This article is about the episode. You could also be looking for the horse.
| I have cried twice in my life. Once, when I was 7 and was hit by a school bus, and then again when I heard that Li'l Sebastian had passed. |
| — Ron Swanson |
"Li'l Sebastian" is the season finale in the third season of the NBC television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on May 19, 2011 to 3.72 million viewers.
Synopsis[]
Leslie and the team put together a memorial service for a dearly departed friend, Tom makes a big life decision, and Chris reacts badly to a health problem.
Storyline[]
Leslie announces Li'l Sebastian, Pawnee's beloved celebrity miniature horse, has died and that the Parks Department will hold a memorial service for him. She assigns the jobs - maintenance will set up the stage, Ron will lay a wreath, and Jerry offers to read a Dante poem. Andy is charged with writing a commemoration song. Tom suggests they hire Entertainment 720, a production company recently started by his friend Jean-Ralphio, for the event. Jean-Ralphio encourages Tom to come work with him on the company; while he's been thinking about leaving his city hall job, Tom is still uncertain and tells Jean-Ralphio he'll consider the offer. Meanwhile, Chris finds out from Dr. Harris that his shoulder pain is from tendonitis, which the doctor says is a common issue for men of Chris' age. Chris takes the news so seriously that he questions his own mortality. Leslie and Ben continue their romance, but they have difficulty keeping it a secret. Ron reveals he knows they're dating thanks to them accidentally leaving a voicemail on his phone while they were having sex and warns Leslie that Chris will fire her and Ben if he learns about it.
As the city prepares for the memorial service, Leslie and Ben are caught making out by a maintenance worker named George Williams, so they send him home with a gift certificate in exchange for his silence. Unfortunately, George had the propane for Li'l Sebastian's eternal flame, which results in later confusion behind the scenes that Leslie and Ben scramble to fix throughout the night. Jerry is sent to get propane for the flame but buys lighter fluid instead; this causes a huge fireball to shoot into the air when Ron lights it, which singes off his eyebrows, part of his mustache and hair. Leslie and Ben are relieved, however, when the crowd applauds in the belief the fireball was staged. Entertainment 720's show also proves to be a hit with the crowd, which makes Tom further contemplate quitting his job.
At a party afterward, Andy receives praise for his Li'l Sebastian tribute song, "5,000 Candles in the Wind." April sells many Mouse Rat CDs at an inflated price, which spurs Andy to ask her to become the group's manager. Indirectly responsible for nearly killing Ron, Leslie and Ben agree to no more secret displays of affection at work. Ann, who previously dated Chris and had trouble getting over him, tries to cheer up Chris by telling him that his tendonitis might be coming from him overdoing it. He realizes he was overreacting and starts to think he should find a wonderful woman. Tom decides to resign and accept a job with Entertainment 720. Meanwhile, Ron is confronted by his evil ex-wife Tammy 2 at the party, who shows up to laugh at Ron's misfortune. Donna then reveals his other ex-wife, also named Tammy (aka "Tammy 1"), has also arrived in town, causing both Ron and Tammy 2 to run for the hills.
Leslie is approached by political scouts Elizabeth and William Barnes, who are looking for potential candidates for elected office, which has always been one of Leslie's dreams. Impressed by the memorial service and the Harvest Festival Leslie previously organized, they believe she would be a good candidate for upcoming City Council seats, or possibly the mayoral position. With the expected increased media attention on her personal life, the scouts ask whether Leslie has any secret scandals in her life. She denies any such scandals exist, thus omitting her secret relationship with Ben, and the scouts promise to contact her about preparing an electoral run.
Cast[]
Quotes[]
Leslie: I have some very important news about our favorite mini horse, Li'l Sebastian. [everyone cheers, until Ron shows a picture of Li'l Sebastian with the caption "LI'L SEBASTIAN R.I.P."] He died last night.
Tom: No! [Jerry gasps]
Leslie: But we can take comfort in the fact that he's in Heaven, now. Doing the two things he loves doing the most: eating carrots and urinating freely.
Ron: When I walked in this morning and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought, 'All right. Another bureaucrat ate it.' But then, I found out it was Li'l Sebastian... Half-mast is too high. Show some damn respect!
Leslie: From now on, we stop mourning Li'l Sebastian's death, and we start celebrating his life. That's what he would have wanted.
Ron: Amen. We need to send that glorious beast into the great beyond with a display that rivals the Super Bowl halftime show.
Ben: Okay, all the permits cleared for the... [passively annoyed] horse funeral...
Ron: What was that tone?
Ben: What? Oh, nothing!
Leslie: Andy, I need you to write a memorial song. Something like "Candle in the Wind", but 5000 times better.
Andy: Easy.
Leslie: Okay. [passes out some paperwork] Here's a memo with some facts about Li'l Sebastian. [to Ben] I think you'll find yours particularly interesting.
Ben: [reads his paper, then looks at Leslie] These are just a list of facts.
Leslie: Huh?
Jerry: Okay, mine says "You have a cute butt."
Leslie: [realizes she mistakenly gave out the wrong paper] That's weird. Must be a typo.
April: Yeah, Jerry. It's probably a typo. Because it probably should've said "You have a cubed butt."
Tom: [laughs] 'Cuz your butt's shaped like a cube!
April: Yeah!
Jerry: The question is why is mine different than everyone else's? [everyone looks at Leslie]
Leslie: [nervously hesitates, but comes up with a quick solution] "Cubed butt, cubed butt, cubed butt." [everyone chants as Jerry is still confused]
Leslie: [to Tom] Make us proud.
Ron: Make him proud. [points to a picture of Li'l Sebastian with his genitals censored]
Ben: Why didn't you just photoshop that out?
[Leslie is dressed up and enters Ben's office... and comes face-to-face with Ron]
Ron: Hello, Leslie. How long have you been sleeping with Ben?
Leslie: [shocked] What??
Ron: How long have you been sleeping with Ben?
Leslie: [feigning ignorance] That's disgusting and wrong. I don't even get- Why would-? I-I never had sex... with anyone, anywhere. It's none of your- You have the n-nerve, the audacity... Ben is my boss, technically. And he is terrible - face-wise. And how - how - do I know that frankly you're not sleeping with him? Maybe you are. Maybe you're trying to throw me off. Hmm! Check and mate. [Ron stares at her, clearly not buying her excuses] This is an outrage! Who do I call??!
[Ben and Leslie have been caught by Ron]
Leslie: How did you find out?
Ron: We've worked together for a while, now, and I'd like to think I know you pretty well. Plus, Ben butt-dialed me last night. [pulls out his phone and plays a message]
Leslie: [on the phone] Okay, okay. And this is how Eleanor Roosevelt would kiss. [Leslie and Ben are filled with embarrassment]
Ben: [on the phone] Whoa, Eleanor likes the tongue. Show me Pelosi again.
Leslie: [on the phone] Okay. Lay down. [Ron ends the message]
Leslie: Please tell me you hung up before... Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Ron: Unfortunately not. [Ben groans] This is a scandal waiting to happen. If you get caught - which you clearly will! - Chris will fire you. And I won't be able to stop him.
Jean-Ralphio: I made my money the old fashioned way. I got run over by a Lexus.
Leslie: Sebastian may have been li'l, but his impact on this town and the Parks Department was anything but li'l.
Leslie: We'd like to encourage everyone to buy our merchandise. All the proceeds will go towards Li'l Sebastian's favorite charity: the Afghan Institute of Learning.
Ron: I think if you would know one thing about me it would be that I prefer laying wreaths to lighting torches.
Ron: [holding the lit torch and addressing the crowd] I have cried twice in my life. Once, when I was seven and I was hit by a school bus, and then again when I heard Li'l Sebastian had passed. His memory will live on as today we light a fire that will burn on for eternity.
Ben: Okay. Deep breath. I think we got through it.
Leslie: Thank God. Hey, Jerry, you put propane in the eternal flame, right?
Jerry: No, they were out. So I just got a big thing of lighter fluid - it's kind of the same thing. [a fireball goes off, nearly incinerating Ron as everyone gasps]
Leslie: Oh! [tries to play it off] Ohh! We planned that! Wow! Wow! [everyone applauds]
Ben: Ohh! Yaayy! [he looks the camera uneasily]
Ron: An hour ago an entire fireball consumed my entire face and it was far preferable to spending another second with you.
Tammy 2: Tell that to your pants tent.
Tammy 2: [to Tom] Hey, Glen. Wanna dance?
Tom: [uncomfortable] No, I'm okay. [backs away to leave]
Tammy 2: Just one dance? With mommy?
Tammy 2: Guess I'll be heading home.
Ron: Catching the number 12 bus to Satan's butthole?
Tammy 2: Actually I prefer the number 69 train... to Humpsville station.
Donna: Red alert, Swanson! Your ex-wife's back!
Ron: No kidding, Donna.
Donna: Not her. The other ex-wife. [Ron and Tammy 2 look at each other confused, then realize]
Ron: ...Tammy 1?
Donna: She's in your office.
[they all look at Ron's window and see a woman partially obscured by the blinds]
Tammy 2: Oh s**t! [runs away in fear]