Warning: Fullfor the Parks and Rec Season 6 finale follow...

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Jerry

Larry

♪"Here and now, here and nooow..."

What a warm, sublime, hilarious, satisfying two-part season finale. Man, it just fired on all cylinders. Mouse Rat reuniting and singing "5,000 Candles in the Wind" next to a hologram Li'l Sebastian. Duke freakin' Silver joining them onstage. A stunned Leslie meekly high-fiving Michelle Obama. Pawnee getting free wi-fi because, thanks to the rising popularity of The Cones of Dunshire, it gets labeled as the "Home of the Architect." Tom meeting Ginuwine and then throwing a successful after-concert party at his new restaurant.And, last but not freakin' least, the three year jump right at the end. Showing the refurbished 3rd floor as Leslie's new Midwest National Department headquarters. A jump that was both jarring and delightful. And one that easily answered "How are they going to deal with Leslie and Ben working with three babies?" Well now their brood is much more manageable, each at three years old. With Uncle Andy and Auntie April to watch over them while Leslie and Ben hustle about. I wasn't quite sure what Ben's big deal was right there at the end, but I assume it has to do with him having been formally recognized (legally) as the originator of Cones. Maybe not. Maybe that last scene is all a big mystery to be solved next season.And Jon Hamm? As Ed? Ed, who's even more incompetent thanTerry? Genius.We definitely got the best of both worlds there at the very end. Because we knew the show couldn't feasibly exist if Leslie moved to Chicago, but we also really wanted her to take that job. And sure the whole "we can just do x, y, and z right here" is a time-worn sitcom trope, but I didn't care. I was in. And I felt the show had done the work to set it all up. What with the Ron-crafted 3rd floor, the wi-fi, and April mentioning how much cheaper it was to live in Pawnee.A lot of this series has focused on characters wanting to move forward in their careers (save for Ron whose biggest steps have been love and family) and we want to see them do that. We want Tom to have a thriving business that takes him out of his Parks job. We want Leslie to be recognized for her passion and tireless effort so that she can ascend. But we also need to keep the band together. And I felt that this episode did a fantastic job of wish-fullfillment.Even Jamm's one scene was funny as hell. A character who's proven to run hot and cold. And, naturally, you can't have an hour-long Parks wrap up without Joan, Perd, Jean-Ralphio, Mona Lisa, Diane, and Tammy II. And when a show mentions that a cover band like "Bobby Knight Ranger" exists, they'd better deliver. And boy, did they ever.

Parks and Recreation: Season Finale Photo Gallery: Parks and Recreation: "Moving Up" Photos 28 IMAGES

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Ben vs. Workaholics' barefooted Blake Anderson in a high pressure game of Cones of Dunshire! "It's about the cones." Fantastic.

Andy going on work-related trips (for whatever reason) is always great. Especially when he recites the entirety of Michael Bay's The Rock to Ben on the plane ride. And then rolls a solitary skateboard down a steep San Fran street.

People in Pawnee go to the library to use the computers to order pizza.

The Quackson Five.

Ron violently destroying one of his chairs because it looked machine made.

"The treasure was love all along."

Tammy II trolling for some "Dad D."

"Speak for yourself. I once got into a cab that Kyra Sedgwick was getting out of!"

Jean-Ralphio's double house arrest ankle bracelets.

Ben realizing he was ON ENDOR!

Jamm locking in the bassist from Cherry Pie, Pawnee's Warrant cover band. "Der ner ner rock n' roll...yeah...poisooon."

"I ordered a small cheeseburgers and both the buns were pizzas." *crowd cheers*

"You're so good at reminding me where pizza is." (lots of pizza jokes tonight)

Joan's special drink is a tumbler filled with gin. Crushed aspirin around the rim. Perd will just have an empty glass, thank you.

"Can you bring back Power Rangers? I don't know what you do, but you seem important enough to get that done."

And interesting aspect to this season finale is that during past seasons the fate of the show has been up in the air. And with the show on the renewal bubble, we were still given somewhat cliffhanger-y finales. In fact, for the Season 4 finale, multiple endings were shot. But we've known that Parks would be returning for a seventh season ever since it was announced at the TCA Press Tour this past January. And yet here, with "Moving On," we got the closest thing to a series finale than we've ever had. Parks will be back. And we'll see Leslie and Ben in their new lives, now wading above the harassment of the local PawnEagleton constituency. But if this was the end for the show, it would have gone out on an incredibly high note - with each character at an apex.And let's not forget the musical performances by The Decemberists, Letters to Cleo (complete with Ben singing along to "Here and Now"), Ginuwine (who worked "Pony" into a nod to Li'l Sebastian), and Wilco (performing as Land Ho). It was a great concert that everyone involved seemed to love and enjoy. And, most importantly, nothing went wrong! There didn't have to be any last minute problems.Because all the sitcom-style hijinx got used up in the first half of the episode during Tom's soft opening of his bistro. And if, like me, the name Tom's Bistro reminds you of Jack's Bistro from Three's Company then you'll have appreciated the wacky, old school comedy mishaps that took place during Tom's rushed endeavor to run his restaurant. Broken glasses everywhere. A guy sitting in a freshly painted chair. Surly waitstaff, hindered by sawdust-clogged tastebuds and "baditude." Menus accidentally printed with dog anuses on them. Okay, that last one was new. And amazing. Especially when Larry revealed that his dog would be okay if he just had a salve applied to his rectum every hour for the rest of his life!There's no way I'm going to be able to hit every wonderful moment, so here's a humble list for the rest: