Parks and Recreation
Chris Traeger ( Rob Lowe ) is one ofParks & Recreation ’s funniest and most memorable characters , but he went through a knotty time during the show that extend him to seek help with Dr. Richard Nygard – and a theory totally changes Chris ’ narration by explaining the truth about Dr. Nygard . Parks & Recreationtook the consultation to the fictional townspeople of Pawnee , Indiana , to meet the bunch at the Parks Department , lead by the always optimistic and cheerful Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler ) . Through her , the audience satisfy her nigh friends and coworkers , with many of them becoming fan deary , as happened with Chris Traeger .
Chris Traeger arrived in Pawnee inParks & Recreationseason 2 along with Ben Wyatt ( Adam Scott ) to review the township ’s stock . Chris was an auditor , but he stood out for his incredibly upbeat and optimistic personality , and for always seeing the secure side of everything . Chris dated Ann Perkins(Rashida Jones ) in season 3 and the conform to time of year go out Jerry ’s ( Jim O’Heir ) daughter , Millicent Gergich . Chris ’ personal life took a crook and inParks & Recreationseason 5 he get down realise therapist Dr. Richard Nygard . However , Dr. Nygard never appeared , make way for theory on who he really was , and one suggests he was never a real person .
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Parks & Rec: Why Chris Traeger Went To Dr. Nygard
Chris was very optimistic about his relationship with Millicent , and they even proceed to April and Andy ’s Halloween political party together , where a shocked Jerry saw his daughter dance with Chris . When Chris started turn a loss liaison with Millicent , he involve Donna , Ann , and Jerry for service , with Ann telling him he was too accessible and need to back off a scrap . In the end , Millicent broke up with Chris , which sent him into a depression . Just when Chris seemed to be getting skilful after Leslie reminded him that he ’s likeable , he found outTom Haverford ( Aziz Ansari ) was dating Ann , which only made him finger worse . Chris was far from his pollyannaish ego and he know he require help , so he started seeing Dr. Nygard .
With meter , Chris went back to his always smiley and affirmative ego and openly verbalize about therapy and what he had discover from Dr. Nygard . However , Dr. Nygard never appear inParks & Recreation , farm many question about him and Chris , and series co - Maker Michael Schur gave a potential account for his absence : he was n’t real .
Theory: Dr. Nygard Was A Figment Of Chris Traeger’s Imagination
During anAMA onRedditin 2021 to promote the vinyl waiver of the Mouse Rat album , Schur was asked if there were ever design to bring Dr. Nygard to the screen , to which Schur replied that there were , but he also expanded on what Dr. Nygard could have really been . Schur revealed that there was a running joke betweentheParks & Recreationteamthat Chris had in reality hit rock bottom and he lost his mind , meaning that Dr. Nygard was Chris himself , “ in the mirror , Fight Club - trend ” . Schur lend that Aziz Ansari made fake clientele cards for Dr. Nygard that had Rob Lowe ’s picture on them , so the idea of Chris ’ therapist being a intersection of his imagination was widely swallow on set , even if just as a joke .
Dr. Nygard being an imaginary person makes Chris Traeger ’s story even sadder and actually quite concerning , as he never really got the help he call for . Although Chris eventually got better , there was sure as shooting still a part of him that did n’t cure and could arrive out at any minute , meaning he could settle into a cryptic depression again – but , at least , Dr. Nygard was harmless , unlikeFight Club ’s Tyler Durden . However , this theory is rapidly expose by the fact that Chris was n’t Dr. Nygard ’s only known patient , asParks & Recreationrevealed that he was also the healer of Shauna Malwae - Tweep and Craig Middlebrooks , so he was reasonably democratic in Pawnee .
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Was Parks & Rec’s Dr. Nygard A Cult Leader?!
If Dr. Nygard was n’t notional , there ’s still the question of why he never seem inParks & Recreation – and there ’s another hypothesis that attempt to explain this . AReddituser enlisted evidence that could prove that Dr. Nygard was a rage leader , which would n’t be too surprising given Pawnee ’s history with furore . harmonise to the writer , these piece of evidence are the obsession his patients have with him , which is mostly seen with Chris . They all openly state that their healer is Dr. Nygard , and Chris even refer that he saw him 15 times a week , which is plain overweening . Chris also mentioned that Dr. Nygard ’s patients identify themselves as “ Nygardians ” , which is a group rather than a one - on - one , therapist - patient family relationship . Last but not least , the author explains that none of Dr. Nygard ’s patients really meliorate , and this is especially obvious with Shauna and Craig . Dr. Nygard , then , was a cult leaderwho targeted emotionally vulnerable the great unwashed .
OtherRedditusers have point out that Dr. Nygard was just a therapist and the problem was Chris , whose obsessive personality led him to get obsessed with his therapist , and if he was n’t the exact same as when he get in Pawnee , is because Dr. Nygard ’s sessions were truly helping him . In the end , and even though Chris talk about him a lot , Dr. Nygard still was n’t a big enough bearing to make a right coming into court inParks & Recreation , but he sure as shooting made way for some interesting theory .
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