- Leslie: It's great if you want to bake a pie and it's great if you want to have a career. That's great too, do both, or neither. It doesn't matter, just don't judge what someone else has decided to do. We are all just trying to find the right path for us. As individuals... on this earth.
Leslie's refusal to take part in the "Pie Mary", a pie baking contest for the state's political candidates' wives, due to its retrogressive nature becomes a point of controversy. However, she decides to change her mind after Mike Peterson's yellow journalism makes her determined to prove she can bake a better pie than the other wives. The Indiana Association of Women does not like this and boycotts her and Ben.
April informs Ron that she is about to move to Washington with Andy to take on a new job. Ron tells her that she has to return him the key to his house and she realizes she left herself a long trail of riddles to clue her in on its location, the first being four human teeth and a Twilight ticket stub. She and Andy tell Ron, who is very excited to solve this mystery. They first visit Donna, who informs them that she and April watched that movie together years ago, when April removed her wisdom teeth. Donna also informs them that April also visited the shoeshine stand that day to see Andy as he had still been working there at the time. The trio runs to the shoeshine stand, only to find that it was removed during the remodeling of the city hall building. They visit the basement and they find Harris and Brett there, who tell them that a ghost took it. Ron realizes that the ghost is actually Councilman Milton, and they find him in his office polishing his shoes. They locate a note written by April to Andy, which ends with 'woof woof', which seems to be a dead end.
Later, Donna discovers Garry trying to fish something from the drain, and learns that Garry had dropped his wedding ring in it again. The two of them talk and reminisce about the old days.
Facing pressure, Ben decides he'll take on Leslie's spot in the Pie Mary to bring back the focus on his congressional campaign. Ben, of course, instantly fixates on the idea of redefining pie-making by making a dessert calzone. But as the contest is underway, a local group of men's rights activists called the "Male Men" protest his participation, accusing Leslie of being a controlling wife that domineers Ben and the contest is ruined.
Back at Ron's office, April feels guilty that she couldn't figure out where she hid the keys, but Ron reveals that he changes his locks every sixteen days, so the keys that April had no longer work anyway. April then suddenly remembers where she hid the keys: she buried them under a large tree in a park that reminded her of Ron. Ron highly approves of this hiding place, because he too had buried some gold there years earlier.
Donna shows up at Garry's house in the morning, telling him that she managed to get people to open up the drain and to remove all the things that Garry had dropped inside over the years. She also gives Garry some oranges he needed for breakfast to thank him for his time.
Ben and Leslie discuss things with Jen, who tells them their best option at this point would be to apologize. They reluctantly set up a press conference, but before Leslie can give out her apology, Ben stops her, stating he can't let her do this to herself even if it might cost him his chances of winning. They proceed to call out the press for the way they've scrutinized Leslie and the double standards and limiting boxes they put on the candidates' wives. They earn equal amounts of applause and boos from the audience.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: No matter what you do, somebody is going to be mad at you, and that's okay.
- Atrocious Alias: The Men's Rights Activist group that protests against Leslie calls themselves "the Male Men".
- Call-Back:
- Donna still remembers the incident where Garry injured himself over a burrito and was believed to have been a victim of a mugging.
- Leslie is once again passed over for the Woman of the Year award in favor of a man.
- Cooking Duel: The eponymous Pie Mary is a pie-baking competition the state's political candidates' wives participate in during the election season.
- Double Standard: Leslie and Ben point out a lot of these in their "apology" speech, namely how Leslie is constantly scrutinized for her appearance and for being a mother working full time in politics and yet Ben himself never gets those sorts of questions.
- Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: Marshall Langman concurs with Marcia that women's place is at home.
- Female Misogynist: Marcia Langman believes women should Stay in the Kitchen. One of the guests on Joan's show is also a representative from a group called "Women Against Feminism".
- Friendship Moment: Donna calls Garry her buddy.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: If she's really mad with him, Gayle will call Garry the b-word - Bozo.
- He-Man Woman Hater: The "Male Men" are men's rights activists who complain about the smallest things that inconvenience them and blame women for it.
- Parallel Porn Titles: Brandi Maxxxx's newest movies are 69 Jump Street and Fifty Shaved Old Gays.
- Running Gag: Ben's love of calzones comes back here.
- Stay in the Kitchen: The Pie Mary reinforces this attitude with regard to political candidates' wives and Jen points out that the public is freaked out by "smart" wives.
- Take a Third Option: A couple of times.
- Ben decides to enter the Pie Mary to subvert the Stay in the Kitchen attitude held by the contest and to change the idea of what a pie is by making a dessert calzone.
- When faced with the choice of either throwing the election or swallowing their pride to appease a bunch of unreasonable critics, Ben and Leslie refuse to do so and instead reasonably point out their perspectives and shoot down the critics' accusations.
- That Came Out Wrong: In a case of bad timing, while the IOW director disparages how sexist the Pie Mary competition is, Ben comes into the room jokingly telling Leslie to get into the kitchen and start baking him a pie while completely unknowing of who the other woman is.
- The Bus Came Back: Elise Yarktin, the director of the Indiana Organization of Women, returns for a cameo appearance.
