The best Friend

In light of Matthew Perry’s tragic and untimely death, I thought this would be the perfect time to discuss a matter that most “Friends” fans and views agree on. Who the best character of the show was.

It definitely wasn’t Ross, who is arguably the worst character on the show (yes, this is taking into all “Friends” characters). Some may say Phoebe, with her kookiness, or Joey, with his flirtatious attitude. Others may say Rachel, with her timeless haircuts, or Monica with her OCD and hilarious sibling relationship to Ross (arguably his only redeeming quality).

However a majority of Friends fans will tell you that their favorite character is Chandler Bing. Chandler in only a few words, is sarcastic, hilarious, but also is a good person. He’s been through some trauma, but his trauma is what makes him such an amazing character.

Unlike Phoebe, Chandler doesn’t use his childhood trauma whenever he wants to get his way. He takes his trauma and hides it by using humor and sarcasm, like the rest of us. He doesn’t shove his trauma in everyone’s face.

He’s also arguably the most loyal. He has a good, stable job, which none of the cast of “Friends”even know the official title of. He doesn’t care that they don’t know what he does. He even goes as far as hiring Phoebe as his assistant.

Another example of his loyalty was when Rachel set him up with her boss. When it’s revealed she had a great time and he didn’t, he kept going out with her for Rachel’s sake. Yet the biggest example of his loyalty was the fact that he managed to stay friends with Ross all throughout college and their adulthood.

There was one little hiccup when it came to his loyalty with Joey, which happened when he revealed he was in love with Joey’s ex-girlfriend. However, to make up for this, Chandler remained in a box for six hours on Thanksgiving, which Chandler doesn’t actually celebrate.

But besides all of that, besides the sharp-witted one-liners and sarcastic comments, what sets Chandler apart from the rest of the cast is that of his relationship with Monica. Their relationship spanned from the end of season four of the show until the very end. I honestly applaud him. Monica is a great character, but her relation to Ross knocks her down a peg. I can’t imagine being married into that family.

When the couple struggled with fertility issues, Chandler adjusted to help Monica know that he would be there for her regardless of what she wanted to do. Fertility issues are a lot to deal with, especially for someone who wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be a father in the first place. If chandler had followed his past patterns, he most likely would’ve ran. Yet he stuck with Monica until they found their path.

He grew throughout his time on the show, in more drastic ways than most of the rest of the cast. He showed people that though his trauma helped develop him, it didn’t define him. He took accountability for his missteps and he learned from them.

That is why he’s the best “Friend” that anyone could ever have asked for. Thank you Matthew Perry for bringing him to life. Rest in peace.

Jolie Shultz is a Nickerson freshman studying journalism.

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