You’re probably still wiping away tears after last night’s Parks & Recreation finaleâmaybe you’re taking a sick day because you still can’t stop ugly-cryingâand we understand completely. After seven seasons of laughs, tears, and waffles, itâs time to say goodbye to Parks & Rec. We will always cherish the show that brought us Galentine’s Day, Lilâ Sebastian (RIP), Mouse Rat, and Treat Yo Self. The characters have taught us so much about life, love, and the importance of hard work. Last night’s finale gave us tearful endings for our favorite characters, but we couldn’t have asked for a better way to say goodbye to Pawnee. Here were the best surprises from the finale.
Warning: Spoilers!
1. The return of Ann Perkins & Chris Traeger
After moving to Michigan in Season 6, Ann Perkins and Chris Traeger returned to Pawnee for good. Even though a Leslie-Ann reunion was very likely from the start, we were still super excited to see these two best friends together again. Their friendship was one of the strongest on television, and we’re glad that in the end it’s still as strong as ever. #FriendshipGoals.
2. RIP Garry
It’t been nothing but bad news for Garry throughout the show’s seven seasons. After maintaining the title of office joke for so long, it was nice to see him end up becoming the Mayor of Pawnee and living to be 100. Although he passed away, he was surrounded by his loving (and anti-aging) wife Gail and his beautiful daughters. Rest in peace Garry, Larry, Jerry, Terryâwhatever your name is.
3. Tom is a best-selling author
We’ve all watched Tom’s many business ideas fail over time, but this time it was failure that actually helped him succeed. He became a best-selling author of a self-help book highlighting the different types of success using his own friends as examples. Even in the future, Tom still has swagger!
4. April & Andy are parents
Of course, April finally gave in and admitted she did in fact want to be a mother. We’ve seen Andy and April’s relationship grow from the start and finally, they’ve expanded their family. They had a son named Burt Snakehole Ludgate Karate Dracula Macklin Demon Jack-O-Lantern Dwyer… or just Jack, for short. It was also revealed that April is pregnant with her second child. Hopefully they’ll just stick with the name Jonny Karate next time.
5. Leslie & Ann’s kids fall in love
This moment was a serious tearjearker. Not only did we find out that Ann’s daughter’s name is Leslie, but that her son has a serious crush on Ben and Leslie’s daughter. Can you imagine if these two got married? A Galentine’s bachelorette party? Wedding waffles? Not to mention the best mothers-in-law ever.
6. Leslie becomes Governor
Leslie’s political career has flourished over the past couple seasons but last night she got her dream of becoming Governor of Indiana. Both Ben and Leslie were in the running, but Ben stepped down knowing Leslie wanted it more. During the last couple of minutes we saw Leslie as the Governor giving a commencement speech where they (unfortunately) renamed a library after her. We all know the only thing Leslie hates more than libraries is Greg Pikitus.Â
7. POTUS?
The real cliffhanger of the finale was the question of who becomes president? In one of the flash-forwards we saw Ben and Leslie at Jerry’s funeral with secret service agents behind them. The creator of the show, Michael Schur, purposely left this open for interpretation, but we like to think it was Leslie Knope who became the first female President.
The Parks finale isn’t just the end of a television series, but the end of an era as well. It’s hard to say goodbye to a show that not only made us laugh, but taught us so much about perseverance and dreaming big. Thank you, Parks and Recreation, for LITERALLY everything. Oh, and always, always remember to “Be the Leslie Knope of whatever you do.”