Following a Twitter trend in which users spoke about TV plotlines they hated, with a popular one being the relationship between Rachel and Joey in the hit sitcom, Friends, one person was quick to jump to the defence of the couple. In a long thread of messages, Twitter user @kaneandgriffin explained why Rachel should have chosen Joey, and not Ross, who she famously ends up with by the show's finale.
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Should Rachel and Joey have ended up together?
They wrote: "Thread I'm loving this 'let's yell about TV plots point we hate' thing that's happening EXCEPT that it started about Rachel and Joey on Friends… A lot of people think [Rachel with Joey] was weird or that it came out of nowhere, BUT I AM HERE TO TELL YOU WHY IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN END GAME." In over one hundred tweets, the Friends fan detailed their point of view, writing: "Ross never saw Rachel as a Friend, but Joey did. From the moment the friends first meet Rachel, Ross immediately sees her as a romantic prospect. He's never gotten over his crush on her. Joey, of course, greets her with 'how YOU doin' and Monica appropriately smacks him down for hitting on a woman on her wedding day but this is presented as Joey's standard greeting to every hot woman ever, not specific to Rachel."
In the show, Rachel ends up with Ross
They continued: "But Joey's relationship with Rachel is platonic almost right away. They have a genuine friendship. He frequently gives her dating advice… He sets her up on dates with men he thinks she'll like. He lets her crash the set when he's filming and flirt with soap actors... HE MAKES HER LAUGH… Joey's feelings for Rachel were born out of genuine friendship. They were roommates. SHE WAS PREGNANT. We honestly don't talk enough about how big a deal it is that Joey, the 'shallow' one, falls in love with Rachel while she's pregnant. It happens the way realistically healthy relationships do: they just start spending a lot more time together. He has to LEARN to see Rachel as a romantic prospect because she's always been a friend first. Which was NEVER true for Ross."
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Kaneandgriffen concluded the argument, writing: "The only factor in favour of Ross/Rachel endgame is conventional sitcom storytelling structure. Not because they're RIGHT for each other. Ross and Rachel were endgame because they were considered INEVITABLE, and I don't dispute that that's where the show was always heading. But a S10 surprise twist where Rachel and Joey end up realising THEY were each other's lobster all along WOULD HAVE CHANGED SITCOM TV."
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Users following the popular thread were quick to voice their opinion, with one writing: "I so loved Joey! Loved Joey with Rachel! Wish that he and she had the baby together instead of Rachel and Ross to be truthful," while another person added: "Shows proper insight, he really loves her and wants the best for her (as a friend) - Joey is the best character by far."