Parks and Rec (Final Season)

[number8]

Last night's episode about Ron and Leslie was beautiful. I suppose they've never actually needed to comment on the unlikelihood of these two being co-workers and friends, but they managed to head that on in a way that is believable and affecting.

Also, one of the best fart jokes I've seen in a long time.

I'm continued to be unimpressed with the zany future jokes, though. Mostly because they feel so tacked on. Like, I would forget that this season is set in the future then all of a sudden they talk about the Game of Thrones series finale.

[dreamdead]

Yeah, the silliness of the Elton John/Chick-fil-a was my groaner.

I'd hoped that they would explain the disconnect between Ron and Leslie, and this episode largely worked on that front.

This show is suffering a little from absent friends, as it's yet to shwocase season-long Ron's marital status in any way, and I'd expect that the wife and children would ease some of his isolation, and the refusal to engage that front was odd.

Also, Adam Scott's kind of just there currently. I'm pleased that the show is able to give them all a send-off, but I want a little more. That said, the Harrison museum was quite wonderful.

[number8]

The ghost speech was pretty great, though.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I teared up a little when Leslie put the Camel picture from Season 2 back up on the wall.

[ledfloyd]

That was a great episode.

And of the only thing this season gives us is Werner Herzog saying he wants to move to Florida to be closer to Disney World. Well, that's okay with me.

[dreamdead]

Mildly disappointed with the Tom storyline never returning to Tatiana Maslany's doctor character, who I thought had natural chemistry with Aziz.

[Henry Gale]

So this ended about an hour and a half ago here. I thought it was really nice, well-rounded, moving ending that did things a lot of other series finales attempt to do but hardly ever seem to as potently as here.

And like I already hinted to Arya on Twitter, the biggest gut punch of the whole thing was the brief, last-second tribute to Harris Wittels. Whatever emotions I kept in check about the Pawnee crew were completely and messily busted open right then and there.

Also caught up on the previous four episodes early today. Such a fine conclusion to one of my all-time favourite shows. I'd say I'd gonna miss it dearly if I didn't tell such a fully resolved story by the end and I didn't know I'd re-watch it all so much over the coming years. Sure I hate there won't be any new ones after tonight, but the last several they had to give couldn't have been more fitting.

[number8]

Fantastic cameo:


http://i.imgur.com/CvMpvNh.jpg

[number8]

And like I already hinted to Arya on Twitter

Oh, ha, that's your twitter account.

[dreamdead]

I'm lacking the necessary understanding to unpack the cameo. Guidance, anyone?

This finale didn't hit the joyous streak that the full-on Johnny Karate episode did, but it was such a pleasure to see the show commit to its heart and explore what makes these characters continue. Loved the silliness of the Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa, the structure of the Ron flash-forward (though I wanted to see his family once more), and understanding between Ben and Leslie--at times Ben dropped out this season, and they committed hard to what makes their relationship tick.

The Ann Perkins stuff, while good, couldn't reach those heights. And the proximity of that much Rob Lowe self-quoting hurt a teensy bit.

[number8]

Star-Lord.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Ending felt a bit flaccid for me. Fine and nice and all that, but the last spate of episodes were so busy basking in nostalgia that they kind of forgot to make me laugh. Or they simply didn't care. Either way, this season played more as a cast insisting on lighting the stage repeatedly for more and more curtain calls than anything resembling a final act. And maybe I'm cruel, but I was hoping that at least one main character wouldn't be paired off and married to a significant other by the end.