Sorry this is a bit late today, but what with the state of the world, I’m pretty sure you’ll forgive me. I mean, this is a Friends challenge, so it’s not like it’s the most important part of your day. As a reminder: take care of yourself today, even if it’s just a little gesture, like making sure you drink enough water or taking time off of social media so your brain doesn’t explode. There’s still a fight for justice, in addition to Covid going on right now, and you need to be at your best if you even want to give a teeny bit.

Anyway, on with the challenge, I guess?

I was going to go with Maggie Wheeler’s Janice because I love her so, but I’m actually going to do a Janice appreciation post at some point. It seems to be a bit of an overkill to dedicate today to her, so I’m going with Marlo Thomas’ Sandra Green.

I used to watch That Girl on Nick at Night (is that still a thing??), so when I discovered one night working at Sam Goody/Suncoast that Marlo was on Friends, I was delighted. She is just phenomenal and embodies the role of Rachel’s mom, Sandra, so well. It could be so easy to play her as insufferably naive and selfish (honestly, all of the Green women have been enjoyable, even with their terribleness), but there’s a vulnerability that Marlo brings to the character. Legit perfect casting.

From her introduction in Season Two to her final appearance in Season Eight, Sandra Green showed a lot of growth: she left “her Barry” after being inspired by her daughter’s choices, felt bitter and resentful toward her now-ex-husband, but grew into a confident, if not air-headed and somewhat insensitive, woman living off of alimony. I would have loved to have seen her living with Rachel and Ross as they adjusted to life as parents, but alas, that was not to be.

Art Credit: ThingLink, NWI Times