Parks And Recreation: 5 Reasons Why "Moving Up" Would Have Been A Perfect Ending For The Show

4. Character Growth

The special hour-long finale did more than give happy endings for the Parks Department staff; it also demonstrated just how far all of the main characters have come over the past six years. Tom Haverford grew from unenthusiastic underling to founding his own business(es) and then opening a restaurant. For his part, "Moving Up" Andy is almost unrecognizable from Season 1 Andy. He helped organize and manage the massive undertaking of the Unity Concert. He sings original children's songs as Johnny Karate instad of rewording "Sex Hair" to fit whatever the occasion, and he remembers to ask for clarification before feeding bags of marshmallows to toddlers. He's happily married to April, of all people, who has developed a respectable work ethic, cares about her coworkers, and totally awesomesauces her goofy husband. Ron F*cking Swanson was a Libertarian who largely disliked his job, conversation, and most people. His only weaknesses were for meat and women named "Tammy." He avoided learning the names of those around him and deliberately hired the most ineffective assistant that he could find. By "Moving Up," however, he is married to a woman not called Tammy, proud father to a baby boy, and doting stepfather to a pair of princess-loving little girls. He has no trouble resisting Tammy 2, and he reveals the closely guarded secret of his saxophone-playing alter ego Duke Silver on the urging of his new family. He still hates the government, but he's much more open to fun that extends beyond budget-cutting. Leslie Knope went from fighting tooth and nail for enough dirt to fill in a giant pit in the ground to literally having everything that she wanted: meeting dreamboat Joe Biden, living in Pawnee, managing a significant portion of the United States National Parks for the federal government, and building a family with the man that she loves. She even got bangs! It's a far cry from where she was in the pilot, and it was great to see.