Tuesday, the NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation” celebrated its last hoorah with a one-hour series finale.The show came to a close after more than six years and seven seasons, and we knew it was coming.Like, for a while.
Still, nobody — and I repeat, nobody — was ready for this.
I thought the waterworks were bad when Ann Perkins and Chris Traeger left Pawnee, driving away to make Michigan a hundred times prettier with their combined presence.
Or the time the whole town came together to celebrate the phenomenon that was Li’l Sebastian with a memorial service that could have rivaled the Super Bowl halftime show.
What about when Leslie and Ben started dating? Got engaged? Got married in front of the whole town?
Okay, so crying isn’t exactly a new response to this show, but that’s one of the things that made it so lovable.
The final episode of “Parks and Rec” wasn’t over-the-top or dramatic. It didn’t try to fit too much into too short of a time.
“Parks and Rec” died as it lived: simple, sweet and uplifting. Its final half-season spent the first 11 episodes effectively, setting up the end of every storyline to pave the way for a simple, uncluttered finale.
It was as if Amy Poehler and Michael Schur knew exactly what we needed, because they wrote an episode with the entire purpose of spending an hour reassuring viewers that everything will, in fact, be OK once “Parks and Rec” is gone.
As the time jumps to the 2020s, we see it all.
April gives birth to Jack Ludgate-Dwyer in full Halloween makeup — did you expect anything less? — and is pregnant again two years later.
Ron takes a job as the superintendent of the national park next to Pawnee.
Tom Haverford loses his restaurant franchise to a poor economy but, with wife Lucy’s help, becomes the best-selling author of “Failure: An American Success Story.”
Jerry dies the night of his 100th birthday after having been mayor of Pawnee for many, many years. Naturally, his name is misspelled on his tombstone. Rest in peace, Garry.
Luckily for us Hoosiers, Ann, Chris, Leslie and Ben seem to be staying close. Chris is heading the admissions office at IU and Leslie, after having run for — and succeeding, of course, twice — governor of Indiana, receives an honorary degree from the University.
It’s a Hoosier moment so sweet that you feel yourself getting choked up, until it’s announced the campus library will be named after Knope. In a moment that couldn’t be more “Parks and Rec,” we are on the verge of tears until the camera cuts to the honorary Hoosier, smiling through gritted teeth. “(Expletive), the library?”
It’s moments such as these that “Parks and Recreation” was known for executing so well. Though it was never a TV giant with through-the-roof ratings, critically acclaimed writing or dramatic subplots, no other show on television so masterfully walked the line between comic and heartfelt. The writing was quick and smart, but every episode had its “aw” moments, too.
It didn’t hurt that the cast of characters was so lovable, either. The most tear-jerking moment of the night might have actually been the credits, when familiar names scrolled against a backdrop of cast bloopers to “End of the Line” by the Traveling Wildburys.
In that moment it was clear, more than ever, that this was a cast that loved its show, on- and off-camera, and loved each other. And, in turn, that only makes us fonder of the show.
In her address to the students of IU in the final episode, Leslie underlines the importance of finding a team after graduation, just like she did.
“Parks and Rec” wouldn’t have survived without the team of characters that were so brilliantly written we never even had to think about falling in love with each and every one — we just did. The team was made up of people that we, as viewers, never needed to aspire to be, because they were so relatable.
Who doesn’t know an overbearing, overworked boss like Leslie who would do anything for anyone? Who doesn’t have a Chris Traeger, whose health obsession makes you want to handcuff him to a chair at JJ’s until he realizes he’s missing out on the best things in life (i.e. waffles)? Andy Dwyer is the goofy guy you’ve always loved. April’s that weird kid who never fit in in high school, and every office has a Garry.
It will never be easy to say goodbye to something so well-loved, but it was time for “Parks and Rec.” It didn’t go out with a dramatic finish, but that wouldn’t have been right. It went out with smiles, hugs and an unspoken promise that this wasn’t the last time everyone would be together again.
In Leslie Knope’s words, we loved “Parks and Rec,” and we liked it.
Goodbye, team.
