This is it. The final season of Parks and Recreation marks the end of a show that was widely bemoaned as an Office clone at first, but totally came into its own as its characters became fully realized.
Tuesday’s premiere picks up three years after the season six finale left off. It’s 2017 and things are definitely different.
Leslie is regional director for the National Parks Service (also a mom of three). Ben, father of Leslie’s three children, has been named Pawnee’s Man of the Year.  Donna is a real estate mogul. Ron is a private citizen with his own construction firm. And Tom has finally made it as a restauranteur. With any luck, the writers won’t shatter his success again. (Let’s face it: The man can’t live through another Entertainment 720/Tommy’s Closet fiasco.)
Alan Yang, Matt Murray and the rest of the writing team have their work cut out for them. After all, these characters are all in remarkably different places from where they were last season, because there’s gotta be some sort of payoff by the time the series finale airs.
With so much to wrap up, there was hope that this season’s plots would deviate from the usual. By now, you could easily write your own Parks and Recreation fan fiction based on the following formula:
Leslie goes overboard on a small project or gets sass from a resident of Pawnee or Eagleton.
Leslie tries to correct the situation.
Leslie struggles or outright fails.
Ben or Ron give her a little pep talk.
Leslie perseveres.
The best episodes of Parks are the ones that deviate from this episode template. Case in point: April and Andy’s healthcare splurge when they found out they have insurance. Leslie running interference whenever Ron and Tammy 2 flare up again. Treat yo’ self.
So, it’s a bit of a disappointment that the show’s conventions show up and stay strong throughout the season premiere.
This time, Leslie and Ron don’t quite see eye-to-eye as her desire to get national recognition for a parcel of undeveloped land clashes with Mr. Swanson’s insistence that it the trees on the property be used to … well, build stuff.
Usually, Leslie would pull together her parks department employees to help her overcome the challenge. But it turns out that Ron has offered Tom and Donna a piece of the pie.
Ron and Leslie’s rivalry heats up at an awards ceremony for Ben, who’s being honored by the city for the work he’s done as its manager. But it’s Leslie’s speech to Nick Newport Sr.’s widow that solidifies the fight for the undeveloped land as this season’s major story arc.
It’s rare that one of Leslie’s heartfelt speeches falls short of changing her adversary’s mind. But the Newport estate isn’t going to let go of that land for less than a boat-load of cash.
April and Andy’s story has the two trying to reclaim some semblence of chaos in their relationship. While they plan their week, they realize that they’ve become *gasp* regular adults. Their arc is resolved when they decide to buy a house that’s haunted (and kinda dilapidated.)
As always, it was the small character bits that made the episode’s best moments.
Jon Hamm’s cameo as a clueless assistant is amazing. So was Ben’s justified fear of the award ceremony being an elaborate setup for the people of Pawnee to pelt him with things.
Yes, the show’s formula has shown wear in the last few seasons. But at least Parks doesn’t seem to be at risk of the same shortfalls that plagued The Office or the last season of Scrubs. Everyone’s still around. The cast has the same amazing chemistry. And most of the jokes still hit hard enough to keep you invested.
No matter what, it’s great to be back in Pawnee.
Stray observations:
• “I don’t even know what bangs are and I don’t intend to learn!”
• The Very Good Building and Development Company is probably the most Ron-esque name for a business ever.
• “I did find a file that says ‘Bird Census 1980!’ It’s empty …”
• Tom, being his own hero, might just be the easiest explanation for every crash and burn the character has ever suffered.
• If Ken Hotate recited every word in every entry of every Encyclopedia Britannica, I’d listen to it. I’d listen to it hard.
• “Being a responsible adult sucks butts.”
• There should always be a backup cake.