Top 10 'Parks and Recreation' episodes

1. Moving Up

I’m so happy and grateful that Parks and Recreation got a final seventh season, but if the show had ended with the season six finale “Moving Up,” I would have been totally satisfied. This is an unbelievable episode, both emotionally satisfying and a tribute to everything that the show stands for. The episode revolves around the unity concert, which the Parks Department puts on as an event to untie Pawnee and Eagleton. Like with the Harvest Festival, in this episode we get to see the fruits of the department’s labor, and seeing how much joy the concert brings the town reminds us of why Leslie is so passionate about what she does.

So many of the best characters of the show make an appearance throughout the episode including Jean Ralphio, Mona Lisa, Barney from the accounting firm, Duke Silver, and of course Lil Sebastian. Andy reprising “5000 Candles in the Wind” at the unity concert, with the surprise appearance of Duke Silver and Lil Sebastian, is one of the funniest and oddly emotionally satisfying moments of the show. It calls back to some of the best the show has offered, provides us closure with the Duke Silver storyline, shows us the citizens of Pawnee all united together, and allows Ben to give one more confused look to the camera.

The episode also revolves around Leslie’s decision about taking a job away from Pawnee, and her fellow employees all tell her she has to do it, knowing it’s her dream job. This storyline shows just how different Parks became from The Office, with everyone genuinely, truly caring about Leslie, to the point where they get a statue made in tribute to her. Combining hilarious moments like Ben playing the Cones of Dunshire with emotionally resonant closure and a stunning ending with the time skip, “Moving Up” is easily the show’s best finale, and one of its best episodes period. It's going to be really difficult for the series finale to top this.