Chandler Bing is no doubt the funniest character in the group. The ‘Chan Chan Man’ can make you laugh with every word he speaks or even when he doesn’t speak! Somehow before the show started, the directors thought of keeping the characters of Chandler and Phoebe as sidekicks. But they couldn’t afford to do it after the pilot show! Guess what, Matthew raised the bars of Chandler so much that he couldn’t be ignored! Not by the directors and definitely not by us!
He was funny no-doubt, but do you think his life was as good as it should be? Don’t you think he deserved better? From what we know from the show, his life was not so great until the time he loved Monica. Right from his childhood to his marriage, he has faced something or the other. And worst of all, hardly anyone takes him seriously!
Since we know Miss Chanandler Bong was not much into a pleasant life, let’s dig in and point out a few specifics where we think the funny guy deserved better.
Chandler’s Childhood Was Terrible According To Him
Chandler’s childhood is not discussed much, but from what we know, it doesn’t seem to be a wonderful one. Just at the age of 9, he had to witness the divorce of his parents. And to make things worse, his parents announced it to him over Thanksgiving dinner!
The events from his childhood haunted him badly throughout his life. He was so traumatized that he decided not to celebrate thanksgiving ever again. Considering the character he was, who couldn’t interact with people easily, felt insecure about a lot of stuff, and more. We can easily predict how difficult his childhood must have been.
We just saw a glimpse of it in this flashback episode:
Chandler’s Parents Did Not Care About Him Nor His Feelings
Chandler’s parents, Nora Bing and Charles Bing did not do a great job when it comes to parenting. They were successful in their personal lives but had mere contact with their son.
If they had cared for him, then they might not have considered a Thanksgiving dinner to be the right place for disclosure of their divorce. In the series, we haven’t seen much of Chandler’s parents, but in almost all the moments when we have, they seemed to have embarrassed Chandler a lot.
Chandler’s mother crossed a line when she kissed Ross because it was so not appropriate! She rarely visited her son and doing such things made their relationship even worse. Even at his wedding, they were so self-involved instead of celebrating the big day.
His Friends Ignored Things About Him A Lot
Yes, they did! You can’t defend them because his friends were really ignorant of him. A simple instance to prove it is that hardly anyone knew what he did for a living.
Not just that, everyone forgot that his birthday comes before Rachel’s, and no one choose to throw a party for him, but they were doing it for Rachel.
Even the time when he got new glasses, no one could figure out the difference showing how closely they knew about him. So it won’t be wrong to say that in the show, his friends didn’t care about him much. They had good terms, enjoyed each other’s company but didn’t take much interest in him, it seems.
The Gang Did Not Take Him Seriously
Chandler was the funniest one in the group but was often not taken seriously because of his funny nature. Everyone looked at him with a little inferiority in terms of being responsible.
Or else why would Rachel and Ross not consider him to be their child’s parent when they are gone. They at first considered him to be the “fun parent” and not a serious father figure.
His Friends Tried To Belittle Him
It’s not a surprise how all the five of them tried to belittle him every time. In many instances, they referred to Monica that Chandler was not the best match for her. They even said it on Chandler’s face that he was no good for Monica.
The time when Rachel and Monica were fighting and Rachel made a comeback by saying she was going to label Chandler as “What were You thinking!”. Also, Phoebe left no chances to question Chandler’s manhood whenever she could.
Remember the Halloween party at Monica’s place? Well, Joey dressed up as Chandler and imitated him. Everyone laughed at him while making him insecure about it. The scene was hilarious though!
Chandler’s Masculinity Was Often Questioned
We have often heard statements coming out from Chandler like “If I were a guy.” Most of us might blame him, but if you deeply see things, his friends and his life is to be blamed for this condition.
He might incline to a few feminine things but that doesn’t entitle others to tag him oddly. Ross, Joey, and Phoebe never felt sorry for they singled out Chandler on occasions.
Because of all these events he often felt intimidated by Richard or any other men who looked tall and muscular, like Will Colbert.
He Made Fun Of Himself To Avoid Giving Other’s A Chance To Do The Same
Chandler said it often that he made jokes when he is uncomfortable. Over the years he developed this habit of cracking jokes to ease things around him. It’s like he had to practice being happy amid all the tough times he had faced.
Often people develop such habits when they are insecure about themselves. And it’s quite possible that all those jokes upon himself were staged with hopes of getting back a few consolations in return But all efforts in vain!
No One Cared For His Insecurities & Laughed At Them
Chandler’s humorous lines are funny but are often saddening too. On digging into the dialogues, he often makes comments that make him look low. Even his insecurities were not taken seriously by anyone.
Everyone has insecurities, and they should be addressed well, or it might lead to emotional hell. Chandler in FRIENDS had his insecurities too. He was scared to be committed to a relationship which is a real problem but all he received was laughs!
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Phoebe went out of the way and tried to use Chandler’s insecurity to make Gary have similar feelings. So it feels he didn’t get justice about his insecurity until it was really urgent.
The Women He Loved Cheated On Him
We know Chandler was quite jealous of Richard and felt insecure around him. But there’s a reason for it. The girls he had dated in the past left him nothing but a future full of insecurities.
Chandler fell in love with Kathy and Janice, but both of them somehow cheated on him. They both did not confess until they got caught. So it looks like Chandler never had a great experience when it comes to true love. Of course, until he fell in love with Monica!
He Hated Himself And His Job But No One Helped Him
Chandler spent a lot of his life hating himself and his job. The day when he proposed to Monica he also said a line that he had “little life” before he fell in love. He did not just say it, rather he meant it.
His job was pathetic as he did not enjoy it at all. He was more satisfied than being an intern than earning a huge paycheck in his previous job Even though everyone knew he hated his job, no one ever helped him get into a better one. After all, it’s your friends from whom you expect such life-saving advice.
Yet again his friends didn’t come to his rescue while he needed them.
