This decision isn’t played out as a dramatic shift, nor does it awaken any dormant romantic feelings between Leslie and Mark rather, it simply leaves the two characters to think about their futures, to accept that their dreams may not match up with reality and they’re set to go their separate ways. However, the government isn’t filled with Leslie Knopes – and if it was it probably would have gone bankrupt a lot sooner – so Mark is taking a buyout and moving to a private firm. It’s a sweet little scene, as Mark gives Leslie a parting gift of some designs for the park she dreams of building and tells her that if the entire government was filled with people like her he probably would have stayed. The scene which sums up “Freddy Spaghetti” is our goodbye to Mark Danbranoquitz, as Leslie and Mark sit on a bench on what was supposed to be a park and which has become an empty lot where children’s concerts can be held. It doesn’t actually bring any of the season’s storylines to a wholly positive conclusion, but it complicates things in such an infectious fashion that it loses none of its momentum, and heads into a (sadly too, too long) hiatus with the best season of comic television we saw this year in its back pocket.Īnd no seven month break is going to change that fact. It ends up leaving everything in a state of flux, with very little optimism about the future, and yet the show’s characters still seem so positive about their present situation that you feel like they can rise above any potential challenges. “Freddy Spaghetti” is the epitome of this type of finale, delivering plenty of evidence which captures the heart and soul of this show while introducing other elements that threaten that stability without necessarily overwhelming the positivity inherent to these characters. The best comedy finales are those which find elements of conflict within elements of stability, emphasizing the reasons that we love watching the show week-after-week and the reasons why it remains lively and eventful enough to keep from becoming too familiar. This is normally fine, but it seemed especially tough tonight, as every other show has to live up to the level of quality that Parks and Recreation has right now. When I write about the Thursday comedies, I have to write about them after I finish watching them all, as there’s too many other Thursday programs recording on the common DVR which requires I watch them on a recording device-free television set.

Parks and rec freddy spaghetti episode