Friends confession - Ross
There are so many things for which Ross is underestimated. One of them being the lovely way he created a personal Space Camp for Sarah in “The One Where Rachel Quits” (3x10). Everytime I watch that episode I can’t help but thinking how sweet he is.
I know that later in the show he became a little bit obsessive and jealous and his charachter changed a lot, but Ross was always the most caring of the Friends. He always did these little things to make all of them happy.
Like when he gave up his chance to appear on Discovery Channel to stay home and help Rachel in The One with a Chick and a Duck (3x21).
I know that Ross was only trying to date her, but what he did for Rachel in The One With the East German Laundry Detergent (1x05) was unbelievable. He helped her find confidence; he believed so much in her, even when she didn’t give herself enough credit. That moment when he spins the cart and turn her around to watch him is so iconic that I always hold my breath every time I watch it, it’s such an incredible beginning of their huge history together.
Like when he let Rachel win at Poker in The One with All the Poker (1x18).
In The One With The Dozen Lasagnas (1x12) his conversation with Rachel after she breaks up with Paolo is memorable. You should be with a guy who knows what he has when he has you. *Heart breaking*
This also reminds me of the incredible words Ross said to Rachel in the first episode of Season 2, when she finally realized that she was in love with him but he had already met July (2x01). Nonetheless, he said lovely words to encourage her - as a friend. He was so caring and devoted. *_* You are way too good to be with a guy like that. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you, and who gets how funny and sweet and amazing, and adorable, and sexy you are, you know? Someone who wakes up every morning thinking “Oh my god, I’m with Rachel”. You know, someone who makes you feel good…
We know Ross always had a soft spot for Rachel since season 1. He always tried to make her happy. In (1x24) we’ve got a perfect example of how much he always cared about her, even as a friend. We don’t know when this exactly happened, but Ross and Rachel were once walking by an Antique Store when she saw a pin in the window, looking kike one that her grandmother had when she was a little girl. No need to say more, Ross bought it in secret and kept it for Rachel, to give her as a present on her birthday. Of course, this also was a pivotal moment in their relationship, because she finally realized that she was in love with him, too.
He escorted Carol to the altar after her parents told her that they were not fine about her decision to marry Susan. And then he also danced with Susan at the wedding ceremony…So sweet. (2x11)
He gave money to his sister without asking anything in return in The One with the Prom Video (2x14).
Ross was a very good friend to Joey, too. He bought Chanoey’s famous porcelain dog as a gift so that Joey wouldn’t have to return everything when he lost his job as Drake Remoray on Days of Our Lives (2x19). “Is this friendship? I think so!”
In The One With Barry and Mindy’s Wedding (2x24) he did even more for Joey. After being uncomfortable about it, he finally agreed to kiss Joey so he could practice for his part in Warren Beatty’s movie (Rachel is a very lucky girl, indeed).
One of my favorite moments between Ross and Rachel was definitely when they sang Copa Cabana at Barry and Mindy’s wedding (2x24). At first Ross stood up to make a speech about what had really happened when Rachel decided to run out on Barry on their wedding day (What are you adding, what are you adding, what are you adding, what are you adding?). I mean, he is just so in love with her and so cute. Later he sang with Rachel and if that wasn’t already the sweetest thing, he also gave her a rose. That scene always melts my heart, I swear. I think this is probably the highest point in their whole relationship, they look so in tune with one another and so invincible together on that stage.
Of course, sometimes he was a jerk, like when he yelled at Rachel and humiliated her in front of her friends because she was late getting ready for his big night (3x02). Ross always managed to be forgiven because, come on, he was going to drink the fat. How sweet was he when he said, “If that is what it takes to show you how much you mean to me, and how much I want you there. Then that’s what I’ll do.” (Let’s see what else he’ll do! - I think he would do almost anything for Rachel. I mean, he also took a spider in his hands!) [btw, this is my favorite episode <3]
Do we need to mention the time Ross gave his Frankie says relax t-shirt back to Rachel (3x19)? That is one of the sweetest moments in all the ten seasons of Friends. Classic Ross, as Parker would say.
Or when he took off his coat at the Museum to sit with Joey, because he cared more about his friend than about stupid divisions between “people in white coats and people in blue blazers” (4x11).
Or when he tried to help Joey and Chandler mend their rift when Kathy cheated on Joey with Chandler (4x08). I mean, he could have had Joey considering him as a best friend and Chandler being more connected to him, but Ross certainly put Chanoey’s bond at the first place, knowing what it meant to them both. All right. But if you weren’t my best friend… :)
Or when he made Rachel happy and decided to get out with Emily (even if he didn’t want to) when she wanted to date Joshua (4x14). Incidentally, that’s how Ross ended up meeting his second wife, so that was Rachel’s fault…
Or when he decided not to date anymore just to calm Rachel in The One with the Cooking Class (8x21) [ahw *_*, my lobsters].
Or when he made the bike as a gift to Phoebe in The One with All the Candy (7x09). [Seriously, do you realize how much lovely that was???!!!]
Again about Phoebe, when he decided to stop playing his music to let Phoebe play again (4x07). Phoebe didn’t want to play anymore because of Ross’s talent (XD), so he made her believe that he’d lost it to convince her to play again. Isn’t that a sign of true friendship?
And when he DID find Sting’s tickets for Phoebe?! [Rosss caaaaan!] (8x10)
Or when he accepted Rachel’s confession that she still loved him, even if he was already married (5x02). He behaved so lovely towards her, making her feeling respected and understood, like a real friend. Maybe because he knew so well what she was going through in that moment. Probably also because he knew that he still felt something for her too, but that he was married to Emily. [That is what the thing is…]
As usual, whenever Rachel calls, Ross answers. Even when they are “just friends”. She asks him not to go out with Jill because the idea freaks her out, and he immediately obeys (6x14). So caring.
What about him being a very good friend to Chandler (and a very good brother to his sister)? When Chandler disappeared before the wedding (7x24), Ross searched all night for him. He also helped his friend fighting his insecurity before the wedding and he was so happy to find out that Monica was pregnant (even if in the end she actually wasn’t).
Or when he bought all the newspapers in the neighbourhood so that Monica wouldn’t see a bad review (8x21). Seriously, how sweet was that?
Ross was always a kind brother, he often tried to defend Monica from Judy and Jack’s bad behavior. This also happened in The One Where Rosita Dies (7x13) when he found out that Jack used Monica’s boxes to keep the water away from the Porsche during Spring floods. Ross knew that Monica would be upset for this.
Ross: Dad that won’t matter to her. Look, all my stuff is safe and dry and all her is-is, is growing new stuff! See, this is exactly the kind of thing that makes her think you guys love me more than you love her. Mr. Geller: Oh my God, does she really thinks that? Ross: Well, can you blame her?
So he decided to use some of his belongings to let her find something from her past.
Ross: Monica came here for some memories and damnit, we’re gonna give her some! Okay, grab…grab some empty boxes. Okay? We’ll-we’ll take stuff from mine and whatever we can pass off as hers we’ll-we’ll put ‘em in their.
Again, talking about Ross’s friendship with Phoebe, he ran all over town to find Mike Hannigan (or the four other Mike Hannnigan he bothered) and explain why Phoebe was crying (9x04), seeing that he’d been the one to upset her in the first place.
Or when he spoke with Joey about his feelings for Rachel and encouraged him to tell her how he felt. Ross was hurting, and he was afraid that Rachel could reciprocate Joey’s feelings, but he knew that if she was gonna end up with somebody else, she couldn’t find a better guy. I just love Ross in that episode (8x16).
I also love the way he helped Joey by giving him all those Art lessons to impress Charlie (9x21), even if he really liked her. And later he also convinced Charlie that Joey was worth a shot.
Or when he realized that, even if he felt terrible about it, he needed to let Joey and Rachel be together. I really loved his conversation with Joey, it shows how much he cares about his friendship with Joey and Rachel’s happiness (10x02). Joey: Yeah, but, Ross, I mean, you’re not okay with it. Ross: No, but I wanna be. Hey, I will be.
Or when he tried to convince Rachel to fight her fear of the swings in The One with the Home Study (10x7).
Who did Rachel turn to when her father had an heart attack (10x13)? The first person wanting to go with her to Long Island was Ross. He really wanted to be there for her, even if his relationship with Dr. Green had always been far from idyllic. And he didn’t give in when Rachel jumped on him when she was upset and vulnerable for what had happened to her father, because Ross knew that he would have taken advantage of her. Well, I still regret this decision (XD) but he was the cutest man ever, seeing how he had dealt with this kind of situation sometimes in the past. Very mature, Ross.
Or when he finally made peace with himself and understood that Rachel wanted to go to Paris and he couldn’t do anything to stop her. He knew that he couldn’t live without her, but he stopped being selfish and helped her to decide that leaving for Paris was what she really wanted. (10x15)
But the most important thing he ever did was the very one that eventually helped him win Rachel’s heart. Stepping in to escort Rachel to Prom when her date stood her up was the sweetest thing Ross ever ever did (2x14), the most important memory from their shared past. Why wouldn’t he want to watch that video?! It just helped Rachel realize why she had fallen in love with Ross in the first place, because in the end it had always been her.
I just love Ross for all these little things and so much more. And I think this is one of the reasons he really deserved Rachel in the end. I don’t care what people say, I don’t care if there is someone arguing that Rachel should have gone to Paris and left him behind. This is nonsense. Ross was far from perfect, I know. But he WAS NOT a bad guy at all. And I think that many of the worst things he did during the years were mainly due to fictional reasons - the show had to go on, and the lobsters had to stay “off-again”. But I’m SO glad they got “on-again”, in the end. They sooooo deserved it. <3
I want to mention these posts that helped me adding more to my list:
The whole Ross is “the worst” posts saga by @itshansolo
Last update: 09/29/2020 - Episodes 1x24 and 7x13
New update :)