With seasons five and six, the very things that made “Parks and Recreation” special — its good-heartedness and its characters’ ambition – threatened to sink it down into mediocrity. It took season seven’s time skip to save it.
When “Parks” was at its peak, it balanced incredible comedy with a deep sweetness. Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope defined and still defines the tone of the show — sunny, caring, feisty, ambitious and heartfelt.
“Parks” loves its characters and only wants the best for them, which worked well when the show was young. But with the fifth and sixth season, it got soft. Without real stakes and conflicts for the characters, the show settled into a holding pattern of cycling its characters from job to job. One week, April (Aubrey Plaza) becomes Deputy Director of the Animal Control; another week, Tom (Aziz Ansari) opens a small business. There wasn’t much left to learn about the characters, so they were put in a warmed-over purgatory (though, admittedly, a funny one).
Season seven isn’t a radically different show, but by reintroducing conflict and giving its characters real resolution, it’s saving the show from itself. The three-year time skip allowed the writers to set up new dynamics to well-worn relationships, most importantly pitting Leslie and Ron (Nick Offerman) against each other.
Tom is no longer forever making up new business ventures — now he’s a bona fide mogul, and can finally confront what success means to him. Andy (Chris Pratt) isn’t being swung from odd job to odd job — he has an appropriately madcap career as children’s show host Johnny Karate, and can now have plots unrelated to whatever career he’s pursuing. April is still searching for a job (not all season seven plots can be winners).
The problem with constantly having your characters moving forward is that if the status quo doesn’t actually change, then the show is at odds with the characters. The time skip has given “Parks” an organic way to actually give its characters closure, moving its cast to the final stages of their personal journey.
While closure does make for a good final season, it’s the reintroduction of conflict that really makes this season sing. Leslie’s struggle against Eagletonians and Councilman Jamm filled episode plots, but they lacked personal stakes for the characters.
By turning Leslie and Ron from close friends to enemies, “Parks” has given the show a last breath of life. It’s no surprise that last week’s “Leslie and Ron” was one of the best episodes of the show’s run — it was built on a strong dramatic foundation, and the jokes found their way in.
“Parks and Recreation” airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on NBC, two episodes at a time. While the show has stayed funny and warm through its five-year run, season seven is proving itself to be a return to form, and is definitely worth watching.