Parks and Recreation Season 6 Finale Review: Call Me Kristen, 'Cause I Am Wigging Out!
NOTES
Most of Parks and Recreation's sixth season focused on the major changes in Leslie's life, like being recalled from the office she'd worked so hard to reach, being offered a great new job in Chicago, and discovering that she was pregnant with triplets. "Moving Up" was a season finale that felt more like a series finale in regards to the way it wrapped up several ongoing storylines, like Leslie's job, the Unity Concert, and Tom's new restaurant venture. It also featured cameos from almost everyone who's ever appeared on the series, and was full of wonderful surprises, including a Li'l Sebastian hologram, a Mouse Rat reunion, a surprise appearance by Duke Silver, and a cameo by Jon Hamm. But perhaps the biggest surprise came when the series jumped three years in to the future in the final moments of the episode and LESLIE HAD BANGS.
Oh yeah, there was also the bit about how she took the job with the U.S. National Park Service, but convinced her new boss to let her live and work in Pawnee (it's a good thing Ron spent his time fixing up the third floor of City Hall instead of say, doing his actual job) and not Chicago. Ben and Leslie's children are now toddlers, Ben has a fancy new job (might it have something to do with the Cones of Dunshire game, which is apparently sweeping the nation?), and Jerry-Larry is now named Terry. There were so many new things being thrown our way in that flash forward, I barely had time to appreciate Jon Hamm, who's lousy character felt a bit like a poor man's Chris Traeger with his good looks, positive attitude, and the use of the word literally. I don't know that his cameo—which I'm glad they kept a secret after announcing literally every other guest-star—beats out First Lady Michelle Obama's cameo, though. Leslie's reaction to meeting the FLOTUS was actually more entertaining than anything Lady Obama actually said or did, but it's definitely a highlight of "Moving Up."
If Parks and Recreation hadn't been renewed for Season 7, "Moving Up" would have been a perfect series finale. It had the series' trademark heart and humor, in addition to a fake concert that looked like so much fun I was actually upset it wasn't a real concert that I could attend. By the time Mouse Rat reunited and sang "5,000 Candles in the Wind," I was depressed that I'd missed this fabulous concert. That was fake. And on television. Which is why I think we should all relive it right now.
Now that the series has jumped forward in time—a difficult thing to pull off, especially for a sitcom—the show has a fresh new canvas on which to paint what will certainly be its final season. This is probably for the best, because Parks and Recreation definitely felt like it was beginning to stall this season. Chris and Ann had a child and moved to Ann Arbor, Tom grew up (a bit) and become a (sometimes) savvy business man, and Ron and Diane were happily married. I've loved spending time with the truly wonderful and wacky people of Pawnee, but their stories were obviously reaching their end dates. Now that the series has skipped ahead three years, it has the perfect opportunity to regroup and craft a true ending to this journey. I don't know that the real series finale will be able to top "Moving Up" in terms of how it made me feel as a long-time fan of the series, but I'm willing to stick around to see what the writers come up with, because this series truly feels like the comedic version of Friday Night Lights in the way it tells stories about the community of Pawnee and makes me tear up with embarrassing bouts of happiness. I'm really glad I don't have to say goodbye to it just yet.
NOTES
– “From now on, everyone call me Kristen, 'cause I am wigging out."
– "Obviously, we're no Akron. I mean, we're more like Dayton. But with your help, we can become Toledo." (As an Ohioan, I give this joke an A+)
– "Moving Up" was brought to you by pizza: "You're so good at reminding me where pizza is." Also: “We lead the country in online pizza ordering." And: "I ordered a small cheeseburger and both the buns were pizzas."
– "Can you bring back Power Rangers? I don't know what you do, but you seem important enough to get that done."
– Joan's drink is a tumbler full of gin with aspirin sprinkled around the rim.
– The Quackson Five
– I will probably never get tired of Jean-Ralphio. Sorry, I'm not sorry.
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