Why ‘Parks & Recreation’s Series Finale Is Still One of TV’s Most Satisfying Endings

In the 10 years since Parks and Recreation‘s series finale episode, “One Last Ride,” aired, there have been very few TV endings as satisfying as this show’s conclusion.

While it’s never easy saying goodbye to characters that bring you joy, Parks and Recreation did so in a way that reassured viewers the Pawnee crew would be okay. Of course, having aired on February 24, 2015, the episode couldn’t predict what would actually occur in our real world, but in the show’s universe, there was promise and hope for a brighter tomorrow that still makes us believe in it today.

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 next adventure furthering their political and public service ambitions. Gathering the old team back together for one last celebration, Leslie and Ben join Ron (Nick Offerman), April (Aubrey Plaza), Andy (Chris Pratt), Donna (Retta), Tom (Aziz Ansari), and Garry (Jim O’Heir) at the Pawnee Parks Department which is under Craig’s (Billy Eichner) direction.

Colleen Hayes / NBC

When a citizen steps into the office seeking help with a broken swing, Donna is initially dismissive, noting that none of them work in the department anymore and that the man should come back when the office is officially open. However, Leslie, being the do-gooder she is, pushes for her friends to help do this one last job together, improving a park in their beloved community.

What makes the episode so satisfying is that we get glimpses into their futures through flash-forward sequences that are peppered throughout the main storyline. As Leslie worries about being in the same place with all these people, one of those flash-forward scenes reveals that there are times when their paths cross. Whether it is a few of them gathering or all of them together at once, including Chris (Rob Lowe) and Anne (Rashida Jones), these friendships will last a lifetime.

At its heart, though, the episode is really about seeing this rag-tag team of unlikely friends come together to bring positivity into the world, even if it’s a thankless task.

Star O’Heir concurs with the sentiment that Parks and Recreation‘s finale is one of the best, telling TV Insider, “I think they nailed the finale. We’ve watched them good and bad, and we got to see that because of their love for each other, they always remain buddies in the tough times. Ultimately, we’re just people.”

“I just want people to take away from it that friendships can endure. This is a perfect example. Even when people are all very different. This is a very different cast. These characters are very different. And yet, in the end, the love they still have for each other is inspirational,” O’Heir concludes.

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That is a message that still rings true. Even as Leslie prepares to leave Pawnee and explore outside of her comfort zone, it’s a leap of faith that the people you love most will continue to stand by you and support you, even if they’re far away. While we at home may have been reluctant to let Leslie and her crew go, the promise that they’d always be there for one another is a comfort to this day, even if their future looks quite different from the one we’re currently living in.

As Leslie and her pals fix the broken swing in one of Pawnee’s parks to little fanfare, her declaration that she’s ready for the future may come with hesitation, but it’s also joined with a kind of tenacity we’d grown to expect from the iconic TV character that we can’t help but celebrate 10 years later. The finale repromotes the idea that there is value in helping one another, and in delivering that message, Parks and Recreation‘s closer fits in the perfect amount of callbacks, Easter eggs, and more for viewers to feel both nostalgic and satisfied.

What did you think of the Parks and Recreation series finale? Let us know in the comments section, below, and relive every Parks and Rec moment by streaming the series on Peacock.

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