The Bubble (S3E15)

The hilarity is popping in Pawnee, when Rob Lowe and Alan Yang discuss S3E15 of Parks and Recreation! In "The Bubble" Leslie's mom makes a pass at Ben, not knowing that he and Leslie are dating. On today's episode the team share how fun it is to have Chris interacting with all of the parks department, Greg gives insights on his first writing credit, and why it took so long to get Marlene back in an episode! All of this and some surprising data about opening credits. Got a question for the Pawnee Town Hall? Send us an email: ParksandRecollectionTownHall@gmail.com Or leave a 30-Second voicemail at: (310) 893-6992

The Parks Department welcomes Ann Perkins to her new office at Pawnee City Hall and fills it with balloons, much to the chagrin of her cranky officemate Stuart. Leslie and Ben are dating, but they are keeping their relationship a secret due to a no-dating policy at work. They are enjoying what Leslie calls "the bubble", or the beginning of a relationship when everything is simple and fun.

The Bubble is threatened when Ben has a meeting with Leslie's mother Marlene Griggs-Knope, a notoriously tough politician in the Pawnee school system, who wants Ben to approve the purchase of four new school buses despite a difficult budget season. Afraid of ruining the bubble, Leslie initially tells Ben she is not related to Marlene. Right before Ben's meeting, however, Leslie admits Marlene is her mother, making him nervous and causing him to capitulate to all of her demands during the meeting. Marlene considers Ben weak, so Leslie becomes determined to prove that he is a tough boss to impress Marlene.

Chris has enacted numerous changes to the Parks Department: he promotes Jerry to Public Relations Director, appoints April as everyone's assistant, places Tom Haverford on the nightmarish fourth floor with Andy as his temporary assistant, and makes Ron sit in the middle of a circular desk after the removal of his office, to force him to interact with people. Ron believes everything will eventually go back to normal as it has with past city managers that implemented changes. However, Donna is concerned that the overly-determined Chris will not do so and demands that Ron talk to him. On the fourth floor, Tom's attempts to charm some of the elderly women, including Ethel Beavers and Muriel into doing his work but fails miserably, as they ignore him and all adore Andy and April.

Leslie trains Ben for his next meeting with her mother. He impresses Marlene so much with his tough negotiation skills that she becomes flirtatious with him. An uncomfortable Ben tells Leslie they should tell her about their relationship, but Leslie does not want to lose the bubble. Fed up, Ben storms into Marlene's office and tells her that he is dating her daughter and asks her to keep it secret. Marlene laughs off the situation and tells Leslie that she approves of Ben.

Ron tells Chris the changes do not play to his staff's strengths and decides to compromise: if Chris returns everything to the way it was, he will remain at/in the desk for another week. Chris complies. Nevertheless, Tom is frustrated with the experience and begins to contemplate leaving his City Hall job to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests.