No matter how much we love FRIENDS, I’m sure almost all of you would have felt angry and hurt at the same time when Joey was made to fall in love with Rachel, only for it to amount to nothing. Apart from being the fan favourite, Joey was truly an innocent person and the most selfless friend. Inevitably, the show runners were rooting for a Rachel and Ross ending and as unfair as it sounds, the Joey plot was just a distraction.
However, for everyone out there who believes Rachel and Joey make way more sense than Rachel and Ross, Twitter user @clairewillett mirrors your thoughts and justifies their relationship in the best way possible.
1/ In Defense of Rachel and Joey: A Thread
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Her foremost argument is that Joey and Rachel’s relationship was built on friendship and it evolved over time.
6/ ARGUMENT #1: Ross Never Saw Rachel As a Friend, But Joey Did.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Rachel and Joey’s relationship was platonic from the beginning, they shared a genuine friendship.
12/ He frequently gives her dating advice. (Sometimes questionable af, but, you know. Well-intentioned.)
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
He let her do things which might even embarrass him just for the sake of her happiness.
13/ 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.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Rachel and Joey were comfortable with each other and they could be their own silly selves together.
16/ HE MAKES HER LAUGH.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
There’s a difference between loving someone and being over possessive. Ross just couldn’t help being jealous of Mark.
23/ And you’ll note that throughout the series it’s often Joey telling Ross he doesn’t OWN Rachel, while Chandler and Monica enable him.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Joey is the one who actually understood what Rachel wanted and always reminded Ross that he had to respect how she felt.
24/ Joey is the person who most often tells Ross “dude she’s not interested” when she’s clearly not. The one who notices what RACHEL wants.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Everyone supported Ross’s obsession with Rachel just because he had loved her since so long which is some messed up logic.
25/ He doesn’t have all this “but he’s loved her FOREVER” false nostalgia that makes them all feel like Ross has EARNED Rachel by waiting.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Joey had been shown as a womanizer since the beginning of the show and thus it was really a big deal when he fell in love with someone not for the sex.
28/ 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.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
His love for her had stemmed out of genuine friendship and he respects her feelings even when she doesn’t reciprocate.
32/ And when he tells Rachel how he feels and she turns him down, contrast that with “WE WERE ON A BREAK”
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
We see Joey’s mature side when he is turned down. He tries to act casually even though it’s killing him.
33/ He never blames her and he doesn’t let it impact the rest of the group. The friendship stays intact. ROSS GELLER WHAT’S GOOD
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Ross never gave Rachel due credit for the effort she put in for her career, in fact, he considered himself intellectually superior.
40/ Over and over Ross trivialized her passions, even though I would argue that Rachel’s career was always her most interesting arc.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Joey always looked out for Rachel and supported her in her career when she needed it the most.
48/ Hey does anyone remember who gives Rachel her first big break to get out of Central Perk and into the fashion industry? JOEY DID
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Ross never understood why Rachel’s career was so important to her. He was tired of having a relationship with her answering machine!
49/ Joey knows what it feels like to be grasping for your big break. But name ONE THING Ross ever did to unselfishly help Rachel’s career.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Rachel was maxed out at her current office and she needed something more, everyone understood and supported her.
53/ No one in the FUCKING WORLD loves Rachel Green more than Monica Geller and yet Monica still wanted her to get on that plane for Paris.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Ross was being plain selfish when Rachel wanted to move to Paris for her career, he always portrayed her career as a roadblock to their relationship.
56/ GUESS WHO DIDN’T. FUCKING ROSS. BECAUSE IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT HIM.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
63/ ARGUMENT #3: Joey and Rachel Make Each Other Better, Ross and Rachel Make Each Other Worse
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Joey is the most selfless person in the group and he was so fond of Rachel as a roommate that he didn’t mind living with a baby.
69/ He happily lets Rachel and Emma move back in with him, despite how much having a baby around disrupts his lifestyle.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Living with Rachel changes him almost completely. He always had a heart of gold but this made him sensible too.
74/ Joey learns to love having a baby around, stops being a bad-date punchline and tries to be worthy of a way higher-class lady.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Rachel had had a strict upbringing and a stricter roommate in Monica, but it was Joey who showed her it was okay to be disorganized.
77/ Rachel has been uptight all her life and Joey teaches her how to chill the fuck out. He brings out a sillier side of her.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
The basic difference between Joey and Ross is:
84/ Joey: respecting Rachel’s feelings. Ross: needing to win every fucking time.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Rachel and Joey thought on similar lines and never judged each other for being imperfect, like this time in Barbados:
87/ Joey and Rachel are giggling at “homo erectus” together (RELATABLE!), for which Ross and Charlie treat them both like massive idiots.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
88/ Which is yet another sign that Ross thinks Rachel is intellectually beneath him. But Joey just thinks she’s hilarious.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
For Ross getting Rachel almost felt like a prize that was long overdue because he was in a one-sided love story since his teenage years.
93/ The bottom line is, the Rachel Ross fell in love with was a teenage fantasy he never outgrew that may have been an illusion all along.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
Joey actually fell in love with their friendship. He lived with her, got to know her and realized that Rachel was perfect for him.
95/ Whereas Joey fell in love with a bright, funny, competent single mother he’d been friends with for 7 years and knew inside-out already.
— what is happening 😳 (@kaneandgriffin) August 8, 2017
I’m sure your whole perspective about Joey and Rachel’s relationship has changed. This could infact be a major twist and different from the general norm, but alas!
You can follow the complete thread here.