From Ben's obsession with calzones to Ron's double life as local jazz legend Duke Silver, Parks and Recreation's cast of colorful characters was made even richer by the recurring gags and secret identities that represented the character's individual quirks. One of the funniest of these has to be Andy Dwyer's earnest dedication to one of his many alter-egos: Burt Macklin, FBI.
Andy utilizes his Macklin persona whenever a situation arises that necessitates action, detective work or role-playing with his wife, April Ludgate. Unfortunately, Andy is bad at all three of these things. However, in the Season 4 episode "Bus Tour," when a pie is thrown towards Leslie Knope during one of her campaign stops, Macklin defies all expectations by actually solving the case of whodunit.
In the wake of the assault, Andy goes into full Macklin mode, assigning code names to all the Parks and Rec team members, analyzing video footage, creating a (pitifully simplistic) evidence board and even forcing unintended victim Jerry to relive the attack by pushing a pie onto his head. Despite his boneheaded approach to criminal investigation, Andy/Burt's video analysis helps him correctly deduce that Ben Wyatt, Leslie's boyfriend and eventual husband, was the actual target of the pie attack. He also surmises the attacker must have been someone Ben fired: Sewage Joe.
This was really the only time in the series Andy truly embodied the character he created for himself. In the past, Andy's generally dumb (but lovable) behavior got in the way of his desire to be the heroic figure that his Macklin persona promised. In his first appearance as Macklin, Andy tried to interrogate unruly teenager Greg Pikitis but ends up emotionally decimated by the wily youth. He also failed to deduce who within the Parks department was pregnant and left a path of destruction when stealing Leslie's birth certificate from Eagleton.
Eventually, Andy's ambition to become a real law-enforcement officer leads him to display actual policing skills; at one point, he even drops the persona to help reunite a lost child with his mother. April later convinces Andy to give up the character, though after his plans of a policing career fall through, he assumes the alter-ego a few more times. Macklin's retirement was even acknowledged and celebrated by the real-life FBI.
Andy may not have been cut out to be an FBI Agent (or even a weekend security guard), but his use of Macklin is one of the reasons Andy is so beloved. Taking on the persona of Macklin to help Leslie and the Parks department shows his fierce loyalty and desire to protect his friends at all costs, even if it dovetails with his child-like fantasies.
Parks and Recreation is currently streaming on Peacock.