Meanwhile, let's discuss how few moments exist in the "Friends" canon where Ross & Rachel are EVER that chill and cute together.
Everything is ALWAYS fraught. Fighting, jealousy, possessiveness, drama. Their relationship looks EXHAUSTING.
And it's not just Ross to be honest (although... It's mostly Ross...), but he makes HER worse too. She's harsher and more tightly-wound. I cannot imagine a life where forever having to live with the shadow of "we were on a break" hanging over your head is considered a win.
But think about how kind and gentle they were with each other when Joey said he had feelings for Rachel and she couldn't say it back.
Think about an entire lifetime of one or the other of those two conflict-resolution styles, my dudes. SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT IT.
Joey : respecting Rachel's feelings.
Ross : needing to win every fucking time.
One of my favorite Joey/Rachel moments is when they're in Barbados for Ross' conference and he's giving his boring keynote speech.
Joey and Rachel are giggling at "homo erectus" together (RELATABLE !), for which Ross and Charlie treat them both like massive idiots. Which is yet another sign that Ross thinks Rachel is intellectually beneath him. But Joey just thinks she's hilarious.
Ross has ALWAYS treated her like she's intellectually beneath him, which is why "just a waitress" cuts so deep on that season 2 list.
Being Mrs. Geller is a ticket to a lifetime of being treated like a dummy at his faculty events with him never sticking up for her. And, crucially, this is NOT because Rachel isn't smart. It's because ROSS doesn't think she's smart. No matter how high she advances.
That's not to say there is no potential downside to Joey, but she'd be treated like a queen instead of patronized forever, to be honest.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
