Thanks! This is finally the time when all those long hours of literary analysis in school actually pays off! LOL.
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it's interesting how invested Joey was in the R/R relationship
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Yes, I think it is too. Like the others, he really wanted them to work out because he knew how hung up Ross was about her, but there are a couple moments when Joey is more objective about things (at the end of S1 and in S8 when Rachel goes on dates with other guys, and when Joey gives Rachel advice on Ross, Joshua, and Tag), and shows that he really cares about Rachel's happiness, no matter who she's with.
That caring was made especially apparent after his confession. When he was rejected, he didn't get mad about it. He accepted it automatically and
never pushed Rachel into being with him (and I love that Rachel was worried about their friendship and took the initiative of building it back up again in TOW The Tea Leaves. It showed that she really didn't want to lose him.) Then, when Joey went through the phone numbers at the soap opera party, it wasn't because
he wanted to be with Rachel, but because he thought she "deserved the best." He was also happy for her and curious. rather than jealous, of finding out who Rachel's crush was in Barbados.
Looking at the pattern of how Joey treated Rachel, it came across as pure and selfless love to me, and that's one of the things I realized about the pairing that make it so great.