ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - Rank the Friends Cast

1. Phoebe
2. Rachel
3. Chandler
4. Monica
5. Joey
6. Ross

Phoebe the best because her story is so tragic and she talks about it a lot, yet it doesn't become her defining feature? She's a complex woman with an awful history who managed to get off the streets, find a job, a place to live, and a family :love: she certainly felt like a secondary character in the group but she had the best development while remaining consistent imo

2. Rachel is number 2 for similar reasons as Phoebe. Rachel was essentially the main character - we saw her develop from "just a waitress" (a job she was bad at) to someone who was getting job offers to work in France (and was even offered her old job back because she was that good at It!!). She was a woman dependent on her dad's money and didn't know what she wanted in life at the start and in the decade she became an amazing (single!!) mother. Also while the Rosschel stuff was objectively awful, I couldn't help but enjoy their chemistry, despite how toxic it was

3. Chandler just bounced off characters extremely well imo. His and Joey's friendship was great, he had a lovely friendship with all three ladies (honestly I think Chandler could've worked with all of them, but I was hoping for Rachel and Chandler) and... he put up with Ross for over a decade and that in itself is an impressive feat. He too developed and it was nice to see a man who didn't know what he want in life and relationships slowly realise and work on what he wanted. Oddly though, I just couldn't care for Mondler. They're good together don't get me wrong, but I think their chemistry wasn't as strong as it could be (also RachelXJoey)

4. Monica. I can't explain why I don't enjoy Monica too much? She was great, she lost a hell of a lot of weight, she became a talented chef, married and eventually had children, despite how her parents disapproved. That said, in the later seasons she just felt very.... exaggerated? That did happen to others yes, and luckily she didn't suffer too badly from this, so she ranks higher than the remaining men.

5. Joey. Joey isn't 'bad', he's just underdeveloped, and for that reason I don't enjoy him as much as the others. He's definitely a great friend (just look at how he reacted to Monica's decision to have a baby with a sperm donor :love: ) and yes, his approach to love life does mature (see RachelXJoey), but besides that I always just felt like he was a supporting member? Ross/Rachel/Monica/Chandler - all their stories are interwoven and they grow together, Phoebe had her own backstory and development, but Joey? He was always just an actor struggling to get by in my eyes, and while he's a lovely guy (I do feel a tad iffy about his approach to sleeping around, but he did mature when he called then all back so that's not exactly a valid point) he just didn't bring as much to the tables as others did imo. I don't know if his spin-off remedied this, but based on what I've heard I don't think I ever will watch it and find out.

6. Ross. Yeah maybe I'm just gonna be politically correct here but I just can't stand Ross. Ross was bearable for the first half of FRIENDS. In fact, I'd rank him higher than Joey based on his time in the first half of FRIENDS. He went through a divorce, owned a monkey, couldn't keep the monkey and then became a father. And that is a lot of story, and that's not bad! It's why he was enjoyable - he was human and going through a rough time and relied on his friends to get by. And of course early Rosschel was just perfect. There was so much chemistry and even if Ross was a bit of a knob writing that list (it wasn't his idea yes but he still said some things that would piss me off) but besides that they weren't toxic early on. Then the break happened.
Oh dear the break. I will say this: I did take Ross' side. He wasn't thinking straight - he was drunk (not that it is an excuse, but it certainly gives a reason) and upset and lonely and to be fair, he did think he was on a break. But it's how he handled the aftermath that's poor. He kept making unnecessary jokes and never seemed to recognise that, while unintentional, he upset Rachel. And yes that's a fault of Rachel too - they never sat down and talked about it. It's not as if they didn't have a chance to either. For example, when they briefly git back together, Ross flips his lid about the letter. And I can see why he got pissed with Rachel putting all the responsibility on him, Ross just couldn't swallow his pride and say "I recognise that I hurt you, I misinterpreted what you said and I hope you can forgive me". Nah he just throws that away and the toxicity just boils from there.
Ross lied about getting a divorce, tried coming onto his cousin, and developed rage problems. And while I recognise that Elizabeth is technically a legal and consenting adult, I still find it bizarre that Ross was in a position where he was comfortable enough to risk his job for the sake of a relationship.
OH and he always just seemed disrespectful. Phoebe opposed science while also recognising it (she acknowledges evolution has evidence and proof, yet chooses to believe in other theories) and found comfort in reincarnation, and yes, that's all a tad farfetched, but it did annoy me that Ross just couldn't respect this and tried so hard to be right.
That said, Phoebe and Ross has amazing chemistry (as friends!), and so did Ross and Rachel and imo to a lesser extent, Ross with Monica. He never felt like a 3rd wheel with Chandler and Joey so I just feel like he doesn't have chemistry with half the cast, whereas everyone else seemed to bounce of each other (mostly except Ross though).
And he did remain on good terms with Carol (and tolerated Susan which was nice I guess) and was a good father! Although the fact she and Ben just disappeared after season 7 only makes me wonder if the theory about Ross losing custody of Ben is because he became quite awful as time went on.
And the sad thing is, despite how toxic Rosschel was and how GREAT it would be for Rachel to go off and be a single mother working in a career and place she's always wanted to, a part of me just felt complete seeing them get back together. A part of me likes to believe he got custody of Ben back, decided to become a better person, and moved to France with Rachel and Emma. Then Ben can fly out every other week I guess idfk