(S7Ep12) One Last Ride, Part 2!

Happy October! A new season, a new episode, a new change. :) Today, we round out the futures of the Parks gang. The swing gets fixed (without a thank you, in true Parks fashion), Ron takes an exciting new job, Chris and Ann make an appearance, and Leslie is finally ready. 

Big shouts to Mike Schur and Greg Daniels for creating this show, teaching us about the importance of incrementalism, community and trying to do it with people you love. Cast and crew, we are forever indebted to you for creating our comfort show, and creating a home for us to always return to.

Big shouts to YOU for listening, for rating, for reviewing, for being with us and supporting us as we learn about our favorite TV show. Please keep the love coming by interacting on social media or emailing or however you can, even if it's volunteering at a Park or just GOING to a Park! Don't forget  - there's always a Leslie out there, and there's always a Parks gang out there, so be kind and be good. <3 

David Bickford IG: https://www.instagram.com/Bickford.David/

Lake Gregory, CA aka Pawnee National Park: https://www.lakegregory.com/

Transcript

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Holly

Okay. All right. So let's get started. this is one last ride, part two, the finale last episode, original air date, February twenty-fourth, twenty fifteen. I do want to do some talking about the last episode because I do have some follow-ups, which I think is fun. And one of them was that we were wondering how long mayor's terms are. And so I said I would look up a couple of things about the cities that

I am close to. but so typically it's four years, the mayor's term. But I did find an article that said only 15% of cities actually limit their terms. So that could be something that maybe Pawnee has. But also, I looked up some towns, like actual towns near me, and they mostly all have either like four or two-year term limits. However, they can succeed themselves or secede themselves, however you pronounce that. And not many towns that I found have a limit on how many times they can succeed themselves, secede themselves.

So that makes sense. So you can your term is technically four years, but you can run again, without really limitations on that. So if no one runs or if you're just a really good mayor and they want you forever, then they'll just keep voting for you. So that's the explanation that I found for how Jerry is able to do this, really.

Madi (01:47.511)
Okay.

Madi (02:05.982)
Nice. Perfect. I I just looked up the town that I just moved from like like several years a now, but I just looked up Prescott and it said two. Which seemed I didn't do more research into like seceding or anything like that, just but I was like I'm deaf I'm definitely sure we had somebody there the whole time I lived there that was the mayor, so yeah. Inconclusive.

Holly (02:25.889)
Yeah. So that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. But this one makes sense for for why Jerry and everybody was able to, because you can secede yourself. So that makes total sense to me. and then the other question that I had was since Ben is now being a congressman, do we not have a city manager? Or do we not have we never showed who was the city manager. So I was curious about that.

Madi (02:48.968)
Yeah, me too. We never we never get introduced to his backfill. If he has one.

Holly (02:52.543)
Yeah. Yeah, like who who took it on his role. I mean, I guess the mayor at this point, since it's Jerry, Gary is more important. But yeah, that was interesting to me.

Madi (03:02.804)
Well and and it can he still do his city manager job until he's elected? 'Cause he hasn't technically been el elected in some of this part of it, right? Or am I insane? He has. Okay. That's right.

Holly (03:15.893)
I think in this ep yeah, in this episode, in the finale he has been 'cause Ron calls him governor and they've been Yeah, I think so.

Madi (03:23.54)
Wow, my brain wow. Good job, brain. No, you're probably right.

Holly (03:26.295)
But I I think but anyway, so anyway, it doesn't matter. ev even if he wasn't congressman, I'd still be interested in like who's gonna fill his role, you know what mean? So and then the other note that I had was you had a note about Ethel that I thought was really interesting in the last episode. So I just wanted to touch base on that one again and have you explain.

Madi (03:35.634)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.

Madi (03:45.751)
Yes, absolutely. So, I think there was the there could have been from my research, there could have been some understanding that Ethel's last episode was her coming out and lay on the land that she had had an affair with Mare Gunderson for what'd she say, like thirty years or something like that. a really long time, decades. that that could have been kind of like her sign off. But the writers really wanted her, specifically the actress, Helen.

Slayton Hughes, I believe. they really wanted her to come back, but also they wanted to her to have a scene with April and Leslie because that kind of just was a formula that happened throughout the series. And so that was that was very intentional to have her come back for the final episode for the fourth floor and have them actually go to the fourth floor.

Holly (04:16.638)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Holly (04:37.161)
Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I love that. I think that's really cool that they kept in with all those traditions and characters coming together.

Madi (04:43.988)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Holly (04:47.421)
Okay, so one last ride, part two, written by Amy Polar and Mike Schur, of course, directed by Mike Schur, original air date, February twenty-fourth, twenty fifteen. and yeah, I'm ready for a summary if you've got one for this last one.

Madi (05:01.694)
I do. It didn't it it didn't t change too much. We're just continuing, but the Parks gang continues to work towards fixing the swing. We round out our goodbyes to the Parks gang through a glimpse of their future, especially Leslie and Ben.

Holly (05:15.315)
Yeah, yeah. We get a lot of Ben and Leslie, which I think is great that they dedicate so much time to them. So yeah, all right. So

Madi (05:23.828)
This this episode felt shorter to me, this half of the episode. And I don't know if it's because they we just had a couple characters that we looked forward to rather than I feel like we had more characters we saw the future of last episode and maybe those short clips made the episode feel longer. But when it was like, you know, when Leslie looks at the camera at the end and says, I'm ready, I'm like, wait, nope, I w no, I wasn't ready. That wasn't the end. It was too short.

Holly (05:49.258)
Yeah. I think that I probably did add a couple of extra minutes to last episode to find like a good stopping spot. So it might not have been legitimately what was aired on TV or like when it restarted or whatever. But yeah, you're right. It did feel a little shorter.

Madi (05:55.358)
Mm.

Holly (06:06.316)
Okay, so we are back at the park in Pawnee 2017, as the screen reads, and Ron is actually fixing the swing while Leslie talks to Shauna Malway Tweep. I love bringing this back to the early seasons of her pitching headlines that don't make sense or are like too long or whatever. Still swinging. Parks gang reunites for one last bang. And it's dirty, says Shauna. But yeah, I I just love bringing back Shauna too, and also her total

Madi (06:19.125)
Yeah.

Madi (06:25.353)
Yeah.

Holly (06:35.448)
I don't wanna say failure, her total like sadness, I guess, and disappointments for her love life because Leslie asks how Shauna's personal life is and it turns out she fell in love with basically an I AI program, which yeah, we're not far off from that, so

Madi (06:51.499)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And sh I do love this and I love exactly like what you said. Like it's just continuation of Leslie trying to do part of Shauna's job for her with the the headline. And poor Shauna. I do love that Leslie asks. Like she has this genuine curiosity of like where is Shauna now and how is she doing? because I feel like Shauna needs that. I don't see from what we see in Shauna's life, I don't know how many people she has that check in on her.

Holly (07:20.779)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (07:20.787)
So I'm really glad that that Leslie does this for her.

Holly (07:24.342)
Yeah, me too. And she's saying, you know, she truly believes Shauna will find happiness someday. And it's really cute. This whole thing is cut. This Shauna getting a flash forward. This was not in the original air. They cut to her crying in a wedding dress, which is just next year. she is on a bench and the you know, the screen says it's next year. And Paul Rudd comes back, Bobby Newport. my god, so exciting. And I I think that's great that they've decided to originally or to air this in the producer's cut.

Madi (07:32.491)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (07:39.847)
Yeah.

Holly (07:53.592)
For people to see on Peacock because I would I mean it's fun to see a flash forward for Bobby. but we learned that Shauna's fiance, she's in a wedding dress, and Shauna's fiancee didn't make it to her wedding because a game was running into overtime, so he'll try and stop by. Yikes. Mm-hmm.

Madi (07:54.229)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (07:59.255)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (08:09.119)
Try to stop by. Ugh. I was like, girl, you but you dodged a bullet. You dodged a bullet. It's fine. You're gonna be fine.

Holly (08:17.184)
Yeah. And I love that Bobby's way to make people feel better is gum. That's hilarious.

Madi (08:21.033)
Yeah. Yeah. It's so it's so we always talked about like how innocent he was. Like he wasn't ever trying to do anything bad. He just didn't know better. and this is just another symbol of that.

Holly (08:27.342)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (08:34.87)
Yeah. And I mean, I gotta admit, when he pauses after he says like when or do you know what makes me feel better or whatever? I was like, is he gonna try to say something dirty or weird or just out of left field? But I love that they have it be gum, 'cause like you said, it points to his innocence and totally that's just even more funny. and then they cut forward to Bobby Newport and China getting married and it's so cute. They met just five hours ago and now they love each other. And to be honest, like

Madi (08:44.246)
Yeah.

Madi (08:49.547)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (09:03.694)
They're both a little gullible, both a little dumb, both just want happiness and approval from everyone around them. So I feel like this is kind of a perfect match.

Madi (09:11.273)
Yeah, I wrote it's a little weird to like digest, especially how quickly, right? Like we're given this and like within a minute they're getting married. so it's a lot to digest, but it honestly makes a lot of sense because he's gonna do little weird things and she's gonna just think they're cute and she's gonna need reassurance and he just wants people to be happy, like, you know, it balances.

Holly (09:25.72)
Yeah.

Holly (09:33.728)
Yeah. And I can totally see Shauna and Bobby saying, like, Well, I'm already in the dress, like, let's just do it, you know?

Madi (09:41.023)
Yeah, yeah. for a second I didn't realize it was the same day.

Holly (09:45.459)
yeah.

Madi (09:46.943)
Like it took me a minute. I like, wait.

Holly (09:49.12)
Yeah, when he says five hours ago, I'm like, yeah, that tracks. and I love that he has to think, speaking of it being five hours ago, I love that he has to think of the memory of giving her gum five hours ago. He he's like, Do you rem she says, Do you remember when you gave me gum to make me feel less sad? And he's like, yeah, I totally remember that. And I feel like also the line of Bobby saying, I just want to give you gum forever is probably the most romantic thing Bobby can say in this moment. And it's so them because I feel like

Madi (09:53.545)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Madi (10:09.858)
Bobby.

Holly (10:19.127)
To Shauna, that is just really special and probably the most like honest, nice thing someone said to her romantically.

Madi (10:26.399)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's so cute. It's basically I wanna help make you feel better for the rest of your life. Super sweet.

Holly (10:33.183)
Yeah, totally. and then we've got The Justice Who is Marrying Them is played by David Bickford and from his IMDB bio, by the way, it says in high school, David was an early member of the Central Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for Women and worked with the Yale law student Bill Clinton on the US Senate campaign of Joseph Duffy and he graduated with degrees in theater and government. How perfect for parks. I was like, my gosh, he was part of the IOW essentially. but

Madi (11:01.13)
Yeah.

Holly (11:01.739)
Other than that, he's also been in a lot of acting projects as well, American Crime Story, True Blood, tons of cool stuff. We actually got voice memos from him, which is very exciting. but one thing from his email that I thought was cute after we were exchanging emails back and forth, he wrote, I listened to a few of your podcasts before taping. Fun exclamation point. I may listen to a few more now. You mentioned Rutherford Falls in your last episode. I played a city councilman in one episode on that show.

Since you seem to like behind the scenes stuff, I'll share with you that I have twice in my career played a city council person. The other show was lessons in chemistry. Both shows, which were not related in any way, use the same Masonic Temple meeting hall in Silver Lake as their location for the city council meeting shoot. I was amused by that. So that's so cute to be a city council person in two shows that were not Parks and Rec. That's funny.

Madi (11:48.969)
Yeah. Yeah, that is really funny. That's really cool.

Holly (11:54.772)
Yeah. Okay. So let's go ahead and listen to his first question that I asked, which is, you know, how did he get the show or the job on the show and, you know, did he watch the show before he booked and all that kind of stuff?

Holly (13:33.645)
That's so crazy. I've never heard of that. That's wild. What a wild experience.

Madi (13:38.867)
Yeah, makes a lot of sense when you hear it, but my brain wouldn't go there that they would be that lock key on on everything. Yeah.

Holly (13:45.429)
Yeah. Yeah, it's like Marvel. 

Holly (00:10.892)
Okay. Okay. so let's go ahead and listen to the second question that I asked him.

Madi (03:09.061)
Ooh, the intrigue. Yeah.

Holly (03:09.078)
That's so exciting. That's so cool. That's awesome to hear. Yeah. And I mean, really cool to hear that Amy Polar was in such producer mode, which I know that she is most days, honestly, it sounds like. and so yeah, that's really cool to hear too. But yeah, it's really crazy that it was so secret.

Okay, let's go to the next one.

Holly (04:40.789)
Gosh, that's really nice and great to hear about Nick Offerman too, being so nice and yeah, to be a part of their like origin story sounds like such a dream.

Madi (04:41.914)
That's too cool. Mm-hmm.

Madi (04:50.616)
Yeah, what a full circle moment.

Holly (04:52.927)
Absolutely. All right. Let's listen to the last one where I ask him if he's got anything to promote, if he's working on anything right now. Any other last thoughts?

Holly (05:55.286)
Yay. That's so nice. Thank you so much for joining and for that amazing information.

Madi (06:01.422)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that was fascinating.

Holly (06:04.247)
So we'll definitely be posting his social media and information in the show notes, but also on our Instagram. So just be sure to keep an eye out for that. But thank you so much for everything and for the email too, behind the scenes too. That's awesome. So thank you so much. We really appreciate that.

Madi (06:19.695)
Yeah.

Holly (06:20.941)
So picking back up, yes, what a happy ending for Shauna. And also I thought it was really funny too that literally no one is there except for like one random person, which is really crazy but also perfect because it just happened five hours ago. And also, like you said, like we don't really know who exactly she'd invite or he'd invite anyway. So So and I don't even know who that random person is. He was probably just walking down because they needed a witness.

Madi (06:43.554)
Yep, that's exactly how I took it. They just grabbed a random guy in the hallway.

Holly (06:47.605)
Yep. So back in present day, Leslie hands Ron a wrench and Ron finishes fixing the swing. and I still don't super understand like how Ron could fix that because I was wondering like, was the form officially submitted? I guess it was because Jerry like did his thing right. Okay, got it.

Madi (07:05.444)
Yeah, either that or either that or Ron was just like, We're doing it.

Holly (07:08.883)
Yeah. Yeah. And I think it is above board now that they know the mayor, so it's all good. That probably wasn't a worthy note. Anyway, Leslie asks Go ahead.

Madi (07:16.686)
you imagine everything they would have gotten done in Leslie's like book of dreams if Jerry had been the mayor? Gary? Yeah.

Holly (07:23.667)
Yeah, I know. Crazy. Leslie asks if Ron is gonna stick around Pawnee and he says he's sure he will. And you know, Leslie will come back a lot as well. So, you know, don't be a stranger. And then I love Ron and Leslie holding hands on this swing. It's the most platonic, beautiful friendship and the swing set that they just fixed, and I feel like this swing set is so metaphorical for their entire relationship in the parks department. It's really just so wonderful and beautiful.

Madi (07:53.231)
Yeah, I love it too. I love it too. And when you sit next to somebody on the swing, a lot of times you're swinging the opposite, right? So it's like this. And that's kinda how they are. But they alwa you always come together in the middle. You know? It's that's just how they've been.

Holly (08:04.822)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (08:08.685)
So we flash forward to Ron's life in 2022 and there Ron's company, very good building company, with our resident lawyer played by Mark Evan Jackson, who is saying despite the financial crisis, which you know, also lends itself to why Tom Sbistro was not, you know, viable, Ron's company will finish the year in excellent financial shape, thanks to Ron. And I love that the brothers are back. We've got Lon played by Herbert Russell, who we got voice memos from when I first first saw him.

Or when everybody really first saw him and learned that Ron even has brothers. And then you've got Vaughn played by Michael Strassner. sadly, Matt Offerman, I believe is his name. the actual brother of Ron who was in the first episode that the brothers were in, did not come back. but we did and I did email Herbert Russell, who played Lon, because he sent those voice memos. So I was curious if he had any memories of this one. And he did talk about it a bit, this episode in particular on his last show.

Madi (08:41.914)
Yeah.

Holly (09:04.487)
so that he was on. But he said he didn't really have anything to add. He just has really good memories. So which I totally understand. I don't think there would be that much new to add. but then this is when the lawyer asks if Ron has anything to say about, you know, how financial how financially successful the company is. And he stands up and something's definitely up with Ron because he's like not paying attention. He's distracted looking. Nick Offerman is like

looking around the room and he says that he resigns immediately as chairman and the lawyer asks him if he wants to say a few words and he says no just like Kevin's like, No. Yeah.

Madi (09:39.91)
He should have known. Yeah, definitely not.

Holly (09:45.563)
and yeah, he just doesn't want to explain why. So, but then we've got the other brothers taking it super easily, very much in Swanson fashion, like, Okay, great, moving on. No emotion showed, especially like when Vaughn says his like, you know, best of luck and n Ron is like, Don't get emotional, you're embarrassing yourself.

Madi (10:02.406)
Yeah. And they so quickly f I was just gonna say they so quickly are like, yep, I'm gonna take over, it's fine.

Holly (10:05.076)
And I love the go ahead.

Holly (10:11.954)
Yeah, yeah. I was gonna that's what I was gonna say too. I really love Herbert's lines that they give him, of like no use dwelling on the past, sobron and it literally just happened two seconds ago. And you can tell the lawyer's annoyed 'cause he's like, That's not how it works, but it kinda does. Like it can, you know.

Madi (10:22.5)
Yep. Yep.

Yeah. Yeah. With them it works.

Holly (10:33.208)
So this is when we get Ron knocking on the door and Ben opens it. So they are at Ben and Leslie's house. by the way, he calls Ben Congressman here. This is where I was con like confused about like we never saw actually that Ben won, but we just assumed that. And, you know, like you've said, we didn't have enough time to cover the winning. but Ron went to DC, which is crazy to me.

Madi (10:50.49)
Well but he

Madi (10:54.19)
Yeah. Yeah, that shows you how important it is to him. But I also think that that's just in Ron's fashion. Like to have a a serious conversation like that, he's like, I'm not gonna have this on the phone. I'm gonna go there. And if you have the money and means to make that happen, which we know Ron does, like, why not?

Holly (11:13.108)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Were you gonna say something else too? Or no?

Madi (11:17.86)
Yeah, I was gonna say that I think he's running for governor, right? Or or is that later? No, that's later. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Congressman. Okay. I'm my brain was mixing up the trajectory of yes. The trajectory of which job?

Holly (11:24.888)
Ben? Yeah.

Holly (11:31.075)
The governor timeline. Yeah, right now he's just co congressman. Yeah, we haven't even talked about either of them being governor yet. so he w he goes to DC. I love that he brings a picture. And we talked about this last time when he talked about his kids. I feel like the girls weren't in the picture, but the girls are in the picture this time. the boy, as well, like all of his kids are in there. And so we get a mention of his full family. Ivy's accepted at Stanford, which is fun and very

weird for Ron, I guess, because it's California and as Leslie points out, California has everything that Ron hates, but it's a really good school. I love too that we bring it back to Ron's financial advice from Ben and that he takes his advice too, that he actually listens to him because I mean, I know he listened to him in the will, but it was very like the will scene and everything situation. But it was also I felt like it was very reluctant and he didn't actually want to, but I feel like he did it

Madi (12:06.253)
Yeah.

Madi (12:15.556)
Yeah.

Madi (12:27.589)
Yeah.

Holly (12:30.06)
you know, nicely this time and he wanted to. So he sold some of his gold. He diversified his portfolio, which makes it nasty for Ron to say. He sounds disgusted just saying that out loud. But what we learn is that he invested in Logavolin. This part was definitely cut. This was not in the original air. He owns now fifty one percent. That's right next to Nick Offerman, by the way, is Morgan Sackett. And if you listened to he's a producer on the show and if you listened to

Madi (12:41.174)
Yeah.

Madi (12:46.33)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (12:57.794)
The episode with Jennifer Cation Armstrong, who wrote the book on Parkson Wreck. We had a whole discussion, slash she has a whole section in her book talking about how Morgan Sackett was responsible for getting to the UK and getting to London, paying for it all, getting to Scotland and everything. And I'm so glad that he was able to go t on this trip and be in the show and have that homage to him. and it's really funny too, because I looked it up, and this was another reason. I knew it was cut because I didn't remember it, but the other reason that I

confirmed that it was cut was because I looked it up and I was like, my gosh, did they actually go to Lagavulin again? Cause it looks like it. I don't think they just recreated that. And nowhere on the internet could I find that they went in season seven. They were like, no, they went in season six and it was this, that, and the other for London and Logavulin. And I'm like, that's cause it was cut and the internet doesn't know what it's talking about. But okay. So

Madi (13:49.927)
Well, I own I almost wonder if they had I don't know I guess that would be hard to get exactly that shot if you knew that if you didn't know that was gonna be Ron's ending. But I'm like, could they have had the the footage be from when they were there the first time and just been like, this this is a good example of like this is a good piece to put here. I don't know.

Holly (14:11.682)
Yeah, it could have been. yeah, well that's something that we'll definitely have to ask the producers or something if I ever get a chance to talk to them because I mean, yeah, it could have been. But I could definitely see Morgan figuring out a way to get to London just for this like five second shot, or Scotland, I should say. So yeah, but I think it's incredible that Morgan's in this shot just in general, because he was had such a hand in keeping parks on the air. So I'm forever grateful to him.

Madi (14:25.423)
Yeah.

Madi (14:36.239)
Absolutely.

Holly (14:37.878)
And this is so darling and such closure in Ron and Leslie's growth. Like he's at a crossroads again and he comes to Leslie again. And this is so deep I feel because it yeah, it it is that deep, as the kids say, slash comment on TikTok, because he's asking for her help and sla and grew and learned from the last time. Like we talked about this a lot when he du when she doesn't show up at J J's and we're like, Yeah, but you could have reached out again e even though I know you were hurt and that makes sense and all these kinds of things. So this is really nice of a closure moment that he

sticks with it and asks her and she's really listening. She grew too, it sounds like, you know, from really making this a worthwhile trip for Ron and he she's gonna spend every wicking moment trying to figure out what he wants to do next and helping him in his next destination.

Madi (15:26.5)
Yeah. Yes, super nice.

Holly (15:29.666)
So now we're at the Lincoln Washington Memorial Reflecting Pool. And again, I just love that parks memorialized this space and had that in multiple episodes because it's fucked now. It's trash. I've seen it. It's awful. I hate it. So mm-hmm. It's all covered with like

Madi (15:42.777)
Is it really? You can never tell if go ahead, sorry. I was just gonna say sometimes you can't tell, like when I've seen things online about it, it's like you can't tell if it's AI or if that's actually how it looks or s so I'm interested to s what it looks like.

Holly (15:48.331)
No, you can go ahead.

Holly (15:57.431)
Yeah, there's like a Yeah, there's like a big pool cover thing, like not a tarp exactly, but like, you know, those things. And it just like it looks like trash. And it's so it's awful. I hate it.

And I just like the reflecting pool is so I know that it's not everybody's cup of tea or whatever, but like when you're there, you can't help but be a little bit like mesmerized by how it's in the middle of the Lincoln and Washington memorial and the lawn is there and the reflecting pool is really cute. And to to me, I mean I know I'm biased, but to me like what Leslie says about it being really cute and special is real. it feels very historical 'cause it is.

But not even historical. I I mentioned this in the last one too. It just feels very monumental, you know, no pun intended. But like, yeah. And so now it's you can't it you can't see the pool itself. And I have I have no faith that this administration will do anything to fix it. So we'll see when it comes back. I don't know. Everything is destroyed with him.

Madi (16:41.157)
Yeah.

Madi (16:52.282)
Yeah. That's so sad.

Well, the yeah, 'cause this shot is beautiful. Like they really encapsulate how like almost how peaceful it must be right there, right? And it reminded it reminded me a lot of I used to walk and sit around the reflecting pool at the Christian Science Center in Boston. Because like for me and you're the same way with like beaches, like water just is like it. It's like I feel like a grounding there. And so it's so sad to think that like if you were to show up there to go on a walk

Holly (17:00.054)
Exactly.

Madi (17:26.822)
or just sit on a bench that it's empty and losing part of its life.

Holly (17:32.214)
Yeah. Well, and I think about like it has the peaceful aspect of it, but you also think about the true change and revolutions that have come from it. I mean, that's where MLK gave his speech. That's where a lot of protesters gave their speeches or marches or whatever. And to have it so like disrespected is terrible. But I'm glad that Parks and Rec shot it here and it's a true gift to see it in its limelight.

Madi (17:40.762)
Hmm. Yeah.

Madi (17:54.927)
Yeah. Yes. And I love that she says there's a little park nearby. Mm-hmm.

Holly (18:00.399)
I know, that's really cute too. Yeah, totally. But anyway, Ron doesn't know what he wants to do, but he knows he wants to feel useful and he can't figure it out. so Leslie does what she does for all of her friends and April, she did that for her too, and helps Ron figure out what he wants to do. And it's really cute and it's just very it's a nice testament to their relationship. and I love too, speaking of that too, he doesn't want to stay for the steak dinner because they're hosting people from the subcommittee on foreign affairs. I'll take that steak to go.

Madi (18:27.62)
Yep. So funny.

Holly (18:32.994)
So then we get to a scene of the Pawnee National Park. This is so sweet. Like it's so lovely because you know, we didn't really see this when the grizzle thing wrapped up. We did not have closure on what it was gonna look like or how it was maintained or anything like that. And yeah, I just I really don't remember I I feel like this last season I must not have watched as much on repeat because I don't remember seeing this sign in particular. so

But it's really pretty. And at the bottom it says like donated generously by Grizzle or whatever. and yeah, I just think it's really again, it's kind of metaphorical, this as well. the fruits of Leslie's labor, all the struggles, the fight with Ron, the stress with Grizzle. Like, it's just really nice to see this kind of light at the end of the tunnel of all of that. It's and it's really stunning. It's really beautiful. And the idea that from season one that Pawnee has a national park, like, are you kidding me? Like starting from the pit to here.

Madi (19:19.182)
Yeah, it's gorgeous. I would go there.

Madi (19:27.146)
Yeah. It is, yeah. A great it's a great visual when they're standing there immersed in water and trees and nature. It's really cool.

Holly (19:27.308)
This is it's so mind blowing and perfect.

Holly (19:33.549)
Yeah.

Holly (19:39.991)
And the national park scenes here. So the Pawnee National Park was filmed at Lake Gregory, which is a reservoir and regional park in California. It's in a small mountain town called Crest Line, which is about seventy miles northeast of LA. It's actually in the San Bernardino area, if anyone is around or wants to take a road trip. It looks wonderful. I looked it up. there's great pictures of people like swimming or canoeing or you know, what whatever. So I mean, great location scouting. It really does look tranquil and serene.

Madi (20:08.538)
Yeah, absolutely.

Holly (20:10.664)
Ron is meeting Leslie at the national park and he says this is a really nice piece of land and like good job saving this. And I don't know, I just love the way Leslie says it so nonchalantly, like, you wanna run it? It's so good.

Madi (20:25.882)
Yeah. The delivery is on point.

Holly (20:27.127)
And I I mean

Holly (20:31.2)
Yeah. And I mean, I just feel like I got so emotional at this point because she shuffled all this stuff around to make this possible. Like she is really like making her making good on her promise and something that not only is she making good on her promise, but like something that's so specific to Ron and she has all of the arguments ready for what he's gonna say. Like your job would literally be to walk around the land alone.

There's no changes to your actual life. You'll live in the same town. You'll talk to bears. Like, what's your argument? Stop it. And it's true. Like all his arguments are so dumb. Like, Ron, you're asking if you're qualified for running a park. Come on. Come on. But I understand where his hesitancy is.

Madi (21:09.242)
Yeah.

It's it's so interesting though too that we start his flash forward with he's making such a decision so quickly. And then we go to he's being given something that almost seems completely perfect for him and he's hesitating a little bit. So it's very interesting. interesting to see that difference. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Holly (21:33.123)
Yeah, it's like you can't believe it. So crazy. And Leslie already accepted for him anyway. Once he accepts, he's like, when do we start? And she's like, I forged your signature. I remember how to do that. So it's all good. And then he's meeting the Rangers. Yeah, today in five seconds. Just walk over here. he's meeting the Pawnee Rangers, which is amazing. Well, well, I don't know if they're the actual Pawnee Rangers, but you know, they live there, so I'm gonna call them that. And that will be his staff. These are the people that are saving and, you know, preserving the parks.

Madi (21:38.629)
Yeah.

Madi (21:44.006)
Today, right now.

Holly (22:03.24)
I love this too, just like the park of the reflecting pool, the preservation of parks shown here and represented here so beautiful, and exactly what I needed to see right now. I mean, with the current times of our parks being turned into data centers and having walls put up that don't need to be put up and just like so much destruction of our natural parks and things that people enjoy and are good for the planet.

This is really nice to see that this is I know it's fiction, but that's what I love about Parks and Wreck, that I just love seeing it displayed. That it could be true.

Madi (22:37.776)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Holly (22:42.518)
And then we get our famous buddy playing by Willie Nelson. Like, are you serious? This is so emotional. this is also famously well, famous to people who follow parks and people who follow Nick Offerman. Nick Offerman built this canoe called Lucky Boy, which is so precious. and apparently, I don't know if this is right, but he apparently it says online that he made it for a YouTube TV show host, Jimmy Deresta.

Madi (22:57.328)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (23:09.454)
So I don't know if that's legitimate or where the canoe is now, but it's just the bottom line is that he made this and it's so beautiful. And he's literally riding off into the sunset. Like it's so picturesque and perfect of a future for Ron. It's just amazing and gorgeous.

Madi (23:19.792)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (23:26.404)
Yeah. There w there was a part of me watching this that I was like, I'm so sad that we don't have Diane here with with him, like seeing how their story rounds out. But

There's also some beauty to it that it's Ron like kind of getting back to his roots to end his like government career. but I don't know, there was like a I'm I'm really glad we talk about his family and where the kids are and everything, but I think we talked about this a couple episodes ago as well, that like it would have been really cool to see how he and Diane's relationship was going and what they were doing together too.

Holly (24:01.374)
Yeah. I could see him more so or her more so like at Donna's wedding, I feel, or maybe at the funeral to comfort him. And we talked about this too, where they just couldn't work out the schedule for Lucy Lawless. but I think with the canoe in this park, I think I needed to see him be by himself and just be like, Man, you you now are doing something that you like and guess what? It's with the government.

Madi (24:07.078)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (24:22.266)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (24:23.938)
And I just needed it to a and Leslie in his relationship, I'm sorry, to me is more important. But but I do underst like and by more important, I just mean more important for the audience to see how the how the closure is coming together for them. Mm-hmm. Definitely.

Madi (24:30.34)
Hmm. No, that's fair. Yeah.

Madi (24:36.9)
Yeah. To close it out. Well, especially with how we started the season with them. Like we need that. I don't think Diane should be here at the park for sure. I that's not I was I just thinking like we got to see a couple stages of him getting here, like having her somewhere where it's like, you know, but I'm glad they r he references that his family, but I agree. Like him being alone in that canoe in the middle of the lake was what was needed for sure.

Holly (24:46.645)
Yeah. Yeah.

Holly (24:59.64)
Yeah.

Holly (25:05.482)
Yeah, totally. Yeah. It would have been cute to see her. so Ben is here back at the swing in Pawnee in present day, and of course in Leslie fashion, she says she's reconsidered everything. She thinks they need to stay in Pawnee. She's kinda spir spiraling a little bit. And this is, you know, classic Ben response, classic Ben Leslie relationship of like, I know, I know, I get it, I see it, I already know.

And I mean, honestly, I had a note too that I just think this is something that regardless of where she lives, like, this is something she's gonna wrestle with her entire life. Like, even though they go back and forth, I feel like even if she lives in Pawnee, I think she'll still wrestle with like, should I be in DC more, doing more for federal stuff? and so I mean I just and then if she's in DC, going back to Pawnee to like keep her

you know, district or whatever requirement. Like it's still I just think it's something that she is just gonna have to live with. And eventually I know she'll get there. But in this moment too, in particular when she's like, God, this is the end, you know, I could definitely see that spiral.

Madi (26:10.574)
Yeah. I relate really heavily to Leslie here. I this I always go through when I make a decision or there's a big change. It's like, is it right? Is this the right call? Like, no, there's things that I'm leaving behind that I don't want to leave behind. I really felt for her 'cause I all I will always have that moment and I'll I'll always end up moving forward, but I always have that that backslide for a second where it's like, my gosh, I shouldn't be making this change kind of thing.

Holly (26:38.898)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. and and yeah, I just really love too that this this special reassuring moment that encapsulates their relationship, like Ben supporting and grounding Leslie, and she's needing him and he's needing her, but she they also just believe in each other so much. and this is where Leslie kind of has her touch, I suppose, her magic flash forward touch to Ben.

So we flash forward to Ben and Leslie in 2025. And Ben is saying this is a nice house, you know, to distract Leslie. he's like, This is a nice house because they're clearly at some crazy party that's really fancy. and she he's trying to distract her from having a nervous breakdown. The nervous breakdown, of course, being that they are in Dr. Joe Biden and Joe Biden's home, which I love that Joe Biden and Joe Biden have come on the show multiple times. And

that they have been to the Biden's home many, many times, as we see from charades, as we see from her saying, You say that every time we're here. Like I just I I think it's a really great and I'm so glad that they got the Bidens to to to do this.

Madi (27:45.444)
Yeah, really really special.

Holly (27:48.247)
Yeah, totally. And I love too that they're all playing like when they play charades, Biden is like, She was here three and a half hours last time and Dr. Biden says, like, Well, that's just cause you lost. You're just mad 'cause you lost and I d they're so cute and that was f great writing and great acting, I feel. So precious. I I just liked it. I liked this whole thing.

Madi (28:02.852)
Yeah.

Madi (28:11.118)
Yeah. Yeah. It was really nice. Really really nice touch because we've seen him in previous seasons as well. So having having him come back to close out is also really cool.

Holly (28:22.156)
Yeah. So back at the Biden's house, Leslie is talking to someone who is saying that there's a rumor that the Indiana governor isn't going to run again and that the DNC is interested in her running. And we talked about this with Jennifer, the one who wrote the Parks and Rec book, that this is the only time they even remotely mention parties. they they don't even say the word Democrat, they just say DNC, which I know everyone understands what that is, but it's still very telling, I think, that they're not saying that out loud.

so I thought that was definitely worth mentioning because we just never hear that, you know.

The gal from the DNC is played by Kristen Aritza. Her character name is Janet Snorri, which I love. S N O R I. And she's been in a lot of things. Bosch, the rookie, all rise. She's also a theater actress as well. And she did a great job. She's like very political looking, I feel, which I is not a negative thing.

Madi (29:07.578)
Nice.

Madi (29:18.387)
Mm. No, yeah. Yeah. She played it very well.

Holly (29:23.01)
I also really like Leslie's hair here. like they put her hair up in kind of like this low bun thing. It's really precious.

Madi (29:25.67)
Mm.

Madi (29:29.518)
Yeah. I like when we see changes 'cause she wears her hair down a lot. So when she does have like a little change in how her hair is styled it it sticks out and it's always so well done.

Holly (29:38.922)
Mm-hmm. And then we get Jen Barkley being here. Jen walks in. I love how she is just guns blazing as she comes in. Like her whole stature is just like, my God. I gotta I gotta find him. I'm no highs to anybody, no like nonchalance, just like coming in hot.

Madi (29:55.141)
I don't even know if was she at the party. That was my question. Was like, did she just get a phone call about this in the other room and now she's coming in? Or like did she just show up at Joe Biden's house because of this news? Like I could picture her doing that second one. Yeah.

Holly (30:08.458)
Say it's the second one, yeah. Yeah. I think that she just heard this news and was like, I know where Ben is. I'm gonna go find him. But this is where Jen is asking Ben to be governor. when Leslie just asked was asked to be governor as well. and I love that they bring Jen back for this episode. I think it's great. This is her last episode when we did the series raps. this was where she was. which speaking of the series raps, I don't remember if I

Madi (30:13.998)
Yeah. Yep.

Holly (30:36.16)
said this or not, or maybe I don't remember. but I think I don't know. I just wanted to share that I had talked about how Ron and Leslie were in their series wraps, they were in their like yoga outfits after they were locked in the room, or in the parks apartment after it had like the sprinklers went off on them. So I thought that they shot that last. which they technically did.

But the whole when it says like that's a series rap on Parks and Rec, it actually was in this episode. The Ron and Leslie thing were punch-ups after. So they had to do some other like the they call them punch-ups, but which, you know, if you've worked in music or entertainment at all, you know what that is. But basically they're just doing some reshooting some stuff that they needed to get that they didn't get like clear enough or whatever or whatever the circumstance is. But so the series wraps.

was with the full cast in this last episode and they came back a little bit later. Again, they still shot something after the fact, but I think it's important to know. For me personally, I just like the closure of like, okay, they did rap with everybody together in this last season. In that last scene in particular. Anyway. So on the drive back home, they're both talking about the governor thing. but

Madi (31:41.1)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Holly (31:52.365)
They kind of are skirting around it, like they're both interested in running. And also like, I know this is a tense time, but I just kind of had that thought to myself of like, wow, what a power couple that they are both so qualified, so able to do this, so passionate. I just I really liked seeing that as as tense as it is.

Madi (32:02.618)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (32:12.122)
Yeah. We I mean, yeah. I I love seeing that all their hard work and the fact they are a power couple. They've you know, we've said this since they they first started, like and seeing it come to fruition in their future of like them ac accomplishing all these really crazy things as we continue to see through the these last scenes in this episode. Like it's just so cool to see that they're getting what they've worked so hard for.

Holly (32:37.014)
Yeah, totally. So I l I also like when Leslie's like, Well, obviously just like waiting for him to finish the sentence so she doesn't have to, and he's like, Yeah, obviously But none of them can say anything because they don't know what to do. I thought that was really well written.

Madi (32:45.274)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Madi (32:52.066)
Yeah.

Agree.

Holly (32:56.716)
Okay, so they're doing a pros and cons list, and it's literally the same list for both of them. And Leslie's like, you what? Let's just table it until we go to Pawnee and we'll just deal with it later. It the pros and cons list is not doing anything right now. And then we've got the are you ready? And we're not sure what that is, but it's really just like the tornado of the kids coming in. I do love hearing them. I I don't know, maybe I just didn't notice it, but I do love hearing the kids call them mom and dad.

Like I don't think I've heard that as starkly as it is in this one. And I love how chaotic it is. I love that they gave Sophia the girl the line about doing her homework because she's like studious and intelligent. And I just I love it all. So I think this was really well done and the fact that nobody takes broccoli, including Leslie, is perfect.

Madi (33:22.457)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (33:42.626)
Yes. So good. She passed it down. I I love the reminder too, like through them being so successful in a power couple, we still see them being successful parents. And I love I love that we get a glimpse into that as well.

Holly (33:46.275)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (33:54.968)
Mm.

Mm-hmm. All right. So now it's City Hall, which by the way, they have this exterior shot of the screens on City Hall, like saying July 7, 2025, and the temperature and the Harvest Festival sign up inside. Like a lot of places have digital signs like this outside of public buildings or whatever. But these looked so fake to me. Usually they're really good at superimposing signs and stuff, but it looked so weird. I had to pause it a couple times and be like,

What are they trying to do here? it's a sign on the outside of City Hall like being projected. Okay. yeah, I just thought it was funny.

Madi (34:33.316)
Yeah, yeah, I agree.

Holly (34:36.82)
but I know that they I know the point of like what they were trying to do. So I get it. We'll move on. and then you know, just another mention of Leslie's hair, outfit, everything here. I love this. This last moment that she has with the tie suit thing. And it's not really a tie, it's like part of the shirt, I think, but like it looks like a tie. Her hair is different. I just I think it's really cute. And I just mad props to everybody in the hair and makeup and costume department.

Madi (34:41.124)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (35:02.532)
Yeah, helping us kind of s separate the present and the future for sure.

Holly (35:07.98)
Definitely. So they're still deciding about who to run for governor. And she's saying, you know what? Maybe other people should weigh in. Like, let's just call everybody and get their ideas. We can all vote on it and whatever. And then Ben says, or we could talk to them in person. And he opens the door and everyone's there. Literally everyone, just like she wanted. my God, what a special surprise from Ben. That is so sweet.

Madi (35:25.253)
Yeah.

Madi (35:31.106)
Yeah. So thoughtful.

Holly (35:34.211)
And she didn't expect everyone to be inside. She thought they were just trying to go to the parks department and see all the changes and all the things that have happened. And yeah, they all look so fantastic. And she wanted everyone in the same room again from our twenty seventeen moment at the park bench or park swing, I should say. And here they are. And I love this sign. We're bringing back the signs that say, Welcome back, Leslie.

We've got another like crazy surprise, which I think obviously I knew this was going to happen, but I would I don't know that I would have anticipated happening if I wasn't like a super fan of the show that Anne and Chris come back. And I love that she pushes Ben away to hug Anne, even though he definitely wasn't in the way. She just doesn't want him near her.

Madi (36:12.324)
Yes.

Yeah. I also love his like she she says something like this is I couldn't p not possibly be happier and he says wanna bet right before she comes around the the corner. That's really great. Yeah. I love this. Yeah. And I love that Rashida, and I total Rob come back and like for for this final close out so that we see, okay, yeah, they have stayed connected throughout all these years. They are still close even though they don't they don't live

Holly (36:24.116)
Yeah, that's nice.

Cause he knows. He knows.

Madi (36:44.062)
near each other anymore. they've been able to maintain the friendship over the years. It's really nice. Not that we had any doubts, but it's nice to see.

Holly (36:51.916)
Yeah, totally. And I love that Mouse Rat is playing in the background during the party. It's really cute. Also, this funny thing, which is totally Leslie of like Leslie compliments Anne's hair and Ann is like, It's the pills I was telling you about. But Leslie swallowed them instead of cracking them on her hair, which is what you're supposed to do. I thought that was hilarious. Well, that's confusing because they're delicious.

Madi (37:12.75)
Yeah, I won Yeah. man. Yikes.

Holly (37:20.418)
And so then we've got Tom and Donna talking about Tom's new book, Failure 2.0, Failing to Fail. I was like, what? I think we've gone too far, but okay. Yeah. And Tom is asking, you know, if Donna's properly treating herself. but Donna and Joe spend most of their time on the foundation that they started in the last episode we talked about. and Tom says, you know what, you've changed, like you've betrayed me because we're not doing treat yourself and you've gone a nonprofit. But

Madi (37:30.542)
Yeah. What?

Holly (37:50.049)
We talked about this last episode too, where she keeps up with her swag and treating herself. She has a cool ass diamond watch. And come on, Tom, like you have to know that she did not abandon those beliefs. Like, you know what I mean? Come on.

Madi (37:53.776)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (38:00.557)
Yeah. Yeah. She's still Donna. She's still treating herself.

Holly (38:03.987)
Mm-hmm. She still loves her diamonds.

So Ron covers his badge with duct tape, which I thought was so stupid and funny though, because he doesn't want to advertise that he works for the federal government. But I'm like, bro, your whole uniform is a is a government-issued uniform. So funny. Then we've got classic Gary coughing after being complimented on about being the mayor, and I'm like, God, nothing's changed with him.

Madi (38:18.256)
So funny. I know, it screams it. It's not subtle.

Madi (38:34.266)
Mm-hmm. No. Consistency is key with with Gary.

Holly (38:40.662)
Yep. And then we've got Oliver and Leslie there, which is precious. Those are Anne's kids. April talks to Anne and says, like, your kids are surprisingly awesome, which is very special. I think that's cute.

Madi (38:54.35)
Yeah. It's nice. It's a nice little round out 'cause th they've had a lot of not I I don't wanna say necessarily conflict, but it hasn't been smooth sailing for their their friendship through the series. So it's nice to see that at the end.

Holly (39:06.518)
Yeah, and it still is. I mean, and April still kind of insults her by saying, like, those can't be your biological children. you know, but that's in keeping true fashion. Love that. and then this is where Leslie is giving Chris all the nopisms to give to Anne. I love that I think this is my favorite out of the whole show. I've said it before. Like, I love the you're a beautiful sassy mannequin come to life. That's so good. Love. Opalescent tree shark. I forgot about that one.

Madi (39:12.046)
Mm-hmm.

Madi (39:19.173)
Yep.

Madi (39:31.076)
Yes. So good. Love that. I love that he's taking notes. Yeah. Me too. Tree shark. Yeah.

Holly (39:37.706)
Opalescent tree shark. Yeah, wild. yeah, I like that he's taking notes too, and so that he can just have all of these in his back pocket.

Madi (39:47.578)
Yeah.

Holly (39:48.96)
Leslie asks what Chris is wearing on his arm and he says it's like some watch thing that scans your whole body. It feels very strange to me looking at this, but I don't think we're that far off from it.

Madi (40:00.451)
No, probably not. Although there's a lot of stuff in your blood that it would have to be able to read, I feel like. So, hmm.

Holly (40:06.464)
Yeah. Yeah. Or like MRI scans and things like that. I mean, I could see that being like centralized to a smaller point, maybe or something. But yeah, and I mean this goes back this was a deleted scene, but this goes back to when we were doing the grizzled tour of the grizzle campus and there was a deleted scene that was called like grizzle patch or something like that. And it was a patch that you put on your arm and it like scans your body essentially. so I think this one is a little bit more

Madi (40:30.072)
Holly (40:34.9)
what we would do these days maybe, like to have a watch or something. I think about that with like the aura ring or whatever the hell it's called. I know it's not the same, but anyway. And then you know, he she blows up his spot by saying that hi it might give him cancer. And he's like, now I'm worried about that.

Madi (40:51.694)
Yeah. Leslie. Yeah. Yikes.

Holly (40:56.566)
And Andy doesn't remember Chris's name. He calls him Chip. God. Andy. they show Jack Dwyer, which is a good callback to before, because I just don't remember seeing him as like a young toddler. So that's really cute. Love that. And then we learn that April's pregnant again. So they are doing the th the thing. and I love that for them. They seem like they're definitely more like

Madi (41:00.568)
Yeah. Chip Traeger.

Madi (41:13.2)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (41:25.782)
In sync with each other, which is nice.

Madi (41:28.358)
Mm. Yeah. The kid sometimes forces that. One way or the other.

Holly (41:33.462)
And then I love that she's like I love that she's like shh like don't tell anybody kind of thing. And he's like, yeah, 'cause cause the baby's sleeping question mark in your stomach. That's funny.

Madi (41:42.414)
Yeah. Still classic Andy.

Holly (41:47.907)
This is when Ben is talking to Anne about his board game and he's like kind of going on a tangent. Yikes. And it does remind me of when he did that once with her. I can't remember if it was Game of Thrones or something that he was talking to her about. And she was like, This is why we don't hang out. And I just love that they kind of brought that relationship back. It's so funny.

Madi (42:01.242)
Yeah.

Madi (42:04.814)
Yeah, I think it was Game of Thrones, if I remember correctly.

Holly (42:08.482)
And then this is where Tom has to come in with his weird ass comments of calling her sugar pee and going on a tangent about how Anne probably never got over them, like being together and she needs to move on. But I love the response where she's like, I I wasn't even listening. I don't even know what you just said. I tuned it out. Yeah.

Madi (42:21.624)
Me too. Yeah. I I stopped listening after sugar pee. Yeah. Which for me I feel like I got so f I got so frustrated with Tom when they were dating because he was so annoying to her. But then she would like feed back into it and 'cause she didn't know how else to respond to it. And so I just love this growth of like, I'm just not even entertaining anything you're saying to me anymore. Like, I don't got time for this.

Holly (42:48.118)
Yeah, I love that too. Yes, I love that too. Me too. Leslie runs in and says, my gosh, it's happening, it's happening. And it's really cute because the it's happening is when their kids are being super cute and maybe liking each other slash she said falling in love. but I was like, Leslie, that's a lot of pressure. But at the same time when Leslie like

claps and gives like the thumbs up and stuff. I'm like, my God, that's me. That would be me. If I had a kid that I saw was like falling in love with someone and I was happy about it, I'd be like, Yes, go you and they'll be like, never mind, whatever. I hate it.

Holly (43:27.585)
Exchange.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. All right. So this is the part where I was a little confused. So Chris says that you know, Mich the town of Michigan's really great and Arbor's great, but he's gonna move back and he's gonna run the admissions at Indiana. And I I don't know, I had a moment where I was like, was that part cut too? Because I don't remember that, first of all. But secondly, even if it wasn't, I was like, that's kind out of nowhere. I don't really like that they're moving back. I don't know why. I just it's weird to me.

Holly (44:00.355)
They made such a big deal about moving. I was like, What?

Holly (44:11.178)
he was doing admissions at yeah, he was doing the exact same thing. but now he's just gonna be at Indiana. It just made such a weird it was weird to me because like their whole thing for moving was to be close to family and Anne's thing was, you know, I'm not even from Pawnee. And now that their kids are like growing up, I I would think like they would want grandparents around more. I mean, maybe like yes, well, not even more, just like in general throughout the kids' lives.

So that was a little weird to me. I was like, Why are you moving back? That I don't like that. Personally, personally, but

Holly (44:48.183)
It didn't track.

Holly (44:57.868)
Yeah. Anyhow, yeah. Yeah. So Ron took the quiz in Tom's book because like we talked about last episode, there are tests to figure out which character you are, and Ron is a Ron. But then Ben apparently got Tom and

He's like free Tom is freaked out about that. I feel like I remember Gary saying he got Tom too, but that was cut out of this part. And so I I feel like they had a scene in there and that was so shocking and devastating to Tom because I mean we mind that Ben got Tom, but especially when Gary gets it, you're like, something's changing. I gotta go recalibrate. He immediately leaves because he's I can't do it.

Holly (45:48.333)
Yeah. So Ben and Leslie are talking now. He's asking if anyone has insights on who should run for governor, but neither of them has even asked anyone because they've just been so busy catching up. And they come to the conclusion that's totally true. that all that matters is that they each support each other and they each support what each other is doing. And also great points on Leslie's end of like it's not well and Ben's end, both of them say this really, that it's not the only career opportunity for either of them. And also whoever runs might not win. So it might not even be like worth all this

Tension anyway. Plus, like the person who doesn't win is always gonna be like second in command in their lives and helping with decisions and stuff like that. So Leslie comes to the conclusion that we should just flip a coin, like literally, because they're each so qualified, they're so equal in this. and yeah, and so I mean, honestly, not a bad idea at the end of the day for this.

Holly (46:51.632)
Mm. Yeah. I agree.

Holly (47:00.608)
Right. And that's where Ben's at. Like Ben can't believe it. Like you queen of pros and cons list and you know, thinking everything out, you wanna flip a coin. But she says and yeah, to your point, she's like, But we tried that and we tried everything and like literally whatever happens, we're in it together. And then everyone can sign the coin that they flip and make its way into the Smithsonian eventually.

And then they're about to make the announcement and Ben has this beautiful moment and once you see Ben's look, I feel like you can tell what he's about to do. Like, or like, I don't know, because the especially after they leave, I don't know if you noticed it. It was kind of quick, but after she leaves that little conference room where they're talking by themselves, she ha he has like a little moment that the camera catches, and you're like, Okay, we know what he's gonna do. And it's super cute. Ben's make

Ben makes the announcement, kind of cuts Leslie off, saying Leslie's running. And I mean, he lists all these reasons, but the most important reason to him and I think to the audience, really, for how long we've seen her be in this position is that, you know, she wrote that she wanted to be governor in her kindergarten dream journal. And it just makes sense. And I think that's wonderful and a great decision on both of their parts.

Holly (48:16.224)
And that made me laugh out loud too when Leslie has her last little thing of like, he has a tight, compact body like an Italian sports car.

Holly (48:29.038)
so then we've got Tom saying like let's all go to Tom Spistro, which was a good reminder for me because to be honest, I like, So Tom Spiistro didn't die? I thought it was completely done, but it sounds like with the franchising it was just under new management that wasn't him. So it is still open, but he's now managing it. So

Yay, and then Leslie's Toast. It's so perfect. Her speech is exactly the incrementalism that we talked about. This is the thesis, truly, of what Mike Scher talked about. The Obama-era incrementalism. J and she literally uses the word increment, doing things in increments, making the smallest changes, if that's what's necessary, to make somebody's life even one percent better every day. And that is the tr I'm loved that they ended that. That is the true statement of this whole entire show. And

Doing it together too. they she added that in because that's really important to the show as well, like doing it with your community with people you love. And those early shots that they flash back to of her putting in swings with the kaboom people and you know, poking that drunk guy out of the slide and all these kinds of things. I mean, that really is the dream to do this work with people that you love. So I I love that that little speech wrapped it up.

Holly (49:49.547)
Mm-hmm, definitely.

Holly (50:14.412)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Definitely. So then we cut to Leslie's speech at Indiana University in twenty thirty-five. She has two terms as governor. So she did win her run as governor. and the parks people are all there. All of the university people are all there. It looks really nice. And in addition to her honorary doctorate from the School of Public Policy, they're also naming the library after her, which there we go with the bleeping, like

A library, come on guys.

Holly (50:52.799)
funny. Yeah, that makes sense if it was, yeah. I would be so happy if a library was named after me.

Holly (51:07.712)
Mm-hmm. So it sounds like Leslie or Ben have been elected president of the United States. and again, we don't really know which one, but in this episode, this is what we talked about at the end of the last episode. However, in this episode in particular, when she's giving the speech, she kind of has a vague sentence where she says, And an and soon I'll have a whole new challenging position or role or whatever.

And so it kinda makes the person think the audience think that she is president. But I don't know still.

Holly (51:44.921)
So I do too. I do too. And I think in my dreams, she is the president. I mean, I just like, what else? Like she's been working hard to get to this point all the time. Like she is. Come on. I just I can't see it any other way. But again, like, you never know. So the woman who presents Leslie with these accolades, the memorial and the honorary doctor and everything is played by Galen Gorge, I wanna say, G-O-R-G.

the character name is my gosh, I love this character name. It's right up there with Dan Candle for me. The character name for this lady is Josefina Academia. Josefina Academia. I love that. It's so perfect. Academics. She was an actress, a dancer. Sadly, she actually passed away from cancer in 2020, which is so sad because she was so fantastic in this and in a bunch of things. It looks like she was in Robocop 2, a bunch of Star Trek.

CSI Miami lost a bunch of Christmas movies and I couldn't tell if they were Hallmark or what channel, but they look definitely really fun. So well done to her.

Holly (52:54.71)
And then we cut back to the swing. The swing is fixed. Everything's done. The guy who originally asked for it just says, Okay, great. Bye. Like not even a thank you. And yeah, that's so true what Larry or not Larry, Leslie says, like, set that tracks. That's about right.

Mm.

Yep, exactly. Ugh. So they kinda do what they do and just move about their day, I guess. And it's like, yeah, that's right, okay. And then they kinda don't know what to do after that. After the thing that is their final chore, I guess, or task in as the parks department together, they kind of just stand there and are like, Okay, so like, do we leave now? What do we do? And perfect Gary is like, I promised Gail I'd get a picture for all time's sake.

And that's really sweet because good idea. Gary has a good idea, Leslie said. And I think I thought the exact same thing. I was like, yeah, why isn't there a picture of being taken or something? I just love it so much. And then they set it up and we've got all the characters kind of doing their thing of like Tom doesn't like the lighting or whatever the hell, so he wants to be photoshopped. April says she's not gonna show up because she's a vampire, and Bert does Bert Macklin and

All the other new characters, Andy doesn't know which character to be, all these kinds of things. So I thought that was really cute that they like sprinkled that in.

Holly (54:24.876)
Yeah. And this is so special when Ben asks, Are you ready, babe? And she says, Yes, I'm ready. Because for me, and I don't know, I'm sure people who have been watching this caught it as well. But this was at the beginning of the episode when or beginning of this season, I should say, and the end of last season, when he asks her if she's ready, and she says no, but that's never stopped us before. But she has finally gotten to the point where she can say, Yes, I'm ready for whatever.

happens. We've done this work. We've moved forward. We can handle anything together. This parks department can handle anything. Like I'm ready. And it's time. And I just think that is so beautiful and special.

Holly (55:26.786)
Yeah. Yeah. And I love that they end on bloopers and fun moments though. Like that is so important.

Holly (55:43.09)
Yeah, and ending it on this uplifting song, like, yeah, it's so good. And having the last little scene be with everybody hugging and Jerry, Gary in his coffee costume thing. yeah, I just I love that so much. It's so cute.

Holly (56:40.886)
Yeah, I agree. And yeah, all of Mike Scher's shows, I feel, or anything that he had a hand in, always ends somewhat uplifting, but if it's not like totally happy, it's almost like bittersweet and you have closure regardless. so I think that's really important too. And it's never like, why'd they end it that way? You know what I mean? Or to for to me it was none of his shows have been. So yeah, that's a good point. Well, that's the ending.

Yeah, you definitely have those ones. my gosh, totally. but yeah, that's the end of my notes. So did you have anything left on your notes?

Holly (57:41.901)
Mm-hmm.

Holly (57:46.221)
Yeah.

Holly (57:58.219)
Yes, we've talked we've actually talked about this very Seth Myers episode on this podcast. but I didn't know it was that night. Okay. Yes, we have seen this. Or I have seen this and we have talked about this. I just didn't know. Okay, got it. Yeah, it was r that part was really weird.

Holly (58:20.93)
No thanks.

Holly (58:36.118)
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. And Seth Myers too, where everybody knows him and his friends with him, so yeah.

Holly (58:47.82)
Yeah.

Holly (58:53.526)
Yeah, I'm glad it was Seth though. Yeah. Well, don't forget that you can always rate review, subscribe. You can always keep up with us on our social media. Obviously, well, maybe not obvious to some of you, but I've been kind of backlogged with the videos in a good way, because we can keep it going and I'll be posting for quite some time after this airs. and then I'm still looking into doing interviews. I actually have I've talked to Ian Phillips, who is the

Set decorator slash like art design. He and friendly reminder that he was the worker who worked at the sign store, the Scientologist. they brought him in to be a cr a cast member. So I'm gonna be talking to him later on, which is great. And we'll probably, I mean, I hope to have more interviews, who knows? But you can always keep up with us on Instagram. I'll try to be some do active things on there as well. And you can always go back and listen to.

So yeah, this has been really fun and thank you guys so much for tuning in. this is one of our favorite TV shows. So exciting, exciting stuff. And if there's any guest stars too that I didn't touch base with that want to be on the show or want to like contribute in any way, I am happy to do that. So thank you all for listening.

Holly (01:00:08.941)
Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Holly (01:00:16.022)
Okay, we'll talk to you soon and we'll talk to you whenever we can.