Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knope are, and will forever be, one of the most indescribably wholesome on-screen couples. From their first scene together to the last, they’ve always been the couple that’s made me believe in the idea that there’s truly someone for everyone. And a large part of what proves this concept is the fact that they take a risk on each other. They give everything and love wholeheartedly. By the time they develop feelings for one another, Chris tells them that dating is forbidden because of their jobs, and it makes everything twice as challenging. But really, because of everything that’s at stake, Ben and Leslie’s first kiss becomes that much more significant.
It’s taken me a while to write this scene breakdown because every time I tell myself that it’ll get easier with another rewatch, it doesn’t. I’ll get it out of my system, I think. I’ll find the right words when it eventually stops making my heart beat out of my chest and tears run down my face like an absolute freak. But at this point, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched Parks and Recreation, so I’m choosing to accept that I’ll basically never get over it. Ben and Leslie’s first kiss is special, and there are a thousand and one reasons why.
Ben and Leslie’s First Kiss Is Their Best and Biggest Risk
At the time when Ben and Leslie’s first kiss happens in Parks and Recreation Season 3, Episode 14, “Road Trip,” we know one thing for certain about both of them: they care deeply about their jobs. And because they’re both so passionately career-driven, they make a better fit for each other. But there are goals to work for still and dreams to experience, and while Ben isn’t as big a dreamer as Leslie is, it all still matters to him. They matter to each other, and everything we see leading to the moment where Chris sends them away together, we can see that they’re both standing at the edge of a cliff.
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Everything is twice as hard as it was before. Their hearts are in their throats, their emotions are burning hard and fast, and every want is increasing by the minute. It doesn’t matter if there’s banjo music blaring through the speakers or a tutorial for how to speak Mandarin—Ben and Leslie are both collectively losing it, and it’s delicious to watch.
Adam Scott and Amy Poehler are also so good at touching on their respective characters’ emotions that it allows the entire episode to feel transcendent. The mutual respect Ben and Leslie have for one another is mixing and blending with palpable desires to a point neither knows how to deal with, adding another layer to their relationship that makes it even more powerful. The conversation they have at dinner about their feelings is enough to make us see that, not only do they matter to each other, but neither of them can hold it in anymore. They don’t want to. They can’t. It’s getting harder and harder to sit beside each other pretending like they wouldn’t rather be together. So when Chris interrupts and everything simmers for five seconds, the sparks don’t die. They continue to spread, and as we see it in the car, it makes the eventual moment when they say f—k it that much more heart-pounding.
And they do. Well, Ben does. Because f—k it, indeed. Enough is enough, and he shows it to us perfectly through an expression that reveals his heartbeat is drumming solely to the sound of Leslie’s name, and his desire for her. There’s also something really special about the fact that their kiss happens in the office and not elsewhere. This is the place they met, and it’s also the place where they fell in love. It’s the setting that changes everything, so for Ben and Leslie’s first kiss and biggest risk to occur in the place that also houses the wallflower mural is excellent writing on an indescribable level. It’s thoughtful and it’s important and it’s unlike anything either of them has known before.
While we know less about Ben’s dating life, we know enough about Leslie’s to know that relationships in this very office have failed her. But here, she’s taking a risk on the man who’s going to stand beside her when she becomes the first female president someday. The man who’s going to resign in disgrace so they can continue dating and she can run for city council. The man who’s going to give her far more than she’s ever dreamed of. She’s taking a risk, in her favorite place, with the person who’ll become her favorite everything, and it’s beautifully obvious in this moment that no matter what happens, Ben and Leslie would be forever. This is the start of it all, and in every way, it’s a perfect one.
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