On tonight’s Parks And Recreation season 5, episode 20, “Jerry’s Retirement,” when Leslie finds out Jerry is retiring, she struggles with the proper way to commemorate the occasion. Chris and Ann prepare to have a baby together, while Tom worries he will become the office punching bag once Jerry leaves.
The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town — and advance her career — Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park.
Opposing them are defensive bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, real estate developers, and single-issue fanatics — whose weapons are lawsuits, the jumble of city codes, and the very democratic process that Leslie loves so much. Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson, who is philosophically opposed to government in any form. Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz, whose outlook has been soured by 15 years of public service. If they can pull it off, Leslie hopes that she also will have inspired her uninterested college intern April (Aubrey Plaza) and April’s whole generation – all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.
Parks And Recreation season 5, episode 20, “Jerry’s Retirement,” airs April 18, at 8:30pm est on NBC. Spoiler pictures below:
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