This is probably the latest I’ve ever hopped onto a bandwagon.
To be fair, the show first started airing when I was exactly 1 year old and
stopped airing when I was 10, so I definitely wasn’t Friends’ target demographic.
Luckily, Netflix recently picked up all 10 seasons of Friends, so I can
finally know what all the fuss is about.
(SPOILERS to come)
At first I thought the show was kinda boring (eep!), but
after three or four episodes I quickly became invested in all the characters.
Exciting things started to happen, like Ross finding out his ex-wife was having
his baby, or Phoebe searching for her last remaining family members. All these
quirky but touching storylines make the show really endearing. And on top of
all that, it’s funny. I’m four seasons in and I’m still not bored of the humor.
I’ve read that it starts going downhill after season 5 but I’m still
optimistic.
Since I’ve become so invested in this show and it’s basically
all I’ve been watching lately, I thought it would be fun to give my opinion on
each character.
Ross is soooo
lame. Like, if you think of an annoying, know-it-all, lame individual, Ross is
it. I think he’s self-absorbed and his views of women are practically feudal
(breaking up with Rachel because she invested time in her dream job? Please), but
what I like is that he’s punished for being such a crap person. He has the
worst luck, bad things are constantly happening to him, and his “I take thee
Rachel” blunder is perhaps the best manifestation of television karma of
all-time. So even though he annoys the hell out of me, the schadenfreude is high when I’m
watching a Ross scene on Friends.
Oh, I love
Monica!
She constantly teeters between being the most level-headed Friend, and also the
most insane. I loved her relationship with Richard (they were so perfect!) but
I’m excited to see what’s to come with Chandler because I think she’s one of
the only Friends who can match Chandler’s dry sense of humor. Sometimes I feel
like she doesn’t get enough screen time and that her storylines are a little
half-baked, which is sad.
Four seasons into the show and I still can’t decide if I
like
Chandler. I mean, there’s no
doubt that he’s pathetic and has some issues, so I get why he acts the way he
does, but sometimes I wanna shake him and be like, “snap out of it!” That said,
I think the best thing to come out of Chandler’s storyline is Janice. I love
their interaction. The episode where he had to fly to Yemen to get rid of her
killed me. And, yes, I'll admit. Chandler is the main source of humor.
I would say
Phoebe
has one of the most interesting personalities and storylines on the show, but
she doesn’t get nearly enough attention. I hope we get to see her being Auntie
Phoebe to her brother’s kids because I think that would be really nice. I also
love when we get glimpses of Phoebe’s worldview (like how she doesn’t believe
in evolution or gravity) because she expresses herself hilariously and she’s
somehow always able to justify herself. Great character.
Joey is a pretty
one-dimensional character, but no matter how crazy things get with the Friends,
you can always count on Joey being quintessentially
Joey. He’s always getting up to something stupid and hilarious. I
can’t say I’m a fan of the way he treats women either (dumb feminism always
getting in the way of me enjoying 90s sitcoms, lol), but I can’t really deny my
soft spot for Joey.
And finally, the best of the best, Rachel. Seriously, the show would be nothing without Rachel. She
seems to be the only one who has shown significant growth as a character so
far. Her giving Ross a chance, going from broke to getting her dream job at
Bloomingdales, and being the most open-minded about relationships and
friendships makes her the undeniable best. And just the simple fact that she
was strong-willed enough to know she didn’t want to marry Barry and go against
all expectations of her?! Queeeen.
I guess the last thing I wanna say is that even though I'm not keen on every character personally, when they're all together it's just the best. I don't think I've ever watched a show where all the actors click so well. You can really tell they were all friends in real life. You should definitely give Friends a watch if you have some time to spare. It's worth it!
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