Tonight, the world says goodbye to Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and the city of Pawnee as “Parks and Recreation” airs its final episode. Through its six-year run, the show has made viewers laugh, cry and laugh some more with its wit, antics, love stories and triumphs. To celebrate the finale of “Parks and Recreation,” here are some of the show’s best moments.
Treat yo’ self
“It’s the best day of the year!” When Donna Meagle (Retta) and Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) introduced the world to “Treat yo’ self” day, the phrase became a symbol for life’s little indulgences we all need now and again. For some, that means mimosas and fine leather goods, and for others, it means buying a Batman suit to wear all day.
Snake Juice
Like most of Tom’s ideas, his invention of Snake Juice, an alcoholic drink that is “basically rat poison” causes chaos to erupt when the entire parks and rec team gets drunk at a bar, which leads to a hilarious character montage. There’s Ben’s (Adam Scott) awful impression, April (Aubrey Plaza) speaking Spanish as Janet Snakehole, Leslie crying incoherently about her fight with Ann (Rashida Jones) and, best of all, Ron (Nick Offerman) dancing in the Janet Snakehole hat to “Who Dat Girl” by Flo Rida.
Andy and April
Moody April and goofy Andy (Chris Pratt) are two people who would never seem to make it, but the two are proof that opposites attract. More than that, when the they get married after only dating for a month with Andy in his Indianapolis Colts jersey, everyone doubted they would last. Even naysayers like Leslie couldn’t help but “aww” when April said during her vows, “I kind of hate most things, but I never really seem to hate you.”
The ice rink
When Leslie is campaigning for city council, a series of unfortunate events lead to the most pathetically contrived comeback speech of all time. The red carpet only covers a quarter of the walk to the stage (which has no stairs), forcing the entire team accompanied by three-legged dog Champion to slip and stumble across the ice while “Get On Your Feet” by Gloria Estefan plays between awkward pauses.
Li’l Sebastian
This tiny horse captured the hearts of Pawnee and audiences everywhere when he was introduced during the Harvest Festival, and all but Ben were enamored with the mini horse. When Li’l Sebastian passed away, the parks department held a memorial service that inspired one of Andy’s greatest original songs, “5,000 Candles in the Wind,” a song that, as Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) would say, is literally 5,000 times better than the original “Candle in the Wind.”
Leslie and Ann
Besides the many romances in “Parks and Recreation,” perhaps the most important relationship in the show is the friendship between Leslie and Ann. In the end, the two always follow “uteruses before duderuses” and “ovaries before brovaries,” giving meaning to Leslie’s favorite holiday, Galentine’s Day. Throughout the series, their friendship shows how two people can complement each other and make their other half a better person, regardless if that relationship is platonic or romantic.
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