F.R.I.E.N.D.S: A list of most underrated friendships in the sitcom

The ever popular sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S is regarded as the epitome of friendships for generations ranging from Gen-X to Gen-Z. There are six reasons why the show successfully engaged people for many years - and it still continues to do so after its conclusion - and they are Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross. Every character has left a mark on us with their friendship that they shared with each other. The most popular friendship on the show is undoubtedly between Monica-Rachel and Chandler-Joey. But here are some friendships on the show that are underrated or less celebrated, but still deserve a shoutout.

They may not have shown how much they cared for each other like how Monica-Rachel or Joey-Chandler did, but there were rare instances where they showered affection in a few episodes. For instance, when Ross moved into a naked guy’s apartment, Phoebe was the only one who came over for the housewarming party. We don’t know if the others lost their invitations or were held up with their own work. But Phoebe was the one who showed up, and also tried to defend Ross in front of his neighbours, when he was hated for not making a contribution for the handyman’s farewell party. What they’d hoped for in the end, may not have happened, but the way Phoebe stood up for him showed how much she cared for him, though she seldom talked about it. Ross and Phoebe’s friendship was more of an implicit and a quirky one.

It may sound bizarre to say that Ross and Carol were friends, but they did care for each other. It took a lot of time for Ross to move on from Carol, but later, they developed an understanding for each other though it was rarely portrayed in the show. When Carol’s parents refused to attend her wedding with Susan, Ross stood up for her, though he was initially against it. He had become a complete support system for her - the duo had developed a form of familial support and friendship as well. Similarly, after the infamous Ross and Rachel break-up, when the gang left for a skiing trip and Ross was left behind, he could only think of one place to go to and that was Carol’s. In spite of her plans with Susan, she was a moral support for Ross during that time and lent an ear for his incessant ranting on his break-up.

The friendship between them was short-lived due to Julie’s break-up with Ross, but they did become good friends during the period. Rachel was definitely not pleased with their friendship on account of her fear of Monica being taken away from her like how Ross was. But when we look past all that, like how Monica explained to Rachel, Julie was really a nice person and a kind friend. it would have been amazing if they’d continued their friendship even after the break-up.

This friendship was almost never talked about. Even if it did start on a lie, the vibe that Monica and Fake Monica shared with each other was very much real. That was the time where we got to see another side of Monica that we thought never existed, even Monica didn’t know it existed. But fake Monica had brought it out of her. Although the timeline of their friendship was limited, it was a memorable one, for Monica.

This friendship deserves a shoutout, mainly because of the vibe they shared with each other on rare occasions. Their friendship was not off to a great start, but developed over the years and it was quite implicit when the gang was around. But they shared some crazy moments when others weren’t around. For starters, they were dessert stealers, living outside the law. Probably the makers knew how much their friendship was on a different level, and might have decided to make an episode out of it. There were a lot of quirky moments between the two of them - which ranges from Rachel acting as a wingman for Chandler and her boss, to Chandler and Rachel’s negotiation in her boss’s office to Chandler acting as a wingman for Rachel during Christmas to Rachel as a partner-in-crime for Chandler.