'Parks and Recreation' Review/Recap: "One Last Ride"

Laura Tormos ’18 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

We’ve all been dreading this day for a while—the day we’d have to (reluctantly) tune in to the last ever episode of Parks and Recreation and bid farewell to our favorite group of fictional people. The day has finally come and gone, however—and yes, it was as painful as we had imagined it would be. But it was twice as amazing, too. It’s definitely not the same fest of affectionate ridiculousness we have come to expect of our beloved Parks, but it makes an event of the finale and of the characters and the sheer love and hard work that was put into creating this story and this world. It was still funny, of course—it was hilarious, as always. But far and foremost, it was emotional, touching, inspiring. It was as much a love letter to the fans as it was to the characters.
The Parks and Recreation Facebook invited us before the episode to take “one last stroll through Pawnee City Hall”—and with this episode, that is certainly what we did. “One Last Ride” reunites the old Parks department to finish one last task together, but unlike the countless other times we’ve seen this happen, it isn’t about what they’re doing—it’s about having this group of people all together in the same place one final time before their lives change forever and take them all on separate paths. It’s about celebrating the end of an era, and making way for a new one. This is done wonderfully through the different snippets into the characters’ futures offered throughout the episode—it was very obviously the focus of it—and the fact that we get to see them all reach these different milestones, however briefly, was heartwarming and fitting for the series finale. Even more so that they happened whenever Leslie came in physical contact with them, which is a wonderful metaphor to how she touched each and every one of their lives (and, in turn, ours).

There are many, many things that happened tonight—most of them difficult to effectively put into words without immediately bursting into tears—but there was a wonderful narrative throughout “One Last Ride” that was really less about conclusions and more about beginnings. Even at the scene of ten-term mayor, Garry Gergich’s funeral (after a full 101 years of life), there was this brief but beautifully optimistic moment of ambiguity about Ben and Leslie’s future—even as their hair is graying—where Parks alluded to either one of them serving a term as President (and we are all for President Leslie Knope).
There was also a moment of doubt, when Leslie and Ron held hands on the swing-set, and Leslie felt a pang of reluctancy to leave Pawnee and all of her friends behind. Leslie worries about when they’ll all be in the same room again together, to which Ben responds “It’ll happen again. One day.” And when it does, it’s years later, in the old Parks and Recreation office where it all began. It is a meeting of old friends and catching up—and their children are there (remember that bit about new beginnings?) Ann and Chris finally make their appearance, of course, because it wouldn’t have been the series finale without them, and Leslie tries her hand at a few more of her famous Leslie Compliments we all know and love.

Close to the end, Leslie is given three beautiful moments that are truly deserving of being our last memories of Leslie. The first begins in this very reunion, in her final address to her friends: “When we worked here together we fought, scratched and clawed to make people’s lives a tiny bit better. That’s what public service is all about. Small, incremental change, every day.” Second is accepting an honorary doctorate in public policy after completing two terms as governor of Indiana: “What makes work worth doing is getting to do it with the people you love.” And, finally, the third was the final moment—the very last in the series, when Garry snaps a photo of the Parks and Rec team in front of the swing they fixed. While Ron complains about holding his smile and Andy tries out his new character persona, Ben looks at Leslie and asks, “You ready?” And she responds, “Yes. I’m ready.”
And even though we’re not—especially for that final scene after the credits where the crew calls out “That’s a wrap!” and the cast group hugs—the message Parks pushes across is clear: You will be ready. No matter what life throws at you, or where you end up in relation to where you thought you’d be, what really matters is the people you choose to surround yourself and do work with. So, as Leslie Knope would: “Go find your team and get to work.”
Overall Episode Grade: A+