‘Parks and Rec’ ends with epic, touching finale

“I want to believe their future is better than their past.”

This optimistic sentiment — the stock-in-trade of “Parks and Recreation” — is what co-creator and showrunner Mike Schur said he envisioned for the characters of his NBC comedy, which capped off seven seasons Tuesday with an epic episode co-written by Schur and star Amy Poehler.

Over the course of an hour, the entertaining finale covered more ground than a national park. And here’s where I get my Leslie Knope on and roll out a big banner that reads: SPOILERS AHEAD.

The series’ ambitious, sprawling swan song featured a birth, a death, a fake death, flash forwards, flashbacks, lots of resolution and a little intrigue. (That phalanx of Secret Service-type agents behind Leslie in 2048 implies that a career birthed in public service at Pawnee City Hall ended at the White House for President Knope.)

The fun ended on a somber note, with a written message of love dedicated to the late Harris Wittels, a “Parks and Rec” executive producer who died last week at age 30.

The finale saw the return of characters big and small, from former mainstays Ann and Chris to bit players, including prolific porn star-turned-city council president Brandi Maxxxx, Shauna the Pawnee Journal reporter and a cameo by Leslie’s No. 1 crush, Vice President Joe Biden.

A united quest to repair a broken playground swing made an ideal jumping-off point for the feel-good final chapter of a story that began in 2009, with a pilot that had Ann asking the parks department to fix a troublesome pit near her house. Leslie literally threw herself into the job back then, and her contagious enthusiasm was still running strong 125 episodes later.

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As Chris (Rob Lowe) would say, it was *literally* a touching finale. Handshakes and hugs triggered glimpses into the future of each and every one of the Pawnee parks crew, a disparate group of government workers who ultimately shared the same goal: Make the world, or at least their little corner of it, a better place.

It’s only fitting that’s where they ended up, too.

Treat yo self to a rundown of the fates that unfolded in the series finale for the unforgettable denizens of Pawnee:

Donna Meagle (Retta)

The bling-loving real estate agent is living the good life in Seattle with her adoring husband, Joe (Second City alum Keegan-Michael Key). Donna discovered her philanthropic side and ponied up the cash to create an education program, Teach Yo’ Self, so educators like Joe can help kids learn in the face of school budget cuts.

Garry/Jerry/Larry Gergich (Chicago native Jim O’Heir)

Turns out the bumbling notary public made a beloved mayor of Pawnee, where he served at least 10 terms before dying peacefully in his sleep in 2048 at the ripe old age of 100 — a milestone he celebrated alongside his supermodel wife, Gayle (Christie Brinkley), who hilariously hadn’t aged a day. Also hilarious: They misspelled his name on his tombstone.

April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt)

Satan’s niece comes around to Andy’s way of thinking and spawns baby Jack in 2023 on Halloween, when Dr. Saperstein (Henry Winkler) delivered the bundle of joy to the tune of “Monster Mash.” Another baby is on the way.

Schur said the writers initially envisioned Andy — the reformed slacker and former shoeshine guy — becoming mayor of Pawnee. “At a certain point he became far too stupid for even local government to be the mayor,” Schur said. “Actually, that’s not true. There are stupider people who hold office.”

Leslie Knope (iO-trained Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott)

Congressman Wyatt and his Department of the Interior wife, who saw the creation of Pawnee National Park in 2018, were both approached to run for governor of Indiana. The Cones of Dunshire creator graciously stepped aside to let the mother of their triplets give it a go. (So refreshing — and so very “Parks and Rec”-like — to have a man sacrifice his career ambitions for the sake of a spouse.) We learn Leslie served two terms as the Hoosier state’s top elected official. She gave the 2035 commencement address at Indiana University, whose campus library bears her name. And I like to think she ended up as leader of the free world, as evidenced by the aforementioned Secret Service detail. (I tossed that question to the show’s producers Tuesday and was told Leslie’s status as U.S. president was “undetermined.” Not in my mind.)

Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari)

The Tom’s Bistro franchise kingpin couldn’t cut it in a beefless America, forcing him to lose much of his fortune and — worse yet — his swagger. With the encouragement of his wife, Lucy (Natalie Morales), Tom got both back and became the successful author of a book on failure. (Given the hamburger dinner at the Knope household in 2025, we’ll assume the country bounced back from the Great Beef Crisis — undoubtedly dark days for Ron Swanson.)

Ron Swanson (Minooka native and University of Illinois alum Nick Offerman)

Despite diversifying his portfolio to include ownership in a whiskey distillery and tearing it up in the private sector running Very Good Building & Development, Ron felt like he was wasting his life cooped up in an office. Leslie offered her former boss his dream job overseeing Pawnee National Park. If you didn’t smile at the sight of him peacefully paddling his “Lucky Boy” canoe, your face is broken.

Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe)

Leslie’s BFF and her extremely healthy husband made the decision to leave Ann Arbor and head back to Pawnee in 2025 so Chris could take an admissions job at Indiana University. Their son, Oliver, appeared to be on track for an arranged marriage with little Leslie. Let’s hope those kids grow to love each other half as much as big Leslie loves Ann.

Craig Middlebrooks (Billy Eichner)

The ex-Eagleton employee who went on to run Pawnee’s parks department married Typhoon (Rodney To) in a ceremony officiated by Chicago native Horatio Sanz (Poehler’s Upright Citizens Brigade buddy and former “Saturday Night Live” star). Nice touch having Ron Swanson serve as the hair stylist’s best man.

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein (Ben Schwartz)

Dr. Saperstein’s wonderfully obnoxious son faked his own death to collect the insurance money and open a casino in Something-stan with his equally obnoxious sister, Mona-Lisa (Jenny Slate). The finale wouldn’t have been complete without an appearance by the scene-stealing Sapersteins — the sole “Parks and Rec” characters that pique spinoff potential in Schur’s mind.

“The only spinoff I really want to write is the Sapersteins with Henry Winkler, Jenny Slate and Ben Schwartz,” he said. “I would write that in a heartbeat. If anyone wants to buy that show and those three actors are in, I would happily write that show.”

And I would happily watch.