Double Dutchess

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.