NBC's Nick Offerman received critical acclaim for playing the government-hating government official (Ironic? Yes. Hilarious? YES.)
The show is extremely wholesome and feel-good and does an excellent of making viewers laugh one minute and feel emotional the next, which really humanizes the characters. Ron has had his fair share of good and bad experiences in Pawnee.
Loved Him - When he Fixes Andy's House
In the season 4 episode, "Meet N Greet", April and Andy throw a Halloween Party. Ron, upon arriving, finds out that Andy and April's house is a mess - their bathroom faucet was leaking (much to Andy's surprise, since he had just stuffed a sock in it), and there was an exposed wire above the bathtub.
Ron decides to fix everything he can find broken in the house, as a wedding gift to April and Andy. Not only does he fix everything, he teaches Ann how to do it as well, and then gives her the toolbox as a gift.
Felt Bad for Him - When His Pawnee Rangers Abandon Him
In "Pawnee Rangers", while Donna, Tom, and Ben are out for a "Treat Yo-Self" Day, Ron is the troop leader for Pawnee Rangers, a camp for boys to learn important nature skills. However, upon learning that the rival girls club, the Pawnee Goddesses, have candy and marshmallows and pillow fights rather than eat beans from a can, Andy and the Rangers defect to the other club.
Ron gets a little upset and tells Leslie he gets why kids would rather hang out at her club. He sadly remarks "I don't understand these kids, and they certainly don't understand me." and says her club is better, something he has never said before.
Loved Him - When he Punches Jamm at Leslie's Wedding
After a drunk Jamm crashes Leslie's wedding and starts insulting her, Ron politely and calmly asks him to go away. However, Jamm throws stink bombs and continues to insult her. He asks him to leave a few more times, and when Jamm shoves him, Ron is still polite and respectful.
However, when Jamm takes it too far, Ron decks him with a swift, well-deserved punch to the face. True to his code, he took full responsibility for assaulting him rather than lie about it, when he got sued by Jamm.
Felt Bad for Him - When he Apologizes to Diane
Ron, in his own words, has never been good with kids. When he breaks Zoe's tiara, Diane gets understandably upset with him and asks him to apologize, which he doesn't, believing himself to be right.
However, he later confesses he was wrong, and that he has been alone most of his life, and that all of this was new to him. He promises to be a better person and not only apologizes to Zoe and Ivy but takes them on another Trick and Treat.
Loved Him - When he Gives Chris a Crib for his Baby
Ron is a master woodworker (much like Nick Offerman himself) and agrees to teach Chris how to build a crib. Chris starts listening to every single thing Ron is saying and thinks that Ron is giving him metaphorical advice until Ron tells him he's not - he's just building a crib.
Seeing how worried and anxious Chris is about becoming a father, Ron builds a fantastic crib and gifts it to Chris, saying he will be a great father, and his baby is lucky to have a dad who cares about it so much.
Felt Bad for Him - When we Find Out Leslie Stood Him Up
After Ron and Leslie have a huge fight, they sit down and discuss it and Leslie tries to figure out why Ron is so upset with her. She realizes that after she moved to her fancy new job at the national parks service, she hardly had any time for Ron anymore.
So, when Ron had invited her to lunch at JJs, she agreed at the time but forgot about it, as she was so engrossed in her work. Ron kept waiting for her to show up, but she never did, leading Ron to finally quit his job in the government, realizing his best friend had no time for him anymore.
Loved Him - When he Showed He Truly Cared About Ann and Leslie's Friendship
At the end of "Leslie and Ron", after making up, Ron gifts Leslie a photograph of them in a beautiful wooden frame. Ron tells her that before Morningstar Project resulted in their falling out, he had salvaged Ann's front door and made it into a frame.
For someone who kept referring to Ann as "the nurse" and pretended he didn't care about friendships, turns out Ron did actually care about Ann and Leslie. He apologizes for his behavior and tries to make it right with Leslie.
Felt Bad for Him - When Ron was About to Ask Leslie for A Job
After Leslie ed she stood Ron up, she wondered why that one lunch was so important to him. However, Ron immediately tells her why - he was going to ask her for a job in the federal government. He hated the government and was still willing to work for it to stay with his friends.
The Ron Swanson who never asked for help or favors, the Ron Swanson who has lived by the self-motto of never letting things change, asked for a job in something he used to truly hate. It's one of the most emotional moments in the series and shows just how humanized and real the characters in the show can be.
Loved Him - When He Gives Money to Andy for College
In "Smallest Park", Andy wishes to attend college so he can get a degree, by starting with just one class. After a few failed attempts at choosing a new class, he finds a course that he likes, Intro to Women's Studies, but he realizes he cannot afford the registration fee and decides to not take it.
However, Ron tells him that he's "won the Ron Swanson Scholarship" and offers to pay for his classes. Ron says he always liked Andy and values a good education, and since he had more than sufficient money, he never wanted to be a miser with it.
Felt Bad for Him - When Ron Looks Around His Office and Realizes He's the Only one Left
After Leslie moved to the third floor, she took Jerry (now Terry) with her, then a few months later, April also ed her, since Leslie had offered her a great job. Tom left to work on his venture, Tom's Bistro, and Donna left to start her real estate business, Regal Meagle Realty.
Ron tells Leslie how one day, just having lunch, he looks up and realized he didn't recognize anyone, and so he went to ask Leslie for a job. It was such a heartbreaking scene, as Ron had come to love (and tolerate) his co-workers, who had all moved on.