When “Friends” was first put on Netflix, I was confused, because the show is on several times a day on many different channels. But then I realized I kinda wanted to watch it in its entirety because, hey, it’s a modern classic that’s obviously got a following for a reason, and it’s something I should watch as an aspiring TV writer, and they circulate the same twenty-some episodes, anyway. And so, naturally, as a young person who’s about to take on the world, I devoured it with love and sobbed uncontrollably when I finished. I fell in love with the characters instantly: like many of my favorite shows, I saw them as my own friends who I could always rely on. I grew to care for them, cry when they cried, rejoice in their huge life changes, and identify with all of them in some way.
Though originally I saw myself as a Monica - and still do with the whole friend who cooks and enjoys organizations - as the show went on, I saw myself as almost entirely Rachel: a girl who never really had to work but is now faced with reality. It was really how she handled it that taught me that I could too- never be afraid to ask for help, but you’ve got more stock than you think you do. There’s a lot more to the wise-cracking pretty working girl than meets the eye.
Started From the Bottom, Now We’re Here
At the start of the show, Rachel is seen as the popular girl in high school who turned out exactly how you would expect: a well-off leech who has absolutely no life experience, and who sits pretty (and bored) while any potential she may have is wasted away. And I just love a good exactly what you expect situation that gets turned on its head. And that’s just what happens. Rachel pretty quickly cuts her losses with her parents, who have always been her cash flow, gets her own job, and learns what it means to be a working girl. She quickly realizes her potential and that the feats to which she was expected really were not for her. Once she’s paid her dues slinging coffee for strangers — hey, you gotta start somewhere — she moves on up the career latter to a job in fashion, eventually making it to bigwig status. It takes time for her to get a steady and decent income, but it’s not for lack of trying. Also, props to making ends meet in New York City — that town is pricey. So, instead of the traditional past for which she knew better, she eventually reaches a high-power job that she enjoys and is good at, and has a great group of friends, all while living in New York City. That’s a success story for ladies everywhere if I’ve ever seen one.
Somebody That I Used to Know
So often, Rachel is reunited with people from her past, whether it be the basics who grew up to be what she was supposed to be, a bored housewife who spends her days lunching and shopping for eternity or her sisters. She has no regret for the path she’s chosen, often thanking her lucky stars she turned out as well as she did- thank God she didn’t stop off at some other coffee shop after bolting from her wedding. Though her old friends are skeptical of her choices at first, as she rises up the corporate latter, the more impressive she becomes. And though she tried her darnedest to help her poor, privileged sisters with zero street smarts, it was another stark reminder of what could have been. As a character, she completely evolved for the better. It’s totally okay to take a different path and one that’s perhaps less visited.
Love and New York City
Let’s face it: as we saw in the many “how it could have been” episodes, her marriage to Barry, the evil orthodontist, was not a happy one. This was made abundantly clear pretty early on when her supposed-to-be husband took up with her then best friend and maid of honor, then promptly got divorced. There would be no happy endings there. Lucky for Rachel, she took her premonition and ran, following her path to greener pastures, and actually taking time to date. But also, dating wasn’t the most important thing to her: some times her career came first. Yeah, of course, sometimes she’s got the “I want a boyfriend” blues, but who doesn’t, now and again. At least it was for all the right reasons: companionship, reciprocal feelings, love and all the added bonuses lol. Anyway, she wasn’t just a girl who was all about men all of the time: many episodes were about a struggle she had at work or with family. Even when she decided to go through with having a baby, she was completely prepared to do it alone and didn’t decide to just get married to make all of her problems go away. She handled it the best she could, and did a pretty damn good job. Bottom line: she’s a very well-rounded character with just the right amount of romantic aspect.
Some may continue to see Rachel as the silly, dumb blonde token of the group, but she’s so much more than that. She’s not perfect, but that’s another aspect to be admired about the show: the characters aren’t perfect, but wonderfully, humanly flawed, just as we are. Watching them go through things that we could completely relate to, or that were the far-fetched things of hilarious nightmares is what kept us going and made us unafraid to take on love, friendship, reality and life. We can learn something from all the characters and they’re beautiful in that way.
