Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: February 13, 1997
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Friends, “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break” (Season 3, Episode 15) [Stream on Netflix]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: The notion of Ross and Rachel being “on a break” during a very emotional moment in the middle of Friends‘ third season grew to be such a contentious issue for the characters (and for fans, honestly), but most people just remember the moment at the beginning of the 4th season, when Ross and Rachel, having momentarily reunited, blow up at each other because they still fundamentally disagree about whether they were “on a break” when Ross slept with Chloe, the girl from the copy place with the bellybutton ring.
Here’s the thing, after watching the episode where that all actually goes down:
- Ross and Rachel were on a break. They didn’t exactly shake hands on it, but Rachel suggested it, and Ross sealed that nonverbal contract when he stormed out (and again when he hung up on her). They were on a break.
- Ross is still OVERWHELMINGLY in the wrong in this situation. He’s at his all-time worst before the break, during the argument that leads to the break, and in the immediate aftermath of the break. The letter of the law may be on his side, but that’s the only thing.
After weeks of Ross allowing his insecurity to make him unnecessarily jealous of Rachel’s work relationship with Mark, Ross bulldozes Rachel during a busy night at work, after she specifically told him she was busy with an emergency. He didn’t show up so they could have a nice anniversary “picnic” while she worked. He showed up so he could passive-aggressively rub it in that it was their anniversary and that he could take the time to celebrate it while she was too busy. He thought he could Nice Guy his way into guilting Rachel to take time away from her job to be with him. Watch that scene again and try to resist the urge to reach through the screen and slap Ross’s dumb face.
RESPECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S PROFESSIONAL LIFE, YOU GODDAMNED DOOFUS.
Ross isn’t done screwing up, of course. So he calls home, and Rachel’s there, and Mark is also there because he is her friend and men and women are allowed to be friends without insecure man-children whimpering and accusing them of cheating. Ross didn’t walk in on the two of them in their bathrobes after some kind of Three’s Company comedic misunderstanding. Mark stopped by to be a friend. (No, I don’t trust Mark either, but that’s only because Steven Eckholdt has never once played a good guy, up to an including cheating on President Bartlet’s daughter on The West Wing, but that’s neither here nor there, and again, Ross doesn’t know that.)
So all Ross has on his side are his insecurities and hurt feelings. And that — plus a bunch of booze — is apparently all the provocation he needs to sleep with Chloe the copy girl. While he and Rachel were less than six hours into their “break.” And after Rachel didn’t ever come close to cheating on him.
I sometimes feel bad for thinking Ross is the worst Friend, because he has so many good/funny/insane moments in later seasons. Episodes like “Ross and Rachel Take a Break” remind me why I still think Ross is the worst Friend.
