Friends

So in my analysis of the How I Met Your Mother, Friends and New Girl characters there are some groupings that are very obvious and some that are a bit of a stretch but the most glaring thing that came up is that Chandler doesn’t really fit in properly with any of those groups. So he gets his own article all by himself…

Let's start like we did with the others and go into his romantic relationships first. Chandler’s first major relationship is with Kathy, now this didn’t start or end well. He kisses her while she’s still with Joey and while I understand Joey’s side of it he was on a date with another woman so obviously Kathy didn’t mean that much to him. The real problem is that he didn’t talk to Joey about it first, Joey even said he would have stepped aside if Chandler had just asked. They don’t really date for very long and then Kathy cheats on him after their first fight. So really the problem here is Kathy and the boys just kinda got caught up in her nonsense.

In the next relationship we are going to discuss Chandler was in fact the problem, and that is Chandler and Janis. He had a habit of getting back together with her when he was lonely and needed someone and then breaking up with her when he was done, he treated her terribly and strung her along. And then they actually fell in love and he comes on too strong, they break up because she goes back to her husband. Then she pops back up and all of a sudden she’s insufferable to him again, because this man is more fickle than a teenage girl. And in order to avoid breaking up with her, yet again, he tells her he's moving out of the country. He was a selfish coward for most of their relationship.

The only other relevant relationship Chandler has is Monica. Now I’ve already said that I love this relationship but it contained so much growth for Chandler. He definitely had moments of stupid, most of which were tied back to his major commitment issues but obviously he got it together and overcame a lot of his relationship problems and he was actually an amazing partner to Monica. My favorite moment with them was actually when the other girls called Monica high maintenance and he calmed her down by saying that he liked maintaining her. It was a sweet moment and it really showed how well they balanced each other out.

Now we move onto his platonic relationship and of course we have to start with Chandler and Joey. Besides the Kathy incident they have a very solid friendship. The only other situation that was questionable was when a very drunk and heartbroken Chandler kisses Joey’s sister. That said all of the sisters knew that Chandler was not over his ex-girlfriend and he was already smashed when they all got to the party so whose fault was it really? Other than that they have a really wonderful, brotherly like friendship and they also balance each other out very well. Chandler is the caretaker in that relationship for sure, and he loves Joey and I think that their friendship is one of the best parts of that show.

Chandler and the girls didn’t have any major moments together but he was always there for them. There were no major interactions with either of them outside of the group setting but he had a witty comment for everyone in equal measure.

Now we can’t get through this article without talking about Chandler and Ross. They were college buddies and they just never lost contact which is rare but great when it happens. Though he always seemed closer to Joey, the three men hung out quite often. Most of their major moments also included Joey and really I think it's the same with the girls and it just shows how close and tight knit this group of friends is.