The One That ALMOST Ruined Friends

Without a doubt Ross and Rachel were the ultimate Will They, Won't They couple on TV. Throughout the entire run of Friends, audiences were enamored with Ross and Rachels journey, waiting to see if they would end up together. Which is why in Season 8 when Joey and Rachel started to get together, fans of Friends were immediately turned off by the notion. Many wonder why Friends creators would follow through with this story line, but thankfully it was very short lived. In the end Ross and Rachel do get together, but what would Friends have been like if Rachel and Joey actually worked out?

#friends #rossandrachel #joeytribbiani #jenniferaniston

SOURCES

[tamerafarly]

I liked the storyline on Joey's side. His feelings felt sincere and I loved the depth it gave him. It didn’t turn bad until Rachel liked him back. Her feelings felt shallow, like she didn’t really like him.

[trinaq]

While I wasn't a fan of the Joey and Rachel pairing to begin with, I wish that they'd come up with a better reason for their break up than "They can't perform sexually." It just felt like a cheap reason, since most fans loathed the pairing.

[drewberriesandcream]

I feel like HIMYM tried to recreate the dynamic between joey and rachel with barney and robin, but they accidentally created the perfect couple

[rorylynch]

The Rachel-Joey pairing is like the storyline with Brian the Boom mic operator in the last season of the Office. Its so obvious the writers were desperate and running out of ideas

[The_RedVIII]

The people who like to now revaluate the character of Ross only point out the "bad" parts that are mostly played for laughs. There are a million examples of Ross being an extremely caring friend, brother and partner to each of the other characters.

[licmir]

LeBlanc is a good man. He knows that no true friend would try to have something with his friend’s ex.

[Sapphire]

I actually liked how the attraction between Rachel and Joey started, and I think that Joey exploring those feelings could have resulted in really great character growth. Rachel exploring a relationship that was much healthier than her relationship with Ross through Joey’s advances could have led to more growth for her, too, so I don’t mind the pairing, but it seems clear that it would have been doomed from the beginning, and it should have been handled much more deftly if they wanted fans to go along with it. Having said all that, though, I always thought Phoebe and Joey would make a better pairing.

[kenthehobo]

Yes, BUT... it gave us Ross' greatest freak out! L-O-V-E

[dovestones]

They went to early with Ross and Rachel getting together. Frasier showed you can execute a secret love over many seasons and make it funny and emotional. Once they are together in season 2 the only thing to do is break them up and storylines get so silly that the idea of Joey and Rachel, more a bro and sis combination, sounds like a good idea

[cgreen]

Joey being with Rachel was felt like Joey’s last ditch effort. Phoebe was with Mike, Chandler and Monica was married, Ross and Rachel could figure it out and Joey was alone.

[Derekivery]

I wasn't a fan of Joey and Rachel, but I was more rooting for them at that point than I was for Ross and Rachel. Ross and Rachel had an extremely toxic and unhealthy relationship at that point, I have no idea why them together was seen as a 'happy ending.'

[Legendofzellybelly]

I am not a fan of Rachel and Ross's relationship, but if they were end game, I wish that they had developed it better and longer. Give Ross some character growth, like they did with Chandler and Rachel. Both those characters changed and developed over the seasons into more mature and better versions of themselves. Ross did get the same treatment, he experienced little to no personal change or growing over the seasons. There is no indication that their relationship moving forward would be any different than the first time. They didn't resolve much, and Ross was basically the same guy. Also, now there is the added complication of Rachel giving up an exciting new job and a new adventure, and now they have a child together. All things that create issues and resentment and frustrations, that they are not built to deal with.

[carlrood]

My problem with Ross and Rachel was always more about Rachel than Ross. EVERY time he tried to move on, she'd suddenly want him again. Then, after dumping the new girl, suddenly she wasn't interested again.

[silverfoxchain]

I liked it ^^ and I am so glad Phoebe never was fully paired with Joey.

[sageofmoor]

I find it strange how current generation want to judge and question prior generations’ shows and favorite characters. These are shows that just mirror that time. It starts to become fool hardy when people want to cancel show or character and not learn to be better from it.

[nahuel]

It was SO awkward and uncomfortable to watch!! And I didn't even want Ross and Rachel together.

[nl]

I always thought this was a terrible plot line. As mentioned, it sort of feels out of left field. It's a forced shipping that never made sense.

[lincoln]

As a fan of friends, I agree with most people about this. But I also understand that the story needed one more obstacle before Ross and Rachel finally end together so I guess the writers HAD TO come up with something unexpected

[lacrartezorok]

Then they forget that, while Ross having sex with another woman while he had just broken up with Rachel wasn't ok, he never cheated on her, but we saw Joey at least once cheating on a girl.

[tregdemedia]

I may be the odd one out, but I was never all-in on Ross and Rachel, so during my first watch through, I was kind of rooting for Joey and Rachel. But the show runners CLEARLY didn't want those two as end-game, and it was doomed from the start. I wish they were given a real chance, a la Barney and Robin in HIMYM.