Christmas Scandal

In the episode, a meeting with a disgraced councilman puts Leslie in the middle of a sex scandal that forces her to hide from the press.

The episode received generally positive reviews, although some commentators felt the central story risked becoming too busy and chaotic.

The parks department performs in the annual Pawnee City Government Follies that riffs local politics, including one sketch that skewers Councilman Bill Dexhart, who was recently discovered to be involved in many bizarre sex scandals.

Leslie is later asked to meet Dexhart at a restaurant, where she learns the sketch was accidentally accurate about another bizarre sex scandal that has not been made public.

Ron decides to give Leslie the day off to lie low and distributes her daily duties among the rest of the staff.

The local show "Pawnee Today" digs up an old video of Leslie shaking hands with Dexhart and overanalyzes every aspect of the short clip.

The episode featured the last of a string of guest performances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who reprised his recurring role as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend.

was widely praised for his brief stint on the show, where he adopts a deadpan, technical tone of voice far different from his usual comedy persona.

[1][2] Matt Fowler of IGN said, "Louis C.K., known for being a raucous, raunchy comic, is almost frightening in his ability to play against his stage persona and give us a wonderfully caring, and deadpan, character".

[4][8] When April seeks gift ideas for her "gay boyfriend", Andy suggests a DVD of Brokeback Mountain, a 2005 film about a romance between two men in the American West.

Club writer Leonard Pierce said the story in "Christmas Scandal" was so busy that it risked running awry, but was kept together by a number of strong comedic moments and subplots.

[4] Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger, said he "thoroughly enjoyed" the episode, especially the subplot of the parks department employees realizing how much work Leslie does due to her absence.

[2] "Christmas Scandal", along with the other 23 second-season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc DVD set in the United States on November 30, 2010.