 During the second season , HitFix writer Alan Sepinwall called Ron " easily the show 's best creation so far , " and during the third season he wrote , " Ron being both awesome and hilarious is something Nick Offerman and these writers can do in their sleep by now . " Sal Basile of UGO Networks wrote , " How anyone can make Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation likable is beyond us , but Offerman does it effortlessly . Before we knew it we couldn 't wait to see Swanson 's reactions to the slightest of problems . " Matt Fowler of IGN was critical of Ron at the start of the show , and called him " a bit of the dud ( who ) offers little to the show , and almost just stand to sour the whole thing . " However , by the second season , Fowler said the character had improved and became " an absolute stand @-@ out in the series . " Several reviewers have praised the platonic relationship between Ron and Leslie , which has been compared to that of Mary Richards and Lou Grant in The Mary Tyler Moore Show . 
