"Love and Waffles and Possibility"
Ready to say goodbye to these guys? Source: nbc.com |
The Season 6 finale, "Moving Up" helped quell my fears... a little.
I was rewatching that episode last week, I kept thinking, "why is everything so over the top?" The Unity Concert, the panoramic shots of San Francisco, the Michelle Obama cameo... Wasn't this too big for a show about Pawnee, Indiana? The place where a Freddy Spaghetti concert was a major event?
At the start of Season 7, where are we? Source: nbc.com |
"Moving Up" was a happy episode. It was true to its characters. It gave us more Cones of Dunshire! It set up a beautiful future for Pawnee. Even though it didn't feel like the show's beginnings, it felt a little like it could have been the show's end. As many have noted, the episode's flash forward final scene would have even made for a satisfying series finale. And it would have been a happy ending! ...But it's not the end.
So where does that leave us? Leslie said it best: "The sun is rising over a sea of love, and waffles, and possibility."
Love
Like it's inspiration (The Office), Parks and Rec has garnered a bevy of supportive, loving fans. Fans who will probably love the final season even if it does all take place in a ridiculously corny future far from the gentle/brash comedy beginnings it greeted us with in its first few seasons.
Waffles
No matter what happens, Parks and Rec has left us with a legacy of television characters, moments, and quotes that won't be changed even if the network does dismiss its one-time hit with a rushed final season. If waffles make a comeback with my generation, it'll be thanks to Leslie Knope.
Possibility
We've got thirteen more episodes with our friends in Pawnee. Part of me is worried. Worried that these "futuristic" episodes will ruin all the great ones that came before. But then, that's not a very Knope-like attitude, is it? No, I'm going to choose optimism. That these episodes will be great. At least, they have a chance to be. And I'm hopeful.