In Parks & Rec history, Ben Wyatt is often the audience’s surrogate, responding the way we’re supposed to respond to whatever shenanigans are happening onscreen. He looks directly into the camera over 100 times in the show, and each time is a perfectly relatable moment.

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Of course, Ben is often one of the most relatable characters on the show. Almost no one is extreme as Ron, as dedicated as Leslie, as creative as Tom, as chipper as Chris, or as mysterious as Donna. But we can all relate to Ben’s straight man reactions to his more ridiculous coworkers. Here are 10 of his most relatable moments.

The Bowling Binder

Early in her campaign, Leslie loses sight of the bigger campaign picture over one comment a man makes in a focus group. She puts her notorious research and binder skills to work and builds a full study around the man's comment, which was that he doesn’t think she’s the type of person you can go bowling with.

When Leslie pulls the binder out over breakfast, Ben is stunned and terrified. In addition to being generally bad for the campaign, Leslie’s obsession over this one man seems dangerous. Ben’s reaction is truly how all of us were feeling in that moment.

“Yeah, but does it have to be this family?”

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein is the funniest side characters in Parks & Rec history. His outlandish ways, irresponsible partying, and endless obscure sources of money make him amazing. But when we meet his twin sister Mona Lisa Saperstein at Rent-A-Swag, we see the problems in the Saperstein family run deep. 

When Jean-Ralphio thanks Tom for hiring her by calling her “the worst person in the world,” Tom insists that he’s just keeping the business in the family. We’re right there with Ben when his reaction is frustration and horror — does it have to be this family?

When He’s Disappointed By “Requiem For a Tuesday”

Parks and Rec - Ben Wyatt Claymation Doll

In Season 4, Episode 11, “The Comeback Kid” an unemployed Ben is trying to fill his empty time with hobbies. When Chris Traeger goes over to visit him, Ben has him try the calzones he’s making, and tells him about his restaurant idea: The Low-Cal Calzone Zone. He also shows Chris his new claymation movie project, “Requiem for a Tuesday,” which Ben says has taken three weeks of painstaking work to produce. 

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But then the video lasts less then five seconds and Ben is devastated by it. He thought it was going to be cool, and instead it was nothing. We’ve all been there, Ben. We’ve all been super proud to show something off, only to realize it sucks. 

Meeting Bobby Newport

When Ben meets Bobby Newport, the candidate running against Leslie for city council, he is astounded by Bobby’s charming idiocy. Ben appears disturbed by their first encounter at a meet-and-greet, staring into the camera in horror when Bobby is sure that he’s running unopposed.

But the best moment of the Season 4 episode “Campaign Ad” comes at Bobby Newport’s first campaign rally. “I don’t know why they call it a campaign,” he says, “because up until now it’s been a cam-pleasure.” Ben looked like he was in physical pain hearing this pun, and we were right there with him.  But off course, this is the pot calling the kettle black. We haven’t forgotten “Calc-you-later!”, Ben Wyatt. 

Every Time He Freaks Out On Camera

Not everyone is meant to be on television, and Ben Wyatt is one of those people who really belongs behind the scenes. He does great when he helps Leslie prepare for interviews; he does terribly when its his turn to be interviewed. When he goes on “Ya’ Heard? With Perd” to promote the Harvest Festival, he absolutely loses it. He thinks he sees a bird in the studio, he re-defends his honor as an 18-year-old mayor, and aggressively asked, “Who hasn’t had gay thoughts?!” 

Once, Ben even managed to freak out on The Douche’s radio show. But he must have pulled it together at some point, because he did go on to become a Congressman for Indiana in later seasons. 

Confused by Leslie Saying That Joe Biden Is Her Celebrity Sex List

In Season 4, Ben and Leslie sit down with Jen Barkley, who is running Bobby Newport’s campaign for city council. Jen talks about her life in DC, mentioning that she’s well-acquainted with the Biden family. Somehow, this turns to Leslie mentioning that Joe Biden is on her celebrity sex list (presumably, the list of celebrities she’s allowed to have sex with without it being considered “cheating”). Well, it turns out that actually, Joe Biden is her celebrity sex list. 

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Ben is as confused as the rest of us — Joe Biden is at least 25 years Leslie’s senior. Of course, Ben later makes the mistake of introducing Leslie to Biden, and she reacts a bit insanely. Ben is just as confused and regretful the second time around. 

“It absolutely did not have to be done!” 

At the engagement party to celebrate Ben and Leslie, Ben’s family goes a little nuts. His parents fight constantly, driving each other crazy and eventually ruining the unity quilt Leslie made to bring their two families together. When Ben’s mother cuts one of the squares out and insists “it had to be done,” his patience finally snaps. “It absolutely did not have to be done!” 

We’ve all felt this way when someone is being a little insane. We’ve all had a moment when we wanted to call someone on their nonsense. Ben is brave enough to actually say it. 

When Ben Quits His Job Then Panics 

After Ben and Leslie get married, Ben decides that he needs to make some more responsible decisions for their future. He becomes an accountant at a private firm, ensuring that he will have an above-average salary, good benefits, and job security. But by the end of the episode, he changes his mind and resigns, because he realizes that being an accountant wouldn’t make him happy. 

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“Life’s short, why be an accountant?” He says at first. But he quickly realizes that his leap of faith is a big risk when he doesn’t have another job yet. “Oh God, this better work out,” he groans. We’ve all taken a risk, then immediately worried it was the wrong decision.

“The calzones betrayed me?!” 

It’s up to Ben to pick the caterer for his wedding, and he brings in three more people to taste test with him—Chris, Ron, and Tom. The next morning everyone except Tom has a terrible case of food poisoning. They have to work out what poisoned them and realize that it was the mini-calzones. Ben’s love of calzones is well-documented in the show, so it makes sense that his reaction is one of absolute horror. How dare the calzones be the food that made people sick? 

We’ve felt this specific kind of sadness before. No one likes it when they get food poisoning, let alone when it’s from food we love. 

When He Doesn’t Get Li’l Sebastian

When Ben (and the rest of us) first encounters the miniature horse Li’l Sebastian in Season 3 Episode 7, he is baffled by everyone’s love for him. While everyone makes t-shirts and crowds around Li’l Sebastian’s pen at the festival, Ben wonders what he’s missing. What makes the tiny horse so great? 

He ends up lying and saying he loves Li’l Sebastian for the rest of the series, even helping plan an epic funeral for the miniature horse. We would too, if we were marrying someone so obsessed with Li'l Sebastian. But every time it comes up, Ben’s sardonic glare into the camera is exactly how we’re all feeling. Seriously, what’s the big deal? 

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