#whatever its just annoying that so many people seem to think theyre like peak intellectual bc they hate ross

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I see a lot of posts saying that ross was meant to be like an extremely lovable character and the perfect dream guy but I really don’t think that’s what they were going for? ross is made fun of by the audience more than any other character. most of the time when another character is sad we are meant to feel sad with them. there’s always an element of funny added in but even when chandler (probably the most “comic relief” type character) is miserable abt smth we are sad for/with him. when ross is sad we’re meant to laugh at him. like his “catchphrase” if u wanna call it that is his really sad “hi” followed by a laugh track. his misery is hilarious because a) it’s hard to feel bad for him and b) he creates a lot of it himself

I mean rarely in the series are you ever supposed to actually feel bad for ross. obviously the writers think he’s a good fit for rachel for some ungodly reason and we differ in opinion there but I think for the most part ross is supposed to be an asshole. the other characters even frequently call him out on it! and at one point in the series ross even (kind of) acknowledges that really he’s only friends with these people because of monica and they’re all clearly more connected to rachel than him (when emily tells ross he can’t see rachel anymore and rachel worries abt being phased out and he says they should phase him out instead because “there are plenty of people who just see their sisters at thanksgiving and their college roommates at reunions and just see joey at burger king”) when ross does shit like freak out over ben having a barbie doll the other characters make fun of him and he’s made out to be irrational and annoying

the only times in the series you’re ever really supposed to like him all that much are the rare occasions he does something actually kind for his friends like getting phoebe a bike and teaching her how to ride because she never got to a a kid (and even then he teaches her wrong and comes off as a jerk) or when he puts aside his massive fucking ego and convinces carol that susan is the right person for her and they should get married with or without her parents, then walks her down the aisle because she has no one else. other than these few moments of genuine humanity the show presents him for the most part as an absolute asshole