9 Sob-Worthy 'Parks And Rec' Moments That'll Prep Your Soul For The Series Finale
Tonight (February 24), large portions of New York City should take major flood precautions as the MTV News staff prepares to say goodbye to one of its favorite, most heartwarming shows, "Parks and Recreation."
Sure, "Parks" is a comedy, and mostly strove to make us laugh (spoiler alert: it succeeded). But as time went on and we grew to love the town of Pawnee, Indiana like it was a much, much better version of our own, the major life events from Leslie (Amy Poehler), Ron (Nick Offerman) Ben (Adam Scott) and the rest of the gang began to melt us Alex Mack-style into a puddle of tears. Repeatedly.
So in honor of these happy-sob worthy moments, we've listed some of our favorites, in honor of the (sniff) all-too-soon series finale:
Garry/Jerry/Larry/Terry's big promotion.
The show's cruel, dismissive treatment of the kindly sap Jerry (Jim O'Heir) was one of its only occasional misfires -- if we wanted to watch a bunch of jerks, we'd tune in to repeats of "The Office," or "It's Always Sunny." So imagine our surprise when the six-ish year joke finally culminated in the gang not only using Jerry's real name (Garry!) but giving him the job of mayor of Pawnee. Yeah, it was a moment.
Li'l Sebastian's funeral
Much like Ben Wyatt, it was impossible for us to fully "get" Li'l Sebastian. But we totally got the emotion that Andy (Chris Pratt) Ron and the gang felt during his funeral, and cried heartwarming tears over Mouse Rat's loosely interpreted Elton John cover, "5000 Candles in the Wind."
Leslie's win.
Knowing what happens after doesn't take away the beauty of Ann revealing to Leslie that she won her spot on City Council. Nope -- sorry, make that KNOPE.
April and Andy's wedding.
"I guess I kind of hate most things. But, I never really seem to hate you, so I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Is that cool?" Yes, April, it's cool. It has always been cool.
April and Andy's trip to the Grand Canyon.
April and Andy have always been the fun-silly couple when compared with, say, Leslie and Ben, but their trip to the Grand Canyon to complete Andy's bucket list was a rare tearjerker for the duo. Moments of complete April-selflessness are almost always a win, and it's a good thing Andy's Mount Rushmore joke arrived to save my apartment from a total flooding of tears.
Ann's goodbye.
Ann's (Rashida Jones) goodbye to Leslie also marked the end of one of TV's best and most honest female friendships. Ann and Leslie proved to the world once and for all that, yes, women can be friends who love and support each other unconditionally. Heck, they can even fight (see: "The Fight") without tearing each other to pieces, and instead use said fight as a learning tool to be better moving forward. Also, as an added bonus, Ann's goodbye to her kinda-sorta nemesis April was just as emotional, once again bringing out that rare, selfless side of Ms. Ludgate that's guaranteed to get us going, each and every time.
Ben's proposal.
A "Halloween Surprise," indeed. Like Leslie, we will always need to remember this -- every little thing about how perfect our lives were at the exact moment when we were watching it.
Ron and Leslie's fight.
Though we didn't have much time to take in Leslie and Ron's epic, years-long fight, the "bottle episode" (thanks, "Community") that found the two of them forced to sort out their differences over a single night was an emotional wallop. When Ron -- who hates government, and all things feelings -- finally admitted to Leslie that her neglect of him and poaching of their mutual friends nearly had him begging for a job with National Parks, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Ben and Leslie's wedding.
I mean, need I say more? This is what "Parks and Rec" was all about -- good people coming together, figuring out how to use their skills to help others, and eventually finding happiness in their own unique, individual ways. "I love you and I like you." That is all.
BONUS: Jerry's "Fart Attack."
... Because laughing so hard you cry counts, too.
