Parks & Recreation saw a couple of characters come and go, and some didn’t stay at Pawnee’s City Hall for long, as was the case of Mark Brendanawicz, who some fans believe died at some point between seasons 2 and 3. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks & Recreation premiered on NBC in 2009 and came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons. Although the writers initially struggled to find the right tone for the series and its main characters (particularly Leslie Knope), they finally did towards the end of season 1 and subsequent seasons were better received, and so Parks & Recreation became one of the best TV shows of the decade.
Parks & Recreation follows the crew at the Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana, led by perky bureaucrat and eternal optimist Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler). Over the course of seven seasons, viewers met Leslie’s closest friends and coworkers, of which many became fan favorites, and most of them made it to the final season, but there’s one who didn’t make it past the first two seasons: Mark Brendanawicz, played by Paul Schneider, who served as Leslie’s first love interest in the series and who is at the front and center of a dark theory.
Mark Brendanawicz was a city planner at Pawnee’s municipal government at the beginning of Parks & Recreation, and Leslie mentioned that prior to the events of the series, they had a one-night-stand, which was enough for Leslie to develop feelings for him over the years. By the end of season 1, Leslie realized they were better off as friends, and in season 2 he began a relationship with Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones). However, their relationship didn’t work, and Mark took a job with a private contractor and left Pawnee – but unlike other characters, he wasn’t brought back nor was he even mentioned in subsequent seasons, leading some fans to believe he died.
A fan theory posted on Tumblr suggests Mark killed himself after the events of Parks & Recreation season 2 and offers some clues and reasons to this. First, and as mentioned above, his relationship with Ann failed and she broke up with him, which he took as one of the three signs that he should leave, the others being that a pigeon crapped on his head from inside the building and Pawnee’s government being shut down. Second, his job was taking him nowhere, and with the government on hold, he was left with no other choice than take a job with Norton Construction. All this, along with him not exactly being the most upbeat person nor the most optimistic one, led the author of the theory to believe Mark got so depressed he saw no way out and put an end to his life. This obviously shocked the crew at the Parks Department, and as the show is a “documentary”, Mark was never mentioned again out of respect.
The author even adds that Mark’s death is the reason why Leslie waited so long to finally get together with Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), as she was still grieving. While this Parks & Recreation (dark) theory isn’t that crazy, what’s hard to believe is that Leslie, being the intense person she is, wouldn’t have done something to keep Mark’s memory alive, so in the end, Mark simply left Pawnee and no one heard of him again, which is why he wasn’t mentioned ever again. Ultimately, Mark wasn’t that big of a presence in Parks & Recreation, so bringing him back in some way or even mentioning him wasn’t necessary.