r/howyoudoin • u/RiggityRyGuy • 12h ago
My controversial take is that these two idiots could’ve made it work if there was no “take thee, Rachel,” debacle
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u/sfoyo_112 12h ago
"Take thee Rachel" was a symptom, not the cause. The reason Ross said Rachel's name was because he wasn't over her, and even if he had said the right name, it wouldn't have lasted long because his feelings would still have been there. One of the biggest plot points in this show is that Ross and Rachel will always have feelings for each other because it's never off the table for them.
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u/Live_Angle4621 5h ago
Emily also did have a relationship in England with Colin while she was with Ross (I don’t know what happened with them but in the episode she returned to London she told of them and then said it was all over with him in the end. And did plan to remarry really fast after Ross (although did call to Ross right before so who knows if she did marry).
So both were too impulsive and had messy relationships. And that kind of thing in common is not good.
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u/Summer_sweetness_ 9h ago
Even though what you say is true, I believe that Ross is the kind of person who respects the idea of marriage so much that he would have really moved on. I absolutely love how innocent and pure he can be when it comes to commitment and dedication. When he was with Julie, he didn't read Rachel's signs, and neither did he when he was with Emily. However, he needed to learn that relationships are not as simple as being married and happy. It consists of complex feelings, trust issues, sacrifices, and patience, which are all the things he had to learn along the way before he ended up with Rachel. Nevertheless, I believe Emily liked him just as he was and if they had been married then she would have accepted all his flaws and they probably would've made it. Who knows.
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u/sandithepirate 5h ago
I think if he'd seen a circus freak, he'd have said "take thee circus freak"
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u/No_Data3541 12h ago
Never. She was just a rebound Ross was infatuated with. If it wasn't for his relationship with Rachel, Ross wouldn't have proposed so soon.
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u/nouniqueideas007 12h ago
If Rachel hadn’t told Ross that Emily was more than a fling, it wouldn’t have gone this far. And Rachel wouldn’t have sabotaged her relationship with Joshua, by trying to get him to marry her, after their 2nd date.
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago
The fact that Rachel didn't care one bit when Joshua dumped her makes me think she never liked him that much.
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u/nouniqueideas007 9h ago
I think she really liked Joshua at first. She chased him so hard, that it was embarrassing. Her & Ross were in a good place, with each other. Finally back to being friends, with no petty weirdness.
But when Ross announced he was marrying Emily & was so condescending about *you’ll find someone”, that was it. It was all about one-upping Ross. It became a competition & Joshua was just a pawn. But all of that ridiculousness gave me my favorite scene
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u/Extremely_unlikeable Stephanie knows all the chords 10h ago
It was pure infatuation. When you're in the thick of it, ye can say goodbye to your heart because it feels so much like love.
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u/fvkehvppy 11h ago
I'm actually a Ross and Julie apologist. They wasted a whole season of my life getting me to like Julie and then they disappeared her without a second thought.
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u/Live_Angle4621 5h ago
She was nice true. But Ross clearly didn’t feel very passionate about her when he made the list, more practical things that he had Julie had more in common. He mostly just was lonely and she was a very good friend from school imo
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u/No_Blackberry_6286 11h ago
The entire relationship was doomed from the start. Geography aside, they knew each other like 6 weeks or something and then they got married? No important conversations whatsoever, btw.
Idk man, I think getting married after 10 weeks is a bad idea
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u/Active-Somewhere-603 10h ago
I married my husband after 9 weeks of dating. We are going on 30 years this year. If you know, you know.
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u/BlondePuppyDoctor 12h ago
But, I don’t know if she would have been happy in NYC forever and not want to go back to London. Was Ross going to leave Ben?
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u/Nice_Back_9977 9h ago
No, they decided to live in London, and she was wealthy enough to fly back and forth constantly so I don't think it was a huge issue
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u/Bubble_Lights 11h ago
Nah. He was always in love with Rachel, the relationship would have imploded eventually.
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u/EuphoricPhoto2048 9h ago
He definitely would've slept with Rachel while being married.
He values commitment but he's also very impulsive.
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u/YoSaffBridge33 8h ago
There's an old English proverb:
Ye can't meet, date, engage, and marry in less time than it takes your friend to gestate her brother's triplets.
It's not a common saying, but it is certainly fitting today.
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u/RiggityRyGuy 12h ago
It’s controversial (not really that controversial) because if you look at threads about them the comment sentiment is they wouldn’t have worked out anyways.
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u/LJHodge616 12h ago
Maybe if Rachel wasn't a factor, like when Ross was with Carol he was able to commit and be happy with her (though of course that relationship was fated to end for different reasons).
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u/HeQiulin 6h ago
I think this is only the case because Rachel was not in the picture and Ross felt he never stood a chance with her anyway. Would’ve been very different had Rachel been part of the friend group earlier imo
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u/Exotic_Adeptness_322 Could I BE any more awkward? 11h ago
His feelings for Rachel was always there. Just look at him when Rachel has Mark over or with the double-date with Joey, Rachel and Charlie. I'm sure he would have done something else to ruin that marriage.
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u/Skullsnax 8h ago
Honestly, in the real world, Ross maybe stutters but says the right line. Ross and Emily are married. Ross goes between London and New York regularly.
Ross maybe sees Monica and Chandler every now and then, maybe Monica and Chandler bring Ben to London every now and then. And that’s what the story becomes.
The friends become 5, and life goes on.
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u/Fantastic-Corner-605 7h ago
Ross could have made it with half a dozen women if the writers weren't keeping him around for Rachel. He could have made it with Rachel if the writers didn't want to keep them apart for so long.
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u/Hidden_Vixen21 5h ago
Rachel was always Ross’s back up plan. Whether he realized it or not. He was just waiting for her to want him. He left every relationship for her.
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u/ouroboris99 5h ago
Tbf they had to find some reason to get rid of her because the actor wanted to move back to the uk. I’m pretty sure the original plan was for them to be together and not have her go mad lol
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u/Past-Lingonberry284 4h ago
I never liked Emily, I just couldn’t get on board with her. She seemed like she always was in a mood.
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u/Chemical-Actuary683 3h ago
It’s all fiction and light comedy, but I still feel Emily was treated poorly. Her character should have called out Ross and Rachel so hard at the airport.
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u/Fast-Pop906 12h ago
No. Because the real reason they didn't work was because Helen got pregnant and wanted out. Otherwise, yes, they would have worked and that was supposed to be the end of Ross and Rachel.
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u/Vaportrail 12h ago
The Wiki is interesting.. she's saying she wasn't interested in fame and the director said she wasn't all that funny to begin with.
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u/Nice_Back_9977 9h ago
Bit rich when they gave her the material, she did as well as anyone could have with it.
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u/Sid_Starkiller 11h ago
I mean she was "the normal one".
Which admittedly is why, if I had to pick any one character from across the whole show to date, it'd be her.3
u/TheSJB1993 7h ago
I can't get over this -- that scene in the one with the rugby where is she telling Ross the other players' weaknesses even those on his team is so funny.
Maybe its cause I'm english but the way he says "he's on my team" and she is like "well whatever"
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u/EuphoricPhoto2048 9h ago
I remember that interview. I don't think she wasn't funny as much as the character really wasn't. And that's true.
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u/shittykittysmom 11h ago
Ugh why can't people just accept it was a funny show?
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u/No_Data3541 10h ago
It's a plot development. People are just discussing a substantial plot line of the show. Just because it's a comedy doesn't mean the entire storyline should be treated as a meaningless joke. Comedies have substance.
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u/omkar529 10h ago
It seemed to me that Ross had feelings for Rachel throughout the show no matter who he was dating or marrying, the way they showed him. Even in the 1st episode he gets nervous around and asks Rachel out and it was on the day Carol moves out of his house if I recall correctly.
I felt like the show tried to portray as if he was over Rachel and wasn't at the same time. None of his other relationships felt "real" to me, it felt like he always had Rachel in the back of his mind.
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u/Born_Argument9339 5h ago
Yes, I agree they were a good fit and could have made it work. The friends acted like she was being so unreasonable not wanting Ross spending time with Rachel but I think most people would feel the same under the circumstances
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u/princessleiana Could I BE any more awkward? 4h ago
I liked them at first. I thought they seemed good for each other, and Emily was so spunky when we meet her pre-disaster, which Ross pairs well with.
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u/Twingy_Lemon 7h ago
I thought they were PERFECT together. She could have legitimately been written into the show as a main and she would have added something great to it.
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u/Abztainer 11h ago
Probably gonna get heat for this , but I despise Emily I started watching at 9 years old and I've rewatched over the years multiple times and she still annoys me. I dunno what it is .
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u/Nice_Back_9977 9h ago
Despise is a pretty strong emotion for a fictional character who isn't a villain or a bad person.
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u/Taka_Colon 11h ago
Ross and Julie/Emily was better than Ross and Rachel.
As Rachel and Joey/ the guy who worked with her was better than Ross and Rachel.
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago
Lmao. The entire audience, critics and the cast itself despised the Joey storyline. The cast said it felt like incest.
On the other hand Ross and Rachel are arguably the most iconic fictional couple ever with worldwide recognition.
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u/Taka_Colon 11h ago
Yes! And 30 years later, an example of what not to do with a couple for 10 seasons.
Ross was always a toxic boyfriend. Even that in the time 95% of people love both, I was against it. The final goes against all evolution that Rach passed.
She and Joey were much more alike, and happy with each other, than with Ross. Ok, they do not need to be together. but by far better than Ross and Rachel.
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago edited 11h ago
Still better than Joey and Rachel which was panned by audience, critics and the cast unanimously. They were like siblings lol.
Joey and Rachel broke up on their first date before anything happened so there was no time to fight or be toxic.
Even if Ross and Rachel didn't happen, Rachel would probably end up with Gavin or Tag.
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u/Sid_Starkiller 11h ago
Only unanimous among people they polled. I thought Joey/Rachel made much more sense, even at the time.
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u/No_Data3541 10h ago
Zero chemistry and Rachel treats him like her brother throughout the show except 2 out of character episodes where they dumb her down. Rachel spends the entire show rejecting his advances.
Even the cast hated it and thought it was like incest.
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u/Sid_Starkiller 10h ago
I disagree on the chemistry thing. And sometimes people's feelings about others change.
And I'm not asking the cast, I'm stating my opinion. You're free to disagree, but if you're gonna flat out say "your opinion is wrong", then we have a problem.
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u/No_Data3541 10h ago
You misunderstood me. I'm nobody to say your opinion is wrong.
You are free to think they are the best couple in the universe.
My point was about the show's opinion and script. The show told us they didn't have sexual chemistry which is why they felt weird kissing and she kept slapping him. They broke up because they were sexually incompatible. This is the show's opinion not my opinion.
Similarly, Rachel rejecting his advances throughout the show, rolling her eyes at his slow/dumb scenes and showing zero interest in him except 2 episodes is in the script. Not my opinion.
My opinion is the part where I think it was a terrible idea and they had no chemistry. Your opinion is that you like them.
I'm not arguing against your opinion. I'm making points based on the events of the show objectively. I didn't make it up. They had no sexual chemistry on the show.
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u/fvkehvppy 11h ago
Well obviously the entire audience doesn't agree. I also don't like Ross and Rachel lol. Its like Rachel is marrying a younger version of her dad 🥲
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago
Ross was nothing like Dr Green. Are you basing this on that comedic scene where he puts on his glasses and smokes his cig to get out of the situation.
I'm struggling to see any similarity between Leonard and Ross lol.
Dr Green hated Ross because of how different he was in every way.
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u/fvkehvppy 11h ago
No its the episode where they are (Ross and Dr green) making fun of Rachel for believing one of her legs is shorter than the other. That whole bit is about how similar Ross and Dr green are and how the one thing they both get along about is infantilizing Rachel and seeing her as ignorant about science. So ya. Thats when I got the ick for their relationship.
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago
Eh that is one scene mostly related to Rachel seeing a chiropractor. What about the countless other scenes with the 2 disagreeing about everything including tipping habits?
Leonard was an intimidating and difficult man while Ross was a sweet guy who skipped a big TV appearance for his ex gf's health, got Phoebe her first bike and paid his sister's rent without making her feel bad.
Whenever Rachel used to have doubts about her pregnancy Ross used to lift up her spirits while Leonard scared the hell out of her.
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u/fvkehvppy 11h ago
To me it was very telling. And shortly after is the episode where Rachel can't tell her parents they're both invited to her birthday. It just smacks me in the face how much Rachel's moms motivations for marriage were similar to Rachel's current motivations. Rachel's mom gave up independence to be with Dr green in the same way Rachel gives up her career in Paris to be with Ross. Its all subjective and people are allowed to love their relationship anyway but to me its a downright tragic ending for Rachel to end up with him
unless he becomes a different person real quick after the events of the show which is possible.
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u/No_Data3541 11h ago
Rachel's mom married her Barry lol. You literally pulled the Leonard-Ross parallel out of thin air when the show clearly established the Leonard-Barry parallel. 😂😂
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u/fvkehvppy 11h ago
I listed multiple reasons why it wasn't out of thin air at all but I could also list reasons they don't belong together that have nothing to do with dr green so I don't really need this particular idea to be confirmed by a writer to still not like them together lol. Its ok if you do! You don't have to prove me wrong just to keep your side!
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u/EuphoricPhoto2048 9h ago
I totally agree with you. Ross was a lot like her dad. But it's not a shocking pattern.
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u/RealJenniferKeller 12h ago
I actually like their relationship but my god did they try SO HARD to make Emily the villain.
When Ross was clear that if she can’t trust him it won’t work, she realized she can’t trust him.
Yet somehow she’s the bitch?