Within its first few seasons, Parks and Recreation gathered a large fanbase and was met with increasingly positive reviews. Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope, a hardworking, optimistic local government employee won people over with her humor and heart.
The show began as a comedy about small-town government, and followed the characters as they worked their way up in the world. Parks defined itself by its sincerity, and refused to be cynical about a group of Parks Department employees that came to love each other like a family.
Season 2- Pawnee Zoo
In the season two premiere, Leslie's investment in the Pawnee Zoo leads her to have a wedding for two male penguins who have mated. This makes her very popular with the local gay community, and Leslie, afraid to make political waves, is torn between her newfound popularity and the demand of a homophobic woman that she annul the penguin wedding and resign. Leslie wants to party with the Queer community but isn't willing to make a political stand. The B plot is that Mark, who Leslie has a crush on, asks out Ann, which makes Leslie uncomfortable at first, but she ultimately gives Ann her blessing.
Season 1- Pilot
The episode that kicks off the show introduces Leslie Knope. Other characters aren't quite sketched out yet, with Tom Haverford's character behaving more like April than the flamboyant entrepreneur he becomes later on. It's also a bit strange to see Ron Swanson wearing a suit and tie. Most of what works well in this first episode comes from Amy Poehler, whose portrayal of Leslie makes her the most fleshed out character on the show. Her heart and humor come through from the beginning, and most of the episode's laughs come from her as well.
Season 7- 2017
The final season picks up three years after the season six finale, and Ron and Leslie are in the middle of a mysterious feud. Leslie is trying to construct a park, and Ron is standing in her way. She tries desperately to raise enough money to compete with the large corporation Ron is partnered with. The old Parks crew is divided between the two. Andy and April are worried about how mature they've become- April has a job with the national parks department, and Andy has his own TV show. The Ron and Leslie plot is the strongest bit in this last season, which tries to give every character a happy ending.
Season 5- Ms. Knope Goes To Washington
Leslie and Andy go to Washington D.C. to visit Ben and April, leaving Ron to throw the annual employee appreciation barbecue. He learns pretty quickly that making people happy isn't as easy as Leslie makes it seem. Tom and Ann are too proud to it to everyone that their relationship is a failure, so they are pretending to be together. In D.C., Leslie begins to feel inadequate and unimportant when nobody even knows where her town is from. When she returns to Pawnee, she takes matters into her own hands, rather than waiting to get the attention of the bureaucrats in D.C.
Season 6- London Pt.1 & Pt. 2
The season premiere picks up right where season five left off, with Diane revealing that the pregnancy test Andy found was hers. She tells Ron she's pregnant, and he proposes they get married right away. Meanwhile, Leslie is dealing with the citizens wanting to recall her, so she's trying to prove her dedication by helping people with every little problem they might have. April secretly nominated her for an award celebrating women in government, and they travel to London for the ceremony. Frustrated with the way the Pawnee citizens treat her, Leslie gives a speech complaining about the recall situation.
Ron reluctantly tags along, and the gift Leslie arranges for him while they're there is a really sweet example of their friendship and Leslie's thoughtfulness. While there, Andy and Ben meet with a rich Englishmen for a business opportunity, who gets along so well with Andy that he offers him a temporary job. Tom's first successful business venture is threatened by Jean Ralphio's father, and it's always great to see Mona Lisa. Ann and Chris tell everyone Ann is pregnant, and only Leslie reacts in a way that isn't underwhelming or slightly creepy (thanks, Gary/Jerry/Larry/Terry).
Season 3- Go Big Or Go Home
After having the government shut shown over the summer, the season three premiere picks up when the Pawnee government employees are able to return to work. The first order of business is reinstating the youth basketball league, so Ron is tasked with coaching a team and Tom is a referee. Ron's begun dating Tom's ex wife, which drives Tom nuts. Desperate to do something about the budget, Leslie hatches a plan to have Ann convince Chris to give more money to the parks department. After kissing Ann last season, Andy is trying to find April to apologize. She returns at the end of the episode, with a new boyfriend. The episode ends by setting up the Harvest Festival plot.
Season 4- I'm Leslie Knope
Leslie is asked to run for city council, which means she'll have to break up with Ben. She puts off telling him as long as possible. Ron's first wife returns and he goes into hiding. Leslie s Ron in order to avoid their problems together, but they ultimately decide to face their issues. A member of the government sends everyone a picture of his penis, and Tom makes Andy a business offer. Sewage Joe makes an appearance in this episode, which is always great. When Ann notices that Joe probably has mumps based on his photo, so everyone in the department starts sending her pictures of their genitalia. The episode has plenty of humor, and some of the show's strongest relationships (Ron and Leslie and Leslie and Ben) are the focal point.