Ross Geller: Nice Guy
by Rhiannon September 18, 2012 November 9, 2018
I've been rewatching a little Friends recently.
Well, by "a little," I mean I started watched a random episode early in Season 3 and am now more than halfway through Season 8. It is, for all intents and purposes, a fun and comfortable show to watch: unchallenging, with generally likeable characters, funny misadventures, and lots of hugs and friendship.
But I cannot stand Ross Geller.
Ross is a nice guy. And not in a genuinely nice way. In a creepy, possessive, get-out-of-my-life way. His on-again, off-again relationship with Rachel is uncomfortable to watch. His behavior is unacceptable, yet we are either meant to laugh at his ridiculousness or even root for the couple to get back together. No thanks.
Here's a look at just a few things that make Ross somewhat less than loveable.
Always pining, never acting
In the very first episode, Ross comments to Rachel that he had a crush on her in highschool. Despite the fact that they have nothing in common (except Monica, I suppose), he says that he might ask her out, and she agrees. And then he never does. He pines, and he watches, and he waits, and he does nothing. As soon as he finds out that she likes him, he's ready to ditch his replacement-Rachel girlfriend, but he never bothers to find that out himself, or make it clear that he likes her. Sitcom-esque, certainly, but not a good start.
We were on a break
Regardless of how he spins it, Ross is a cheater. He was apparently in love with Rachel, but he slept with the copy girl within hours of them having a fight (which was arguably his own fault, due to his jealousy). Rachel never did anything that should make him jealous, but Ross leapt on the chance to cheat as soon as he got the chance. Throughout the next 7 and a half years, he never once admits that what he did might have been wrong or hurtful to Rachel. He does not apologize for what he did. And he does it at other times too. He kisses Rachel while dating Julie. He again kisses Rachel while dating Bonnie. We're supposed to see it as romantic, because he cares about Rachel so much, but he goes throughout the whole show without ever feeling any remorse or even being called out by anyone but Rachel on his behavior.
He is jealous and possessive
The entire "we were on a break" fight happened because Rachel was finally getting her career on track. She scores a dream job, and she is dedicated to making it a success. She works late, and certainly does not approve of her boyfriend appearing in the office and not only making her look unprofessional but setting her desk on fire. In return, Ross becomes convinced that she is falling for her good looking coworker, and is unable to accept Rachel's career ambitions or be happy about her newfound success.
And this controlling nature is found in other areas of his life. When Rachel is pregnant, he insists that as his baby goes anywhere she goes, he should have a say in her life. That she should not date, because she's carrying his baby. He freaks out when he finds out about Monica and Chandler, because she's his sister. He never trusts anyone or lets them figure out their own lives. And he never apologizes for his behavior or even considers it a mistake.
He always assumes Rachel wants to get back together
Any time Rachel wants to talk to him privately, he assumes that she wants to get back together. Usually, he decides he does not want a relationship, but he is willing to concede and give her one night of sex. I can't think of a single time when he's thought this and Rachel has actually wanted to get back together.
Three divorces!
At the beginning of Season 6, Ross and Rachel get married in Vegas. They immediately regret it and decide to annul it. And then Ross does not do it. He secretly stays married to Rachel because he "doesn't want three divorces." Rachel's feelings are not taken to account. She doesn't get a choice. By lying to her, he basically forces her to stay married to him… his end goal remains unclear, except for sitcom humor perhaps. It's ridiculous, and it's more than a little bit creepy.
He doesn't understand what "appropriate" means
He dates a student. One of his own students. He then gets so jealous of the idea of her going on Spring Break, like a normal student, that he decides he has to tag along with her. He repeatedly lies to Mona while she's dating him, because being honest is apparently irrelevant. He then breaks into her house after they've broken up to retrieve a lost shirt, and hides behind the couch when she returns.
And among all this, my biggest problem with Ross is that he is incapable of acknowledging, or even of recognizing, that he's in the wrong or has behaved poorly. Throughout the entire show, he is convinced that he is the good guy, the underappreciated one, the one who deserves happiness to be given to him in the end.
So when Rachel finally abandons her big career break in Paris and gets off the plane to be with him? I'm not exactly cheering.
ross geller
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04 comments on "Ross Geller: Nice Guy"
Rikki	, October 13, 2012 at 12:34 am	 Direct link to comment
I love that you wrote this. I grew up on Friends. It was my favorite show in middle school, and just last night I caught an episode of Friends and while I was never a fan of Ross, considering him boring when compared to the rest of the characters, I was absolutely revolted by what an absolutely terrible boyfriend he was the first time he and Rachel dated. The episode I caught was one of the episodes before the "we were on a break" thing. In it, Ross is feeling a little unsettled by how he's afraid of her slipping away from him with all this time she's spending at work, and while it's a bit of a red flag, it's still a very human emotion so I was like okay. Then Rachel makes this beautifully heartwarming speech about how she likes that he's not in her work life because even though she does love him and she's terrified about doing it all alone, it's okay because she finally has something that's hers. Rachel, whose whole character arc in the early seasons is her going from a spoiled (but mostly sweet) rich girl who has had her hand held her entire life to an independent woman, was taking control of her own life and was happy, and I honestly started to tear up a bit by the amount of depth put into this sitcom character.
Then she says something along the lines of "Is this okay with you?" or "Do you understand that?" to Ross, and he says "Of course" and then hugs her, and while her back was turned he mouths "NO!" as if it's completely irrational for her to not want to spend every second of her life with him, and any feelings of passive indifference I felt towards Ross were immediately replaced with burning hatred. Ross sucks.
Bia	, November 26, 2012 at 10:58 pm	 Direct link to comment
There´s one worse I think. Mister Big. But I think you missed one point: for every asshole there's a stupid girl to be with him, in real life and the fiction supports it. The end of Sex and the City portrays a confuse, fragile and submisse Carrie, that is saved by her "prince". Rachel at least evolved, Carrie ended worse than she begun.
Fiona	, January 26, 2015 at 4:21 pm	 Direct link to comment
Thanks for writing this! Totally agree with you. Ross is easily the least likeable character and the way he behaves is unacceptable. I didn't like Ross and Rachel's 'happy ending' either. I've been re-watching a lot of 'Friends' recently and although i haven't got to the last season yet, it's even easier for me to see this time around that Ross is just bad (and I didn't like him the first time around).
quotetheraven90	, November 4, 2015 at 4:51 am	 Direct link to comment
Thank you! Ross is undeniably is an asshole, far worse than his successor, Ted Mosby. A stalker, unrepentent cheater and arrogant friend, it's a wonder why FRIENDS writer love him so much. Joey is more mature than he ever will be.
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