along with her so she can shop at the mall there for baby supplies. In the middle of the orientation, April decides to drop out, saying she had a "gut feeling" that she shouldn't attend veterinarian school; when she explains this to Ann, Ann decides to listen to her gut. When they return to Pawnee, she suggests to Chris that they leave Pawnee and move somewhere else.
At the actual basketball game, an Eagleton player is injured. A Pawnee player helps him off the court, inspiring Leslie. She ultimately decides that Pawnee should help bail out Eagleton by absorbing it - the two towns were once one city and she believes this will be beneficial to both sides.
Tropes
- Aborted Arc: April going to veterinary school in this season seemed like it was going to be an important part of her character arc. However, when she goes to the orientation, she suddenly backs out and decides to not go, claiming that she "just had a gut feeling". The writers probably realized that they couldn't have both Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt (Andy) absent from the main cast at the same time. Plus, with Rashida Jones (Ann) and Rob Lowe (Chris) leaving the show around the middle of the same season, it probably would not have been practical.
- Conspicuous Consumption: Deconstructed - the Eagleton government and people would regularly blow massive amounts of money on extravagant parties and gift people all kinds of high-end goods just for attending their town forums. All this reckless spending has finally caught up with them here, as it's revealed the town is basically bankrupt and will drag the whole county down with them if something isn't done.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Eagleton high school basketball players basically wipe the floor with the Pawnee ones.
- Jerkass Ball: Leslie is needlessly cruel to Eagleton's government who are reaching out because they're on the verge of bankruptcy from poor spending. She's also needlessly bitchy to Ben for being a professional and doing his job.
- Mock Millionaire: Ingrid de Forest all but calls Eagleton this after the town's residents object to merging with Pawnee on the grounds that they "have no money".
- Revenge Before Reason: Leslie would rather spend her time mocking Eagleton and leaving the town to suffer even though the town's financial crisis would have a direct impact on Pawnee and the rest of the county.
- Small Town Rivalry: Pawnee vs. Eagleton.
- Unperson: Ron goes to great lengths to do this because he got a flyer with his name on it. He only makes it worse for himself when he accidentally posts a video recording of himself on the internet and becomes a meme.
- Wham Episode: Pawnee annexes Eagleton and Ann and Chris decide to move to Bloomington.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Ben calls out Leslie on her needless cruelty and unprofessional attitude towards Eagleton.
- Diane calls out Ron for trying to go extremely off the grid to the point she's been unable to contact him all day when she had a flat tire and needed help. She accurately points out that he needs to be a little on the grid because he is a husband and father.
