The topic of who planted drugs in a new Pawnee community garden became the focus of a memorable episode of Parks and Recreation season 2. The mystery wasn’t solved by the end of the episode but it did come back into play later in the season. Here’s who planted the drugs in the community garden and why it wasn’t an isolated incident.
The incident took place during the Parks and Rec episode titled “The Stakeout.” After her efforts to fill in the pit behind Ann Perkins’ house, Leslie convinced her peers to turn it into a community garden. Leslie Knope and Tom Haverford visited the garden and learned that someone planted marijuana among the plants. In order to catch the culprit, the pair embarked on a late-night stakeout. Leslie and Tom dressed in black and hid in a nearby van to watch over the pit to find who grew the drugs in the garden.
Leslie and Tom initially thought that Andy Dwyer was the culprit, but he was instead just living in the pit and stealing the garden’s vegetables. Tom was later arrested in the episode after Ann thought he was a prowler, but the actual planter of the marijuana wasn’t revealed. Toward the backend of Parks and Rec season 2, the mystery was finally solved during a subtle line of dialogue, but the connection may have gone unnoticed. It was insinuated that former Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, Michael Tansley, was the one who planted the marijuana and it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
The Pawnee Drug Mystery Was Solved By The End Of Parks & Rec Season 2
The Parks and Rec episode, “Summer Catalog,” featured a callback to the community garden mystery by revealing who was at fault for planting the marijuana. As part of the summer catalog project, Leslie planned a reunion between Ron Swanson, the current director of the department, along with his three predecessors. The men don’t get along but Ron especially clashed with Michael Tansley. During the episode, Michael often shared his interest in marijuana. It was then revealed that the man was on parole for smoking marijuana in Pawnee parks and Parks Department offices. It was then admitted by Michael that he was the one who planted drugs across community gardens in Pawnee, including the Sullivan Street Pit.
The community garden drug incident was just another example of how Parks and Rec succeeded by using callbacks to build on comedic situations. The sitcom always took the opportunity to interweave long-running gags over the course of the series. Some were short term in nature such as the drugs found in the pit but others spanned seven seasons as was the case with the drunk guy on the slide from the pilot who later returned in the Parks & Rec series finale. These subtle references are one of the main reasons why Parks and Recreation are worth multiple rewatches.
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