Nick Offerman brought his Ron Swanson energy to The Last of Us and we’re here for it

Image via NBC

Warning: This article contains spoilers for HBO Max The last of us episode three, “Long long time.”

Nick Offerman just pulled off an amazing performance on HBO’s The last of usand the similarities to his character Ron Swanson Parks and Recreation are unmistakable. Offerman played Ron in all seven seasons of NBC’s hit comedy series. He was the head of Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department, a loner, and would do anything to avoid work because he hated the government so much.

His character Bill in The last of us is not that different. Bill is a survivor, and when the world collapses from a Cordyceps infection outbreak, he’s armed with weapons, a security system, food, traps, a generator and more to ensure he stays alive at all costs. It’s only when a man named Frank (Murray Bartlett) arrives that he realizes that being alone isn’t best for him.

Neither Ron nor Bill like people particularly or at all. Whenever anyone asked Ron where his house was, he was defensive and didn’t want anyone to know exactly where he lived. Likewise, Bill isn’t open to the idea of ​​inviting friends over when Frank mentions that he’s been talking to Tess (Anna Torv). Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess stop by anyway, and it goes about as awkwardly as you’d expect, given that Bill has a gun in his hand for most of the meal.

Ron and Bill both have a deep love of food. When Frank arrives, Bill prepares him a delicious meal that looks worthy of a five-star restaurant. His culinary skills are on full display and even the presentation is impressive. In Parks & LeisureRon Swanson isn’t one to turn down food, especially a free breakfast buffet.

The list literally goes on. They’re both outdoorsy, rough, and they love their booze (though luckily Bill doesn’t have access to snake oil juice).

They have awkward friendships, Ron calls people by wrong names when they get too “chummy,” and Bill left Joel a goodbye note with a sneaky compliment that he doesn’t really like him. Similarly, Ron Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) shows his will for the man or animal that kills him.

In romantic relationships, they dramatically change who they are. And the characters hide items in unexpected places. Ron had several stash spots for bacon, and Bill did the same, but for guns.

If Ron and Bill ever met, they’d be fast friends (and still distrust each other) since they’re essentially each other’s multiverse variants.