We’re all familiar with the infamous sitcom, Friends, and we’ve probably all watched it a dozen times through on Netflix. We’ve even probably had our favorite ‘friend,’ and would fight to the death to prove why they should be crowned the best friend.
Whether you love Chandler’s humor, Rachel’s style, or Monica’s competitiveness, each friend has something totally worth loving about them. Ross Geller kind of gets dragged through the mud by many fans of the show, but this list is here to put an end to the conversation once and for all. This list argues that Ross is actually the kindest and most selfless friend of the series, and here are 10 episodes to prove it.
‘The One with all the Poker’ (Season 1, Episode 18)
Although this could easily be considered as an attempt to win Rachel’s heart, it’s also incredibly sweet and is definitely a redeeming moment for Ross. When the gang gets together to play poker, it ends up in a head-to-head with Ross versus Rachel. Rachel is determined to beat the boys at the game, but Ross’s competitive side comes out. When the two go all-in, Rachel reveals her cards, to which Ross tells her she beat him. The girls cheer and Rachel is over the moon with happiness. It is revealed between the guys that Ross actually had her beat, but let her win to make her happy. Nicely played, Ross.
‘The One with the Prom Video’ (Season 2, Episode 14)
This may just be one of Ross’s most redeeming moments, and it’s clearly enough to win back Rachel’s heart (he actually won all of our hearts with this one). When the gang is watching an old videotape of Rachel and Monica getting ready for their prom, Ross is more than adamant that they shouldn’t watch it.
Of course, they do, and it’s revealed that after Rachel was stood up, Ross had raced upstairs to get his dad’s tuxedo, planning to take Rachel to the prom so she wouldn’t have to go alone. All of our hearts melted, and we felt extremely sorry for Ross and incredibly proud of his selflessness. Luckily, he did get a kiss out of it.
‘The One without the Ski Trip’ (Season 3, Episode 17)
After Ross and Rachel have a fight and break up, it becomes difficult for the gang to divide their time between Ross and Rachel. Rachel invites the four of them up to her ski lodge for the weekend, and the gang reluctantly goes without Ross. After they run out of gas and got locked out of their car in the middle of nowhere, they’re forced to call Ross to come and pick them up. If we were Ross, we’d be tempted to tell them to call somebody else, he wasn’t invited, right? However, Ross swallows his pride and his anger and goes to pick them up, Rachel included.
‘The One with the Chick and the Duck’ (Season 3, Episode 21)
After Rachel injures herself and thinks she has a broken rib, she is pretty helpless to do anything on her own. Although Ross was invited to be on a panel for the Discovery Channel, Ross stays behind to help Rachel, who is unaware of what he is giving up.
Ross wins some extra points here, for he didn’t actually want to get extra credit from Rachel for missing something important to him. He does it discretely and helps her because he knows it’s the right thing to do. We see that, Ross, we see that.
‘The One with Phoebe’s Uterus’ (Season 4, Episode 11)
When Ross gets Joey a job as a tour guide at the museum, it becomes evident to Joey that the tour guides and the scientists aren’t supposed to sit with each other at lunch. Noticing how upset this makes Joey, Ross makes a scene and sits with Joey at the lunch table. When people start looking, the two make a big speech about how ridiculous it is to separate the two groups, and Ross proclaims how good of a friend Joey is. This scene is hilarious and cringy, but it also melted our hearts to see these two profess their friendship.
‘The One with All the Candy’ (Season 7, Episode 9)
Regardless of how you feel about Ross, you are absolutely lying if his completely selfless and unwarranted gesture in this episode didn’t make you tear up at least a little bit. When the gang discovers that Phoebe has never owned a bicycle, they become really sympathetic towards her.
However, Ross goes the extra mile and shows up to the apartment with a brand new, pink bicycle (with purple tassels and bell included!). This moment is incredibly sweet, and Phoebe is forever grateful. Bonus points, when Ross finds out she can’t actually ride a bicycle, either, he spends the day teaching her how.
‘The One with Rachel’s Phone Number" (Season 9, Episode 9)
After Phoebe starts dating Mike, she really wants him to become involved with her friends. When Rachel and Phoebe are scheduled to go out for the night, Ross invites Mike over to hang out with him. Although this experience is incredibly hilarious and extremely painful, as the two have nothing in common, we commend Ross for doing this for Phoebe anyways. Befriending someone’s significant other is definitely a good friend thing to do.
‘The One with the Fertility Test’ (Season 9, Episode 21)
Although it’s pretty clear that Ross has a thing for his fellow professor, Charlie, Joey also takes quite the liking to her at a party. Despite Ross’s feelings, he keeps them concealed when Joey asks him for advice on how to impress her.
Ross suggests he take her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and spends the entire day teaching him about the paintings and helping him remember what he should say about them. Even if he didn’t like the girl, this is still a pretty incredible thing to do for a friend.
‘The One Where Ross is Fine’ (Season 10, Episode 2)
It’s safe to say it comes as quite the shock to Ross when he discovers that Rachel and Joey are trying to date. It’s even more clear that Ross isn’t actually fine with it, but despite all that, he at least does his absolute best to make them feel like they are supported. He even invites them to his apartment for a double date, where he tries to make things seem normal and show the new couple how much he supports his friends. Despite kind of absolutely failing at this, his heart really was in the right place. (All Friends fans can also literally hear this photo, we know).
‘The One Where Estelle Dies’ (Season 10, Episode 15)
While Rachel is having an incredible internal dilemma about whether or not she should move to Paris, most of the gang finds it pretty difficult to tell her she should go. When Ross and Rachel are talking, Ross convinces her that she should do what she wants to do, and take the opportunity if she feels it best.
Despite his everlasting love for her, Ross is the only friend that is able to tell Rachel to do what’s best for her. This is a pretty big deal, and we’re loving Ross for his selflessness and care for his friends. Friends should always support friends.
