The Parks And Recreation Character Fans Are Glad Returned In Time For The Final Season

"Parks and Recreation" is an NBC mockumentary sitcom that originally aired in 2009, and it follows a small-town branch of bureaucratic officials who are hilariously bad at their jobs. To be fair, though, the citizens of Pawnee are even more hilariously bad at everything — like joining two consecutive, coherent thoughts — so, really, it's all comparative. That said, the series, which stars comedians such as Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, and Aubrey Plaza, is elevated by the supporting cast that portrays the aforementioned ridiculous population of Pawnee. Without them, the scope of "Parks And Recreation" would diminish by orders of magnitude.

The supporting talent includes everyone from musical comedian Bo Burnham to wrestler-turned-actor John Cena to acting titan J.K. Simmons to former first lady Michelle Obama. The longer the show ran, the more packed the cast became with famous actors, WWE Superstars, and politicians. Among these high-profile names, "Parks And Recreation" brought back smaller characters, too, and there's one that the fanbase is vocally grateful for.

A since-deleted Reddit account shared a post on r/PandR about Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) meeting Lucy Santo Domingo (Natalie Morales). They share a handshake that Ron comments on the strength of, to which Lucy replies, "my father told me that a limp handshake was for weak men and communists. He hated both." Ron, ever the surly Libertarian, congratulates Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) on his choice of romantic partners. It's a sweet moment because Ron and Tom rarely see eye to eye on anything. The top comment on the post, garnering nearly 4,000 upvotes, came from another since-deleted account, which read, "I love that they brought her back in the last season." 

Lucy originally appears in Season 2 of "Parks And Recreation," where she works at a bar that Tom repetitively strikes out at. The pair hit it off when Tom finally drops his terrible, fake, flirtatious personality and simply talks to her as himself. Their first bout of intimacy is short-lived, however, as Tom still isn't over his ex-wife. In Season 4, there's a brief moment between them before Lucy heads off to graduate school. Although that instant wraps up with a potential future, Lucy isn't seen again until Season 7, when the couple finally makes real strides together. Not only do they end the series together, but they also end the series engaged. As Tom spends every other moment of "Parks And Recreation" self-absorbed and flighty and narratively stagnant, Lucy's return gave the character a reason to grow.