'Parks and Recreation' Season 4, Episode 10 Recap - 'Citizen Knope'

While it wasn't the most Christmas-y of all Christmas episodes, last night's "Parks and Recreation" was nonetheless another very sweet entry in a line of very sweet episodes of late. Plenty of "aww" to go around.

Leslie is still suspended, but is desperate to keep doing her work. So much so that she actually tries to sneak into the office and transfer some files to a zip drive, but is unfortunately caught by Chris, who is wearing his stylish Bumbleflex running shirt, which is made from synthetic bumblebee wings.

So with her hands idle, Leslie turns to lobbying as a regular citizen in order to get things done in the Parks department. That involves the inauguration of her group, the PCP (Parks Committee of Pawnee). And yes, she's aware of the name. She also invents a new spice called "salger." It's salt mixed with sugar.

Ben, meanwhile, spends the episode searching for a new job, coming across one in which he would be an accountant for an accounting firm (as Jean Ralphio puts it, "I fell asleep just listening to that sentence") and another with an egomaniacal boss who may or may not hunt humans for sport. Looks like Ben is going to be doing some reconsidering of his career after "resigning in disgrace."

There's bad news here, too: now that Leslie and Ben's affair is public, Leslie's poll numbers have taken a hit. She was polling at 26%, but now she's at 1%. Ouch. Her campaign advisors leave her, and it looks like everything is over.

But it's here that the episode shines. First off, the rest of the gang has been working tirelessly to give Leslie a killer Christmas present, since she goes all-out every year. April, for example, got a painting of her beheading the Black Eyed Peas. In lieu of "Watch the Throne" tour tickets, Tom got a miniature throne and a watch, with the watch part taken out and replaced with the words "Baller Time." Ron got automatically closing office doors, which nearly makes him cry.

So they all get together and make a gingerbread model of the Parks Department, complete with candy furniture and a Ron made out of marshmallows (cute moment as he gives April the slightest approval). Not only that, but they surprise Leslie with their support: they will help her run her campaign themselves. Andy will be in charge of javelins, if necessary. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Plenty to get all choked up about there, eh? Sometimes this show really knows how to get you.

Notes & Quotes:

-"Oh, geez. Socks. She gets me."

-"I got you a Knope 2012 men...or...ah...maybe?"

-"Calcu-later." Oh, Ben.

-"The fact that Yahtzee is not in the rec center is a tragedy on par with human trafficking."

-"My pleasure SEE YOU IN HELL."