The Sunnydale Herald

What’s not to love about Chandler?
He’s goofy, charming in his own impish way, equipped with endless buckets of witty sarcasm, and all around a hot mess with a good heart.

Chandler (and the whole gang from Friends) came into my life during the Covid pandemic, when I decided to start bingeing the show to pass the time with some levity during the lockdown. Which means that I first watched Friends about fifteen years after the series finale.
But it quickly became THE comfort show to which I always go back when I’m down, and that happened mostly because of Chandler (and, later on, because of Mondler).

The show often “mocks” Chandler for making too many jokes but I actually love that about him and I love his sarcasm too. If I weren't plagued by severe social anxiety, I think I would sound a lot like Chandler—because I always, ALWAYS, come up with some witty remarks… I just don't have the guts to say them out loud most of the time.

Something else about Chandler that often offers ground to his friends for mocking him, is his disastrous love life paired with his commitment issues.
Chandler’s on-and-off relationship with the iconic Janice is a leitmotif that keeps popping up for the whole run of the show in the most unexpected and fun ways—to the point that Monica comes up with the pretense that Chandler’s still not over Janice just to get rid of her (and Chandler plays along when he figures out Monica’s ruse). I know this doesn’t make much sense if you haven’t watched the scenes, but it’s hilarious (and also cute).
Janice wasn’t his only love interest before settling down with Monica, but they all ended badly… one way or another.
It’s remarkable, however, that out of all the friends (who once joked that Chandler would be the last of them to get married, if ever) he ended up being the one with the healthiest, longest, most stable relationship.

It was so satisfying to watch Chandler grow out of all his emotional hang-ups and commitment issues, step by step; he still messed up here and there (he was only human, after all), but eventually he overcame all his doubts and fears.
If you ask me, Chandler is the Friends’ character who got to take the best, most satisfying journey. I don’t know how to explain it, but watching his fictional journey gave me hope. It still does.

Thank you, Matthew, for giving life to Chandler.
May your Soul find peace, at last.

While (unfortunately for me) we don’t have a passion for cooking in common, there are some traits in Monica that I find in myself.
Firstly, her friends often point out that she’s a “control freak” and I know that I can be one too.
I find myself very uncomfortable in situations where I’m not in control and perhaps it’s a good thing that I don’t have kids (nor do I want them): I would be a horrible, terrible, helicopter mom.

She’s also a fan of rules, as I am.
There’s this one episode with a Mad Libs scene (The One With the Kips) at the end and Monica’s iconic line “Rules are good! Rules help control the fun!” after which all of her friends leave. And I’m totally with Monica there. Rules exist to guarantee that everyone has equal possibilities, even in leisure activities. That’s why it makes my blood boil when (for example) there are a few simple rules to follow for something BUT there’s always (A-L-W-A-Y-S) that one person that either disregards them on purpose or just doesn’t bother to check them and goes “rogue” and it drives me NUTS. Especially when said behavior is allowed by who should be in charge of making sure that rules are being respected. It’s only FAIR to all the people who actually bother to read and respect them, you know? You don’t go and tweak the rules halfway to make room for someone who did whatever the heck they wanted. UGH. (this happened at least twice, years ago, and it’s still bothering me a lot. See what I mean?)
So you can only imagine how I feel when more prominent real-life rules are disregarded and those people not only get unfair advantages, but sometimes they’re also praised for not playing by the book. Yeah, I’m livid 90% of my time, but I can’t help it. I believe in rules and I believe that our society would be 100% less toxic if people just humbled down and learned to respect them.

But I’m digressing, let’s get back to Monica Geller!
Despite her neat, over-organized appearance, it’s later revealed that Monica has a “secret” closet that is anything but organized: it’s just a big mess of stuff all randomly piled up. I screamed when I watched that episode (The One With the Secret Closet) because that’s sooo me! Certain aspects of my life are over-organized, but part of my wardrobe and bedroom exist in a suspended “vortex of entropy” (as Sheldon Cooper would define it). That was perhaps the moment when I said to myself “yep, I’m Monica!”

I mentioned before that she wasn’t always a big favorite, but she’s grown on me with time.
And her relationship with Chandler (S5 and forward) was probably part of the reason why. They were both messy and chaotic in their separate romantic lives before getting together, but then they DID get together and they clicked immediately and it was beautiful.
Because they grew and evolved together in this relationship that brought out the best side of both characters, even while they kept being sort of chaotic and goofy but in perfect harmony with each other.

Something I do NOT have in common with Monica, other than cooking, is her desire to be a mother.
I think it’s perfect for her and I’m glad that she eventually finds a way to see her wish come true, but it’s really not for me.
Side note: Why is it so difficult for society to believe (or accept?) that not every woman is born with a built-in maternal instinct? I never felt that need or the proverbial ticking of my biological clock. If anything, I’m glad that I’m nearing an age when it won’t even be an option anymore. To each their own, what’s so difficult to understand?

If I’m ever lucky enough to find the Chandler to my Monica, I’d probably think about at least settling down.