Ron Swanson's Best Significant Other On Parks And Recreation Is Obvious To Fans
In NBC's comedy series "Parks And Recreation," which follows a hilariously incompetent group of small-town bureaucrats, there's a running gag about Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), the stoic Libertarian who runs the titular department with vocal displeasure. The gag is that Ron has a bizarrely specific infatuation for aggressive women named Tammy. They are the bane of his existence and the objects of all his desires, and no amount of interference run by his employees can keep him away from their dramatized clutches.
Of the three Tammys in Ron's life, he married and then divorced two of them and remarried and re-divorced one of them — thankfully, he did neither with the third, considering she was his mother, although that little tidbit does make the rest of it infinitely creepier. He dons them the monikers of Tammy 1 (Patricia Clarkson) and Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally). With the way that he gravitates toward them, it's arguable that he doesn't exactly deserve a happier ending, but he does get one with a woman that fans unilaterally consider the best significant other he ever had.
Diane Lewis, a single mother of two, became an instant fan favorite
In Season 5 Episode 3, "How A Bill Becomes A Law," Diane Lewis (Lucy Lawless) is introduced to the cast of comic characters as a love interest for Ron, and the fans immediately fell in love with her. In the subreddit r/PandR, a picture was posted by u/deckhandpo with the caption, "These two don't get enough credit as a couple. I think they were great for each other IMO." Nearly all of the dozens of comments were in praise of the character, while those that spoke otherwise simply chose to insult Tammys 1 and 2.
Diane is characterized by her kind bluntness and tender confidence. A single mother of two and a middle-school vice principal, she has no room for beating around the bush. In an interview with EW, Lucy Lawless said, "This is his first mature relationship — she doesn't pervert his nature in any way. This is the sort of woman that you might want to see him with, and yet it's going to be damn near impossible for him to stay in it."
Fans, like u/video-kid, praised her for accepting Ron as he was while encouraging him to become better. Others, like u/TixHoineeng, loved her sense of humor. While not the highest rated comment, u/chrissilich summed it up perfectly by saying, "Of course the only woman who fulfills enough squares on the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness is Xena Warrior Princess," which is a wonderful reference to Lawless' notable acting career.
The couple probably got a happy ending, too
Although fans were concerned about their relationship when Diane Lewis didn't reappear in the series finale, the decision most likely came down to Lucy Lawless' busy schedule and not some marital spat between the characters. At the time, she was juggling "Salem" and "Ash Vs Evil Dead," both of which were significantly more substantial roles, and therefore required the bulk of her schedule.
This comes as a relief to fans across the web, as she was loved by more than Reddit. In 2018, @Cusinmaniac tweeted, "I *just* found out that Diane Lewis in Parks and Rec was played by the same actress that played Xena: Warrior Princess, and that just further proves how damn near flawless that show was. Of course Diane was perfect for Ron. Lucy Lawless brought the perfect badassery to the role." In 2016, @hellablazer tweeted, "I always forget that Lucy Lawless is in parks and rec, and then she shows up and it's like ... it's the best little surprise."
Mix that with Lawless' own admission (during an interview with PeopleTV's Couch Surfing) that working with the cast of "Parks And Recreation" was "everything you'd dream they'd be, and more," the only conclusion that can be sanely drawn is that the course was smooth, if not a little too busy.