A lot of shows have that one character who, sometimes unfairly, becomes the butt of all the jokes. On Parks and Recreation, that character is most certainly Jerry Gergich. Even with all the strange side characters in the show, kind and friendly Jerry falls victim to constant insults, humiliation, and injuries.
The audience can often get caught up in how fun it is to see all the mistreatment of Jerry, but it's hard not to feel sorry for him at times. There are moments where all the things Jerry has to put up with stop being funny and start becoming sad.
10 His Name
Jerry is a man who is always eager to please and never wants to be an inconvenience. However, that kind of approach can sometimes go too far, especially where his name is concerned. Despite being known as Jerry Gergich for most of the series, it is later revealed that his real name is Garry.
Someone called him by the wrong name on his first day and he didn't want to correct them. He then went by Larry for a time when he said his own name wrong but changed it once again when there was another Larry in the office.
9 Hit With The Pie
When Leslie decides to start campaigning for a seat on the city council, her friends are behind her every step of the way. Unfortunately for Jerry, that put him right in the line of fire when an angry protester threw a pie at Leslie and ended up hitting him instead.
Andy takes on the case of identifying the culprit and he feels that he needs to recreate the scenario over and over again in order to understand it. This results in Jerry reluctantly getting pie after pie thrown in his face.
8 His Daughter Dating Chris
Chris Traeger was always the positive and energetic presence in the parks department and might be the only person who is more friendly than Jerry himself. But even Chris could do things that were so obviously unkind to Jerry.
When it is discovered that Jerry has a shockingly beautiful family, including a few gorgeous adult daughters, Chris begins dating one of them. Not only is the choice to date a coworker's daughter questionable, but Chris openly discusses their sex life in front of Jerry who is visibly uncomfortable.
7 Leslie Welcoming Him Back
Following the government shutdown in Pawnee, Leslie Knope does all she can to get things back on track and, of course, she succeeds. She then goes about rounding up all the former employees of the parks department and letting them know it is time to go back to work.
When she finds Jerry, he seems to be living an idyllic life. He is sitting quietly on the lakeside, painting a beautiful landscape painting. In a strangely cruel move, Leslie tells him it's time to go back to work and throws his painting into the water as he looks on in horror.
6 Breaking His Arm
While the treatment Jerry experiences at the hands of his colleagues is certainly unfair, he does bring some of it on himself. He is known to be a pretty clumsy guy who gets himself into a lot of embarrassing situations.
When he winds up in the hospital with a broken arm, he tells everyone it was because he was mugged. For once, everyone takes pity on him and treats him like an actual human being. It is eventually revealed that Jerry actually just slipped and fell, but the fact that he would need to make up such a story to avoid ridicule is pretty sad.
5 His Heartfelt Mural
Just like with his landscape painting that Leslie so carelessly destroyed, Jerry has real artistic talent that unfortunately goes completely unappreciated by those around him.
When looking for a new mural that captures the spirit of Pawnee, Leslie gets everyone to come up with their own idea. Jerry makes a beautiful image using tiny photographs of all the citizens of the town. But he mispronounces "mural" in his presentation and is laughed out of the room.
4 His Retirement Party
After a long albeit dismal career in the parks department, Jerry is finally ready to retire. Despite sometimes being quite mean to him, Leslie is sad to see him go and wants to throw him a big retirement party. It goes about as well as anything Jerry-related would go.
Though his dream was to have a city building named after him, Leslie can only manage to get a room in the office named after him, and only because they thought he died. When the cake is brought out, Jerry is accidentally set on fire, only to be sprayed by a fire extinguisher.
3 His Advice
It's quite endearing that even though people are constantly ridiculing and belittling him, Jerry is still extremely nice to everyone he meets. He is always there to help his friends, even when they don't want it.
However, when Chris is feeling apprehensive about having a baby, Jerry gives some very encouraging words of advice about being a father. Chris is very thankful to hear it but then Jerry starts ranting incoherently. He finally apologizes and admits no one lets him talk this long so he didn't know how to handle it.
2 Having A Heart Attack
Jerry has undergone quite a few health scares over the course of the series, and it is usually his coworkers that put him in those positions. On Halloween, Leslie and Anne decide to play a prank and scare Jerry, which immediately backfires.
They surprise and scare him as he is coming out of the bathroom. While he tries to laugh it off, the fright causes him to have a heart attack which is also accompanied by a lot of flatulence.
1 His Death
The finale of Parks and Rec shows several time jumps to show the audience where the various characters end up in the future. And while it is a pretty effective way for audiences to say goodbye, Jerry's story is quite bittersweet.
After years of disrespect, Jerry is made the temporary mayor of Pawnee due to his long service in government. He ends up being so popular in the role that he becoming the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. It eventually shows that Jerry died on his 100th birthday and while it is obvious he lived a good life, it's sad to see one of these characters die.
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May 31, 2021 at 05:30AM
