Goodhearted sitcom says goodbye to its characters with wit and grace
NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” has always worn its heart on its sleeve, combining sharp humor and world-building with a huge amount of affection for its characters.
Considering the show’s unabashed sentiment, it’s no surprise that the departure of Rob Lowe’s Chris Traeger and Rashida Jones’s Ann Perkins from the show would come as a tearful goodbye in “Ann and Chris.”
“Parks and Recreation” was one of the best shows on television during seasons two through four, but since season five, the show has been on a slow, graceful decline.
“Parks” is basically in the perfect position to coast; over the course of its run, it’s established Pawnee as the most robust comic setting since Springfield in “The Simpsons,” and it has developed its characters to near-perfection.
Even with gradually softer comedic writing, the show still has one of the best casts on television, and it knows how to use it, as exemplified by the character moments of “Ann and Chris.”
As befitting the unbridled can-do spirit of Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, the episode is mainly centered on Ann’s epic going-away party, with festivities for every holiday — Leslie doesn’t know when she’ll see Ann next and wants to knock out each holiday, leading to Thanksgiving turkey, Easter ham and an unnecessarily detailed President’s Day section.
As impressive as the party is, Leslie’s real surprise is the opening of the Pawnee Commons, the park that she promised Ann she would build five years ago and that marked the beginning of their friendship. The opening is blocked by bureaucratic maneuvering, and there’s a cursory plotline where Leslie and Ann team up one last time to get something done, but the real meat of the episode are the individual goodbyes.
Ann has mostly been defined by her relationship with Leslie; the two make up one of the best friendships on television, and whenever they’ve fought, it has always been when the show is at its sharpest.
However, “Ann and Chris” proves that Ann was important to other characters, too. Ann was a fellow serial dater with Donna, a girlfriend to Tom and Andy, a helpful presence in Ron Swanson’s life and an adversary to April.
It’s April that gets one of the episode’s most touching moments, as she lets her guard down for just long enough to mumble “I love you.” It’s fantastically sweet and genuinely surprising, proving that even six seasons down the line, “Parks” still has the power to surprise.
Chris has perhaps been similarly sidelined over the show’s run, but he’s still a delightful presence on the show thanks to Rob Lowe’s unmitigated enthusiasm in the role. He, too, gets a goodbye scene with almost every character: his libertarian rival Ron, his enthusiastic friend Andy and his best friend and complement Ben Wyatt.
Chris has grown into a part of the show’s beaming, optimistic heart, and it’s a blow to see him leave.
The net effect is sweet and melancholy, and a terrifically character-based half hour. The plot may have been unambitious, but really, it wasn’t the point.
Ann and Chris were important not just to the show but to the characters populating it, and “Ann and Chris” was literally one of the most well-rounded goodbyes we could have asked for.