The Sweet Reason Ross From ‘Friends’ Doesn’t Deserve So Much Hate

A lot of Friends analysts have called Ross Geller out as the most despicable character in the annals of TV history. While there’s dozens of ways to back up those claims from hundreds of Friends episodes, it doesn’t mean Ross didn’t have a few redeeming sides to himself.

In some minds, Ross had more good qualities than he’s been given credit for in hindsight. It seems a lot of horrible characters in TV and movies are usually designed to possess at least a few positive traits to make them all the more complex.

Whether Ross’s good side is commensurate with his bad side is up to fans to decide. Let’s take a minute to look at a few of his positive attributes, including one standing out related to his family.

At least Ross was always responsible to his friends

As bad as his relationships were (including with Rachel most of the time), at least Ross had a strong sense of responsibility to his closest pals. A good example cited by Screen Rant is the commitment he had to two important women in his life when they had children.

Ross’s first wife, Carol Willick, had former’s baby at one point, which many fans might have assumed would bring panic for any of the guys. Chandler and Joey arguably wouldn’t have shown as much commitment if a woman in their life suddenly became pregnant.

The good news is Ross took the initiative on showing his support for both Carol and Rachel when they had babies. Some of this responsibility included taking Carol and Rachel to doctor visits and making sure they got the best of care.

Having children also seemed to sober up Ross to stop some of his prior bad behavior. Not that he still didn’t exhibit some questionable tactics after Rachel had her baby.

Ross also stood up for his sister, Monica

Don’t forget Monica and Ross were siblings, something easily lost if someone only watched Friends casually. As much sibling rivalry as there is in the world, it’s worth noting Ross always got along well with his sister.

Since Monica was never treated very well by her parents, Ross tore into their mom and dad for their treatment. No doubt many women who grew up with similar circumstances of having their brother favored in the family related to that story.

If fans can’t agree on anything else about Ross, this usually convinces most people he doesn’t deserve as much flak as he’s received. Even better, Ross lived up to being a good friend to the others in his inner circle.

Without ever being too maudlin, the title of Friends sometimes lived up to its name.

Ross and Monica were clearly close

Looking on the other side of the coin, there were times when the closeness of Ross and Monica went beyond being sweet. Perhaps many found it refreshing to see a brother and sister get along so well, but they seemed to know a little too much about one another at times.

Once in a while, they’d reveal things about their pasts that created cringes at the chance the two occasionally forgot they were related. Some Friends analysts point to weird things like their infatuation about their sex lives as just starters.

Other things (like the two sitting in each other’s laps) could be looked at as something innocent rather than hints of anything salacious.

Showing Ross’s best side to the others

Before anyone forgets, let’s also remember Ross bought Phoebe a bike as a gift once, gave up an important event to be with Rachel, and he paid for Joey to have a date.

These aspects and more show the softer side of Ross Geller, maybe changing all those articles in cyberspace about how awful he was.