Within the 10 years since Parks and Recreation‘s sequence finale episode, “One Final Experience,” aired, there have been only a few TV endings as satisfying as this present’s conclusion.
Whereas it’s by no means simple saying goodbye to characters that carry you pleasure, Parks and Recreation did so in a means that reassured viewers the Pawnee crew can be okay. After all, having aired on February 24, 2015, the episode couldn’t predict what would truly happen in our actual world, however within the present’s universe, there was promise and hope for a brighter tomorrow that also makes us consider in it at present.
In a parallel to viewers tuning in, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) prepares to bid Pawnee adieu as she and her husband Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) embark on their subsequent journey furthering their political and public service ambitions. Gathering the previous crew again collectively for one final celebration, Leslie and Ben be a part of Ron (Nick Offerman), April (Aubrey Plaza), Andy (Chris Pratt), Donna (Retta), Tom (Aziz Ansari), and Garry (Jim O’Inheritor) on the Pawnee Parks Division which is underneath Craig’s (Billy Eichner) course.
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When a citizen steps into the workplace searching for assist with a damaged swing, Donna is initially dismissive, noting that none of them work within the division anymore and that the person ought to come again when the workplace is formally open. Nonetheless, Leslie, being the do-gooder she is, pushes for her associates to assist do that one final job collectively, enhancing a park of their beloved group.
What makes the episode so satisfying is that we get glimpses into their futures via flash-forward sequences which might be peppered all through the principle storyline. As Leslie worries about being in the identical place with all these folks, a type of flash-forward scenes reveals that there are occasions when their paths cross. Whether or not it’s a few of them gathering or all of them collectively without delay, together with Chris (Rob Lowe) and Anne (Rashida Jones), these friendships will final a lifetime.
At its coronary heart, although, the episode is basically about seeing this rag-tag crew of unlikely associates come collectively to carry positivity into the world, even when it’s a thankless job.
Star O’Inheritor concurs with the sentiment that Parks and Recreation‘s finale is likely one of the finest, telling TV Insider, “I feel they nailed the finale. We’ve watched them good and dangerous, and we received to see that due to their love for one another, they all the time stay buddies within the powerful occasions. In the end, we’re simply folks.”
“I simply need folks to remove from it that friendships can endure. This can be a excellent instance. Even when individuals are all very completely different. This can be a very completely different forged. These characters are very completely different. And but, ultimately, the love they nonetheless have for one another is inspirational,” O’Inheritor concludes.
That could be a message that also rings true. At the same time as Leslie prepares to depart Pawnee and discover outdoors of her consolation zone, it’s a leap of religion that the folks you like most will proceed to face by you and help you, even when they’re distant. Whereas we at house could have been reluctant to let Leslie and her crew go, the promise that they’d all the time be there for each other is a consolation to this present day, even when their future appears to be like fairly completely different from the one we’re at present dwelling in.
As Leslie and her friends repair the damaged swing in one in all Pawnee’s parks to little fanfare, her declaration that she’s prepared for the long run could include hesitation, but it surely’s additionally joined with a type of tenacity we’d grown to count on from the enduring TV character that we will’t assist however have fun 10 years later. The finale repromotes the concept there’s worth in serving to each other, and in delivering that message, Parks and Recreation‘s nearer suits within the excellent quantity of callbacks, Easter eggs, and extra for viewers to really feel each nostalgic and happy.
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