If you're a fan of the massively popular sitcom Friends, then you no doubt have an opinion about Ross and Rachel that comes equipped with a soapbox and a megaphone. Well, regardless of where you stand on what should and shouldn't have happened when they were on a break, you will walk away today believing that Rachel and Joey were far better suited for one another than Ross and...well, anyone, probably. And it's all thanks to a lengthy and extremely well-crafted argument as delivered on Twitter. It all starts here.
While many Twitter arguments are of the "two people hosing each other down with vitriol" variety, writer Claire Willett presented her longform Friends beliefs without getting bogged down midway through with sub-tweet chatter. She presents her initial point and then expands and proves the shit out it by looking at "Ross & Rachel" from a bird''s eye view that gets increasingly easier to reach with each year the show has been gone. And even though it's essentially, "Rachel deserves Joey because Joey cares about other people, while Ross cares about Ross," it's so impressive because there are so many Friends moments serving as undeniable proof. (Undeniable, I say!)
To try and sum up this argument somehow seems more tasking than summing up ten seasons of Friends, but a lot of what it boils down to is that from the very beginning, Joey and Rachel actually were friends with each other, and they almost always enjoyed their time together, regardless of what they were doing. Even though Rachel's occasionally high-maintenance lifestyle didn't firmly mesh with Joey's sandwich-guzzling goofiness. As roommates, they were always having fun, and so by the time they actually did get together late in the show's run, there wasn't THAT much that was different. They continued to be friends, both then and even after they decided their relationship wouldn't work (because of the friendship, which is dumb).
Meanwhile, this tweet pretty much sums up the Ross side of things.
The argument puts forth that Ross and Rachel were never officially friends to begin with, as she was his unrequited love for years before they were reacquainted in Season 1, and their will they/won't they started up before they actually formed any standalone bonds with one another. Then, once they are dating, there are so few times where they're seen having a great time, as those episodes often became fraught with one or more of Ross' issues not being attended to. Perhaps the worst of those issues, beyond the constant ego trip, was his jealous and inability to trust and listen to Rachel without completely blowing it. (See: every episode where Mark or any other man is name-checked.)
Remember, that's just the gist of things, as Claire Willet brings up so many more instances in her 100-tweet argument. Such as the fact that, despite the way Joey is portrayed as a sex-loving womanizer, he's also more kind and compassionate to other female characters than most of the core Friends can claim to be. (That's what growing up with all those sisters can do for a person.) I mean, he fell for Rachel while she was pregnant, and then made the decision become better with kids, in case he would have become something more to Emma in the future. How do you not root for that?
In the end, I guess it doesn't matter what we all believe, since the "proof" is in Rachel moronically getting off the plane and getting back together with Ross in the finale. (Even after he brings up the "break" again, for which she should have strapped him to a wing of the plane she exited.) But even fans that were perfectly fine with that ending, and ones that might not have otherwise cared about the Joey/Rachel plotline, have to at least agree that every single point made in the tweeted argument above is valid and impossible to refute, right? Great. I love when the Internet agrees wholeheartedly with everything.
While Friends won't be coming back with a revival that ignores the previous season finale and shows us how things have changed, NBC's Will & Grace revival will take care of that. To see all the new and returning shows heading to the small screen soon, though, head to our summer TV schedule and our fall premiere schedule.
