It’s late Wednesday night as I write this and so many great reviews, think-pieces, Q&As and nostalgic looks back have already been published about Parks and Recreation. (Not being able to stay up until midnight watching the show, and then even later to write about it, is the downfall of being an amateur blogger with a full-time job.
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I want to add my thoughts to the mix because it’s a show I love dearly, but I don’t want to be redundant.
The final season of Parks and Recreation aired at a lightning pace. Episodes flew by, without giving us adequate time to acknowledge how great they were. I think the highlight was Leslie and Ron’s reunion. The decision to jump forward to the year 2017 for the final season was bold, and one that paid off both emotionally and comedically. Leslie and Ron’s falling out was handled so well, and the resolution was both sweet and hilarious.
There were so many other great things, like Tom winning Lucy back, April chasing her passion in life, Donna’s wedding, Leslie’s eloquent and hilarious take-down of “meninists” and the Johnny Karate show-within-a-show. This was an optimistic season, it was about these characters moving forward and finding success. So of course, that’s what the series finale was about as well.
Some viewers found the finale too sweet. I get it – everyone achieved a level of success pretty unimaginable when you consider the people they were back when we were first introduced. But here’s the thing: I couldn’t care less. So much of good television these days rejoices in the dark, the twisted, the anti-heroic. I like that Parks and Rec is warm, and funny, and sometimes edgy without ever being mean. I liked getting a flash-forward for all of our beloved characters, and seeing the wonderful things they do in life. I loved Leslie telling April that having kids is like adding people to your team, and that it’s not something you have to do, or should not do.
I will be watching the episode again. I might even write about it again. But for now, I just wanted to say, I love this show and I’ll miss it very much. Without Parks and Parenthood, Thursday nights just won’t be the same.
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These photos are of me, posing a la April Ludgate, in 2012. I was 25 at the time, worked in government, and related to her character very, very much.
I will miss my spirit animal being on TV every day. #ParksandRec #ParksFarewell pic.twitter.com/4WomrnAkIq
— Jill Mader (@jillemader) February 25, 2015
Help. I don’t know what I’ll do without #ParksandRec. #ParksFarewell pic.twitter.com/dBtQmRGi4F
— Jill Mader (@jillemader) February 25, 2015
