Season 3 Episode 15 "The Bubble"

In another episode of my fabulous Parks and Rec family, Leslie welcomes Ann to the Parks department by filing her office with balloons. Meanwhile, Leslie is also keeping her relationship with Ben on the down low due to the non-dating policy at work.

Just the fact that Leslie made time to do this for Ann amazes me. I mean with all the stuff she does for the Parks department; I don’t know how she has time to do all this for Ann. This makes me admire Leslie more, because she's such a good friend and kind person who doesn’t let work stop her from interacting with her friends.

I have a couple of close friends, but I feel like I don’t have that close of a friendship with any of them like Leslie and Ann do. I mean Leslie is the one who creates all the special days for her and Ann, but Ann’s always there for Leslie and keeps her grounded which I love about both of them.

As for Leslie and Ben, they’re in what Leslie calls “the bubble” of their relationship where everything is simple and fun. However, Ben has to meet with Leslie’s mother Marlene to get the approval to use school buses for an event. Believing this would burst the bubble, Leslie doesn’t tell Ben that Marlene is her mother.

However, Leslie quickly tells Ben that Marlene is her mother before he meets with her. A nervous Ben approaches the meeting stuttering and ultimately gives in to Marlene’s demands.

We see the more vulnerable side of Ben, which is probably from being elected mayor at 18 and ultimately running his hometown into the ground. I felt a little sorry for Ben, because a lot of people think of him as a nerd, who is uptight, and awkward all the time. I think the reason is because I’m kind of nerd too and could be very awkward in social situations so, I can relate to how Ben felt.

Not making the meeting better, Marlene tells Leslie afterwards that Ben is weak and easy to manipulate. Personally, I’ve never saw myself as a leader but more a follower, however it’s people like Leslie’s mother that make me want to use my voice more often. I was always taught to be kind and nice to others, however I notice that people can take advantage of that.

Telling Ben what happened, Leslie preps him for another meeting with her mother. Going into the next meeting, Ben is more firm and upfront with Marlene, however Ben’s new found confidence causes Marlene to hit on him.

In other news, Chris has become the new manager to the Parks department and moved everyone to different positions. April becomes everyone’s assistant, Tom is put on the fourth floor with Andy, Ron is given a swivel desk, and Donna is given a complicated keyboard.

In the end, everyone was upset about the changes to the office so, Ron and Chris struck a bargain saying that if Ron hears people’s demands for a week and then the office would go back to normal. 

Leslie cleared issues with her mom after talking with Ben about everything, and Marlene actually approved of Leslie’s new found beau, as do I. 

I’ve been rooting since day one for Ben and Leslie to stay together, and so far they have and are going strong.