Although there are a lot of moments in Parks & Recreation that justify my general love for the show, it always comes back to this particular moment. At the very end of Season 3, Episode 12 there is a moment where Leslie presents to Ron a private dinner, consisting of his favorite steak, a dish full of bacon, a bottle of whiskey, and a television playing classic war movies. This spoils absolutely nothing, because one, at this point, I’d imagine most Parks & Rec fans have already seen this, and two, without the circumstances and context behind it, this scenario is relatively meaningless.
But it’s a touching moment between two core characters that displays the genuine platonic love, respect and admiration that exists between them, that kind of comes out of nowhere, considering the frantic and comedy-driven nature of the show as a whole. It’s nothing too heavy, there’s nothing written between the lines, and yet there’s a lot of emotion in this brief exchange between the characters. One of those “faith in humanity restored” kind of feelings afterward for a guy like me.
It wasn’t until I read some reviews on this particular episode did it dawn on me of what makes the show particularly good in my opinion; the simple fact that the characters don’t get cynical as the series continues. You look at all sorts of shows that are or were popular, and it’s transparently clear how often this happens. So many shows devolve to the point where characters simply pass the aired minutes by simply griefing each other or whether it’s deliberate or not, being the foil to other characters’ plans. It gets old, and it serves to show why some shows simply aren’t around anymore. I love Married With Children, but there’s no denying that the last few seasons were pretty formulaic with everyone being set on pretty much cockblocking whatever Al has cooked up, regardless of what it could possibly be. I haven’t seen beyond season three of Parks & Rec, but they’ve maintained the ability to keep a happy medium of plot and character development without the cast losing their hearts.
Anyways, if anyone were ever to ask me what my favorite part of Parks & Rec was, I actually have an easy answer to that inquiry. Unlike most other things that people might ask me.
