The Treaty (Parks and Recreation)
Encyclopedia
"The Treaty" is the seventh episode of the fourth season
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
, and the 53rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
in the United States on November 10, 2011. In the episode, Leslie Knope
(Amy Poehler
) and Ben
(Adam Scott
) get into an argument during a high school's Model UN club that spins out of control. Meanwhile, Ron
(Nick Offerman
) tries to hire back Tom
(Aziz Ansari
), while Chris
(Rob Lowe
) asks Ann
(Rashida Jones
) for dating advice.
(Amy Poehler
) has been asked to lead a session of Pawnee Central High School's Model UN club. She invites Ben
(Adam Scott
), April
(Aubrey Plaza), and Andy
(Chris Pratt
) to join her. Leslie is assigned Denmark, Ben is assigned Peru, Andy is assigned Finland, and April is assigned South Africa on the condition that she also be assigned the moon. The Model UN's task that afternoon is to solve a food crisis. Leslie is glad that she and Ben are getting along as friends, but Ben has reservations about it. When Leslie leaves a treaty meeting with Peru for a photo op for her city council campaign, Ben becomes annoyed as it represents why Leslie ended their romantic relationship, so he agrees to a treaty that excludes Denmark. Ben tells Leslie that he is not comfortable with them just being friends and calls her selfish for trying to have both him and her campaign. Angry, Leslie declares war on Peru.
Ron
(Nick Offerman
) has been interviewing replacements for Tom's
(Aziz Ansari
) old job. Ron actually wants Tom back, and although Tom claims to have moved onto new ventures after the failure on Entertainment 720, Ron knows that he is actually working retail at Macy's. Ron interviews many poor candidates to agitate Tom into returning, but it does not work. Meanwhile, Chris'
(Rob Lowe
) girlfriend Millie (Sarah Wright) has stopped returning his calls, so he asks Jerry (Jim O'Heir
), his ex-girlfriend Ann
(Rashida Jones
), and Donna
(Retta) for advice.
Leslie and Ben rally support to their respective countries for the war and completely ignore the food crisis. The event spirals out of control and the Model UN eventually ejects Denmark and Peru, kicking out Leslie and Ben. April arranges for the two to talk in private, where Ben suggests that they avoid each other from now on. Leslie wants to keep Ben in her life, so the two compromise to have a friendly chat at work for a few minutes each day. They apologize to the Model UN by organizing a state-wide Model UN that will be held at Pawnee city hall in a few months.
Chris is told that his overbearing optimistic personality may be scaring off Millie. Ann says her old relationship with Chris failed because he tried to change her lifestyle to match his own, but he became bored since he was basically dating himself. Tom admits to Ron that he does not want to crawl back to his old job, so Ron pretends to beg Tom to take the position in front of others. Despite this, Tom still says no, angering Ron so much that he forces Tom to beg for his old job in front of the entire department.
Parks and Recreation (season 4)
The fourth season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network, and began on September 22, 2011. Like the previous seasons, it focused on Leslie Knope and her staff at the parks and recreation department of the fictional Indiana town of...
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
, and the 53rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States on November 10, 2011. In the episode, Leslie Knope
Leslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
(Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
) and Ben
Ben Wyatt (Parks and Recreation)
Benjamin "Ben" Wyatt is a character in the TV series Parks and Recreation. The character guest starred in two episodes of season two and was upgraded to a regular in season three. Ben is a state auditor who comes into Pawnee with Chris Traeger to evaluate the town's funds at the end of the second...
(Adam Scott
Adam Scott (actor)
Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
) get into an argument during a high school's Model UN club that spins out of control. Meanwhile, Ron
Ron Swanson
Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character played by Nick Offerman in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. Ron is parks department director in the Indiana city of Pawnee and the immediate superior of protagonist Leslie Knope...
(Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is an American actor best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. He is also a skilled woodworker.-Early life and career:...
) tries to hire back Tom
Tom Haverford
Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills...
(Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
), while Chris
Chris Traeger
Christopher "Chris" Traeger is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. He began on the show as an Indiana state auditor who visits the fictional city of Pawnee to help solve their crippling budget problems, and eventually...
(Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
) asks Ann
Ann Perkins
Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
) for dating advice.
Plot
LeslieLeslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
(Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
) has been asked to lead a session of Pawnee Central High School's Model UN club. She invites Ben
Ben Wyatt (Parks and Recreation)
Benjamin "Ben" Wyatt is a character in the TV series Parks and Recreation. The character guest starred in two episodes of season two and was upgraded to a regular in season three. Ben is a state auditor who comes into Pawnee with Chris Traeger to evaluate the town's funds at the end of the second...
(Adam Scott
Adam Scott (actor)
Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
), April
April Ludgate
April Roberta Ludgate is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is an apathetic college student employed by the Pawnee Department of Parks and Recreation as Ron Swanson's assistant. She is married to Andy Dwyer. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza...
(Aubrey Plaza), and Andy
Andy Dwyer
Andrew Maxwell "Andy" Dwyer is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is Ann Perkins' ex-boyfriend, a talented-if-yet-unsuccessful musician, a shoe-shiner at Pawnee City Hall, and April Ludgate's husband. He is portrayed by Chris Pratt.-Background:At the start of the...
(Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt is an American actor, best known for his roles as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott in the television series Everwood, the recurring character Winchester "Ché" Cook in season 4 of The OC, Andy Dwyer in the television series Parks and Recreation and for portraying...
) to join her. Leslie is assigned Denmark, Ben is assigned Peru, Andy is assigned Finland, and April is assigned South Africa on the condition that she also be assigned the moon. The Model UN's task that afternoon is to solve a food crisis. Leslie is glad that she and Ben are getting along as friends, but Ben has reservations about it. When Leslie leaves a treaty meeting with Peru for a photo op for her city council campaign, Ben becomes annoyed as it represents why Leslie ended their romantic relationship, so he agrees to a treaty that excludes Denmark. Ben tells Leslie that he is not comfortable with them just being friends and calls her selfish for trying to have both him and her campaign. Angry, Leslie declares war on Peru.
Ron
Ron Swanson
Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character played by Nick Offerman in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. Ron is parks department director in the Indiana city of Pawnee and the immediate superior of protagonist Leslie Knope...
(Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is an American actor best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. He is also a skilled woodworker.-Early life and career:...
) has been interviewing replacements for Tom's
Tom Haverford
Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills...
(Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
) old job. Ron actually wants Tom back, and although Tom claims to have moved onto new ventures after the failure on Entertainment 720, Ron knows that he is actually working retail at Macy's. Ron interviews many poor candidates to agitate Tom into returning, but it does not work. Meanwhile, Chris'
Chris Traeger
Christopher "Chris" Traeger is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. He began on the show as an Indiana state auditor who visits the fictional city of Pawnee to help solve their crippling budget problems, and eventually...
(Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
) girlfriend Millie (Sarah Wright) has stopped returning his calls, so he asks Jerry (Jim O'Heir
Jim O'Heir
Jim O'Heir is an American actor. He was active in the Chicago theater during the 1980s and 1990s as part of the theater group White Noise, and appeared in such plays as The Book of Blanche, Stumpy's Gang and Ad-Nauseam with the group...
), his ex-girlfriend Ann
Ann Perkins
Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
), and Donna
Donna Meagle
Donna Meagle is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Retta Sirleaf and has appeared in the show since the pilot. For the first two seasons of the show she appeared as a recurring character; she became a regular in the third season.-Background:Donna is...
(Retta) for advice.
Leslie and Ben rally support to their respective countries for the war and completely ignore the food crisis. The event spirals out of control and the Model UN eventually ejects Denmark and Peru, kicking out Leslie and Ben. April arranges for the two to talk in private, where Ben suggests that they avoid each other from now on. Leslie wants to keep Ben in her life, so the two compromise to have a friendly chat at work for a few minutes each day. They apologize to the Model UN by organizing a state-wide Model UN that will be held at Pawnee city hall in a few months.
Chris is told that his overbearing optimistic personality may be scaring off Millie. Ann says her old relationship with Chris failed because he tried to change her lifestyle to match his own, but he became bored since he was basically dating himself. Tom admits to Ron that he does not want to crawl back to his old job, so Ron pretends to beg Tom to take the position in front of others. Despite this, Tom still says no, angering Ron so much that he forces Tom to beg for his old job in front of the entire department.