Ross Geller is the most divisive Friends character, and one classic episode does a good job of highlighting why that is. Everyone has their favorite of the six friends, and it can vary by season or even just your mood. With over 200 episodes, that’s also going to include plenty of moments that annoy fans, which is in part what helps make the show relatable and so beloved to this day. It invites audiences to see them as friends, and all the good and bad that comes with that. And there’s plenty of the latter with Ross, who now stands, rightly or wrongly, as one of TV’s most hated sitcom characters.
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One of the best examples of this is Friends Season 5, Episode 9, “The One With Ross’s Sandwich.” It’s become something of a classic, with Ross’ “MY SANDWICH” one of the show’s most memorable lines, and the “moist-maker” – a slice of gravy-soaked bread in the middle – has extended beyond the show, as so many restaurants, cafes, and bars have their own version of it on food menus around the holidays. It finds Ross facing his impending divorce from Emily – his second failed marriage – and not handling it well. As he notes, that sandwich was the only good thing he had going for him … and someone else ate it (despite his leaving a note). No one told you life was gonna be this way, huh?
Why Is Ross Such A Divisive Friends Character?
“The One With Ross’s Sandwich” represents a notable shift for the character, as the loss of his sandwich, and really the failed marriage, sends him spiralling into a rage. He demonstrates clear anger issues and unhinged behaviour throughout the installment, and those traits would never fully leave him behind after this. While Ross’ possessiveness was an issue before this (like the whole Mark debacle), he was typically easier to see, or at least be portrayed as, the nice guy, whereas the sandwich episode brought the worst elements of the character right to the forefront.
This is also where I think there’s a real change in David Schwimmer’s performance, as he goes much bigger in the later seasons of the show (which isn’t a criticism, as, regardless of where you stand on the character, he plays the part brilliantly, and has some of its best physical comedy and line deliveries). It’s true that all of Friends‘ main characters fall more into their most stereotypical attributes as time goes on – Joey, for instance, goes from being a little dim to a complete idiot, though he remains lovable – and Ross is one of the biggest victims of this.
Friends leans harder on his anger, his domineering ways, his outlandish behaviour, and ultimately what’s perceived by his critics as his toxic masculinity, something that’s increasingly come to light among new viewers and retrospectives that look at the series through a more modern lens. However, it’s not necessarily that he was so much worse than the others, but that the show does highlight his flaws more, because it goes bigger and often more exaggerated in its presentation.
All the main characters are complicated and have both good and bad to them (Ross can be sweet, funny, caring, and loyal). But if you see Ross as controlling, annoying, and toxic, then while there are far worse things he does than getting upset over a moist-maker (such as not getting an annulment, and not telling Rachel about it), the roots of it, and his worst traits coming to the fore, can be found here.
Friends is available to stream on HBO Max.
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Image courtesy of Netflix -
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