Leslie Knope was the heart and soul of Parks and Recreation. As the Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department, Leslie tried to create a better atmosphere for Pawnee while also climbing the political ladder herself.
Over seven seasons, fans have seen Leslie grow and transform from a nervous director working under Ron to the future governor of Indiana. Along the way, Leslie found love, new friends, and became a local powerhouse. There is no doubt that Leslie is a force to be reckoned with. To see all the ways Leslie transformed over the years (both physically and mentally) scroll below!
Season One: Leslie Learns About Lot 48 & Tries To Make Her Presence Known
Leslie Knope is a different woman in season one compared to season seven. She acted ditzier than she does in later seasons and she had this odd desire to impress Ron, her mother Marlene, and her potential love interest Mark Brendanawicz.
Later in the series, the only person Leslie is trying to show off for is for herself. She holds herself up to a higher standard. It's in this season, however, that Leslie learns about Lot 48 and starts a blossoming friendship with Ann Perkins.
Season Two: Combatting Ben & Chris While Looking For Love
In the second season, Leslie meets local police officer Dave Sanderson and starts a relationship with him but when he gets asked to move to San Diego for work, Leslie ends things on a good note and starts dating Ann's friend Justin.
Leslie tries to do her daily tasks but when Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger come to Pawnee to look over its finances, she realizes her city is in worse shape financially than she expected. Instead of giving up, she continues with the Fall children's concert as planned and blows Ben away with her determination.
Season Three: From The Harvest Festival To Starting A City Council Campaign
At the start of the third season, Leslie is single and focusing on work. With Ben and Chris now apart of city hall, she plans the biggest event of her career: the Pawnee Harvest Festival. If all goes well, the parks department can continue on as usual. If not, it would be eliminated to save funds. The Harvest Festival ends up being a success and Leslie and Ben grew closer. The two later admitted to having feelings for each other but due to Chris's "no dating" policy, the two enter a secret relationship.
At the end of the season, Leslie is scouted by two campaign managers who think she would be a wonderful choice for city council. Knowing she had a skeleton in her closet (i.e. Ben), Leslie had to deal with living a double life.
Season Four: A Woman Who Has It All
In season four, Leslie breaks up with Ben so she can wholeheartedly run for city council, but now that she's in the public eye, her life becomes challenging. She couldn't juggle the campaign, the parks department, and her looming feelings for Ben.
After realizing that she loved Ben more than her job, she and Ben got back together and told Chris in full transparency. Sadly, Chris had to launch a full investigation and ended up getting rid of Ben. It was the worst thing he did to Leslie but had to for the sake of the city. Now that Leslie was with Ben, her campaign managers dropped out, which forced her parks department to help her run.
Season Five: City Council, Engagements, And Weddings
Season five was one of Leslie's busiest seasons. After winning the city council vote, Leslie became a councilwoman who was openly dating Ben. With Ron and Ann helping her every step fo the way, Leslie did a great job as councilwoman while Ben was away working in Washington D.C.
The distance between the two was hard enough on the couple so Ben proposed to her and the two were married at the end of the season. Sadly, the season didn't end on a good note. Jeremy Jamm motioned a recall notice for Leslie, which led us into season six.
Season Six: Recalled With A New Job Title
Now that Leslie and Ben were married, Leslie had bigger problems on her hands: being recalled. She did everything she could but Pawnee voted against her. She went back to being Deputy of the Parks Department where she tried to dream bigger.
She was later offered the position of Regional Director of National Park Service Midwest Region, which meant she had to leave Pawnee — but she wasn't the only one. Her best friend Ann was moving to Michigan to start a new life with Chris and their baby. Season six was an emotional one at that but set up season seven beautifully.
Season Seven: The Future Is Leslie's
The seventh season saw Leslie coming back to Pawnee and having a fall-out with Ron after taking most of his employees and neglecting their friendship. For two years, Leslie and Ron have been arguing and going against each other in business. The two eventually make up after taking down their nemesis Gryzzl, of course. Sadly, Leslie's time in Pawnee had run its course and she was ready for bigger things.
By the end of the series, Leslie and Ben were making the move to Washington to continue their political careers. In the last episode, the screen fast forwards to 2025 where Leslie is the new Governor of Indiana and presumably the future President of the United States.