Friends' Rachel & Her Sisters: What Their Real Problem Is

On Friends, Rachel Greene’s character arc is iconic. She goes from a bratty, selfish trust fund baby to a successful working woman and great friend over the course of nine seasons of Friends. But when we meet Rachel’s sisters Jill and Amy, we get a glimpse of the life she left behind…the woman she could have been if she hadn’t made the choice to run out on her wedding in the pilot – and that picture is not good.

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CHAPTERS
00:00 What's causing the Greene women's problems?
00:44 Jill & Amy's whirlwind appearances
04:11 How Dr. Greene corrupted his girls
08:54 Are Rachel's sisters that bad?

CREDITS
Executive Producers: Debra Minoff & Susannah Mccullough
Chief Creative Director: Susannah Mccullough
Associate Producer: Tyler Browner
Writer: Ellie Slee
Video Editor: Hadley McCollester
Narrator: Alani Waters

[trinaq]

Please do a video on Judy Geller, and how she constantly emotionally abused Monica, blatantly preferring Ross over her, unknowingly treating her the same way as her own mother did to her. Luckily, Monica lets go of her need to impress Judy as the show progresses, marrying Chandler, whom her parents had initially disapproved of, and giving her adoptive grandchildren, as opposed to biological ones.

[RemusHolt]

7:20 Honestly the line “you didn’t marry your Barry but i married mine” is in my opinion the most intense line of the entire show. It tells us so much about Rachel‘s mom and her story and the almost relief but sadness in her voice is so amazing.

[TVVENCH]

My favourite Rachel quote is something like “I spent all these years trying not to be my mother.. I became my father”

[trinaq]

It's interesting to note that in the Pilot, Rachel goes on a shopping spree to cope with being laughed out of several job interviews. While she initially comes across as flighty, you realise that she's actually trying to cope with being unable to cope in the "real world."Jill did the same thing in her debut, cementing how far Rachel has grown.

[passiveaggressive]

Ok can we just give a shout out to Christina and Reese for portraying Rachel’s sisters? Iconic😊

[Soul-gfvv]

My theory that rachel was different is because of the impact she had from Monica throughout their friendship in highschool and college. She saw the suffering Monica went through being an outcast and having to work hard because she wasn't pretty. After college they parted ways, Rachel was going to keep up with her spoiled life and Monica lead an independent life. Rachel felt so much respect for her that she felt humbled and wanted to be like her. Which is why Monica was the first person she went to when she left barry at the altar.

[ninak]

Rachel and Joey on boat
Rachel, yelling:" Greens never quit!"
Joey, yelling back: "Well, I am Tribbiani, and Tribbianis quit!"

[Liam_Mellon]

Rachel’s father being so horrible to her actually explains why she went for Ross despite him being such an asshole

[katetempleton]

I don’t think it’s fair to blame Rachel’s father for everything. Yes, he spoiled his kids and yes, he is an annoying and arrogant man. But Rachel and her sisters also had a mother. She also is responsible for the way her kids are. I mean, she is not very nice too. Remember how rude she was with Monica when she accidentally forgot to invite her to Rachel’s baby shower? Even though Monica apologised a few times. So the responsibility is on both parents. Her mom settled for money but it doesn’t mean she couldn’t raise her daughters the right way.

[samf.s.]

My favorite is when he uses Rachel's independence, for which she's scorned, to belittle Jill...

[alexwallar]

I really wish we had an episode of Rachel's entire family together

[ray_area]

Season 1 Rachel wasn't exactly as bad as her sisters (they were more written as spoiled brat caricatures), but instead, high school Rachel definitely shared a bulk of the personality traits Jill and Amy had. I think that what happened between the events of high school and Season 1 was that, after a life of being pampered and provided for by her father, she was going to be pampered and provided for by another man --- one she necessarily didn't trust and especially did not love. I think that woke her up to the reality that she's never done anything by herself and been someone. While I think the sisters can be entitled, they're varying, and that Rachel got herself out of that mindset by 1) the fear of being committed, and 2) with the support of her friends. If those two things happened to the other sisters, who knows how they wouldve turned out 🤷‍♀️

[PokhrajRoy.]

I really loved the story arc of Rachel and her sisters mostly because Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Christina Applegate EXCEL in comedy.

[lexsummers]

To be completely honest I don’t feel that Rachel fully outgrew her entitlement by the end of the series but that’s realistic.

The way she wanted to sabotage Ross & Emily’s wedding, her unprofessionalism when she pursues Joshua & later Tag (the latter being an example of abuse of power that she clearly learned from her father) and stealing Monica’s thunder from the moment she got engaged (even though she wouldn’t own up to it).

She continues to feel that she’s owed everything she wants.

Rachel is a mirror of her father whereas Amy & Jill mirror their mother.

[jbennett]

I know he's horrible, but the cut to "you work, and you work, and you work on a boat" is one of the funniest lines of the show 😂

[thechosenone]

It's so sad that we didn't get to see all the Greens together. We should have had a Rachel and Ross wedding where all the Greens and the Gellers get together.

[hilalk-b]

I really think how successful rachel turned out after being spoiled brat shows us how amazing parent monica is. ❤ I adore monica, I hate nobody likes her as much as she deserves.

[melaniefulginiti]

This is a video that was so unexpected but I still love.
It reminds me that I haven’t watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S. In a while.
All 3 women: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon & Christina Applegate play the Green sisters so well. 💖

[kiminimuchu__]

Honestly, that's part of why I love Rachel's character so much. She's absolutely not perfect and she knows it, and yet she still threw away all the easy life that she had to try to find herself and was able to grow so much in the process, while still maintaining some aspects of her original personality. It's realistic, and it's relatable. She's one of the only characters who didn't feel flanderized by the end of the series, but actually grew and became a better person, but without losing too much of the personality that made her who she is. That's makes her one of the more interesting characters to me.

[natalyamartirosyan]

maybe he was a bad father, but he's a really fun character to watch. all the parents of the main characters were hilarious, actually.