Although it’s true that Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) is the worst out of the main characters of Friends, it’s time we address the truth about Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), too. Friends ranks among the best TV shows of all time and the greatest sitcoms ever, but that doesn’t mean it’s a flawless, perfect show.
Over the course of 10 seasons, Friends closely followed the lives of Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Rachel, and Ross, with all their wins, fails, and in-betweens. While all of them have their flaws, Ross has stood out as the worst out of the bunch for all the problematic things he did and said.
However, as bad as Ross was, Rachel was as bad as him, and she showed how terrible she was throughout the entire show, but there was a key difference between her and her “lobster.”
Friends’ Rachel Is A Terrible Person
Rachel quickly took the spotlight in Friends when she joined the group in the pilot episode after running away from her wedding, with the show revealing right away that Ross had been crushing on her for years. Thanks to this, a lot of attention went to Rachel throughout the entire run of Friends.
Rachel started as a spoiled girl who had to learn to do everything by herself, without any help from her parents, and the rest of the group was key to her overcoming many challenges. However, Rachel often showed her true colors, and the reality is that she was a terrible friend and person.
Rachel was superficial, entitled, and inconsiderate of her friends’ feelings, and more specifically, Rachel was a bad friend to Monica. Rachel was a lazy roommate, which was a big clash with Monica, who was obsessed with keeping a clean house and being a great host, and there were more specific times when Rachel was terrible to Monica.
Rachel stole Monica’s date with Jean-Claude Van Damme, whom Monica had a crush on, she stole Monica’s “thunder” after she and Chandler got engaged, she did it again at her wedding with the reveal of her pregnancy, and took the name Monica had been keeping for her future daughter.
Of course, there are also all those times Rachel tried to sabotage (and that one time she unintentionally did so at his wedding to Emily) Ross’ relationships, such as she did with Julie and Bonnie, and later did the same to Joey and Charlie.
Ross & Rachel’s Relationship Is Worse When You Realize How Awful Both Are
Ross and Rachel’s relationship takes the spotlight in Friends throughout most of the show. Their on-again-off-again dynamic, constant jealousy, and later becoming parents to Emma kept the attention on their chaotic relationship, but when looking at how they actually were, it’s evident why their relationship was so toxic.
Ross and Rachel’s relationship was driven by jealousy (though mostly from Ross), insecurity, bad communication, entitlement, possessiveness, and manipulation from both parties. Although Rachel is often seen as the victim in the relationship, and while she definitely was at some points, she was as bad as Ross, and that’s why their relationship couldn’t last.
Rachel Had The Development That Ross Never Had
Rachel is a terrible person and friend, but what sets her apart from Ross and doesn’t make her the worst character in Friends is her development. While some of Rachel’s toxic traits were still present at the end of Friends, she wasn’t the same person she was when she arrived at Central Perk in her wedding dress.
Rachel matured a lot, became financially independent, achieved her dreams of working in fashion, and was a responsible, caring, loving mother. Ross, on the other hand, only got worse with each season, and his worst traits were enhanced for comedic reasons, such as his anger issues.
Unfortunately, Rachel took many steps back in her development at the end of Friends, when she gave up her dream job in Paris to go back with Ross. The main characters in Friends aren’t perfect, and that’s what makes them relatable, but some of them were terrible friends.
- Release Date
-
1994 – 2004
- Showrunner
-
Marta Kauffman
- Directors
-
Kevin S. Bright, Gary Halvorson, Michael Lembeck, James Burrows, Gail Mancuso, Peter Bonerz, David Schwimmer, Robby Benson, Shelley Jensen, Terry Hughes, Dana De Vally Piazza, Alan Myerson, Pamela Fryman, Steve Zuckerman, Thomas Schlamme, Roger Christiansen, Sheldon Epps, Arlene Sanford, David Steinberg, Joe Regalbuto, Mary Kay Place, Paul Lazarus, Sam Simon, Todd Holland
- Writers
-
Jeff Astrof, Mike Sikowitz, Brian Boyle, Patty Lin, Bill Lawrence, R. Lee Fleming Jr.
