Keeping Ron Swanson likeable

I was thinking about how Ron Swanson would react to certain things (such as these days) and realized keeping him true to anti-govt Libertarianism and keeping him likeable in a current environment would be a challenge.

I guess the workaround (as seen in the show offen) is giving lip service to his beliefs but having him bend them for his family.

EX: “The mayor has ordered all Pawnee inhabitants to wear face masks and restricted unessecery movement”

Ron spends the episode grousing and refusing, eventually under the cover of night sneaking in foot to his cabin where he can finally relax…only to find Leslie waiting for him in a full hazmat suit.

Btw, I read the article Schur wrote on a coronavirus PnR episode. I don’t think he gave it a lot of thought. Making Leslie in charge of everything and spending the ep checking on everyone .

I think more likely Leslie would be deemed unessential and would spend the ep trying to prove otherwise.

Ron would head out in the wilderness to survive, miles beyond a 6 foot separation with all other people.

Disagree. For all of the posturing from the character of Ron Swanson about how much he hates government and wants to see it eliminated, he unfailingly supports his employees even when their goals conflict with his ideals. What Ron Swanson would do in an epidemic would be to invite his employees to stay in one of his apparently many off-grid properties, patiently tutor them in the ways of living off the land, ignore Tom’s incessant whining about the lack of amenities, and teach Andy and April how to butcher a deer and mount the head. He would encourage the public to do whatever they want (which by indications I’ve seen, they’re just going to do anyway) and then make sardonic comments about the stupidity of people and how letting some of them suffer the consequences of their actions would be a lesson to the others. Also, he would drink Lagavulin around the fire.

Stranger

Heh. And after spending two days trying to teach everyone these things…doesn’t realize that no one can go anywhere for 12 more days. Hilarity ensues.

Kind of like on Brooklyn 99 when Jake and Holt were quarantined together. But with everyone.

Hijack, but is this the article you’re thinking of? Various TV writers, including Michael Schur, offer their takes on coronavirus-themed episodes of their shows. It’s fun to read.

As Pawnee Emergency Czar during an avian flu disaster drill, Leslie ordered the police to find all the infected birds in town and give them CPR, so things don’t always turn out they way you think they should.

Ron Swanson is nothing. Let’s see you keep Jack Donaghy likable.

Was he ever though?

Well, that was in an attempt to tank the test, so that everyone would die as soon as possible so she could get on with her wedding.

Leslie is perfectly prepared for the Coronavirus. She has many binders full of exactly what to do.

Of course, Paunch Burger declares itself an essential business and creates a new special - the covid-conquerer. It’s nine all-“beef” patties dressed with secret sauce and served in a garbage bag (for safety). Pawnee’s citizens line up around the block to get theirs because the first thousand purchases come with a free child-sized soda (because the cup can hold an average toddler). They’re also holding some kind of festive event in the lines, maybe wrestling or a hugging contest.

Leslie arrives at one of the locations, trying to enforce social distancing, but every time she convinces somebody to step back six feet, three people skip the line by jumping into the new hole.

The end of the episode has Leslie showing up at a campfire in the woods, where Ron has taken everybody. Leslie explains (via flashback) that she returned to the office in defeat, only to find a letter from Ron which read, “I have taken the staff to land which I own.” Ron asks how she knew to find them here, as he has never divulged the location of this particular cabin.

Leslie says, “Oh, Ron!” and dismisses the topic altogether, then reveals that she has brought ingredients for s’mores. One last flashback over an episode-ending talking head interview shows Leslie consulting a secret map in her office. It’s full of push-pins and is labeled “Ron’s Hiding Places.”

A couple of Ron Swanson-related articles on The Ringer last week:

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/4/1/21201192/nick-offerman-interview-ron-swanson-tv-character-bracket

I think in 2016 he just took that boat out and will only return in November 2020 to cast a vote and head out for four more years.

Any reunion show should feature Jack as Brando in Apocalypse Now (Ala Peterman in Seinfeld)