 Critical reception towards Rachel has remained mostly positive throughout the show 's ten @-@ year run . Writing for The A. V. Club , John Reid holds Rachel responsible for the success of the pilot , explaining , " The story of this group of friends must start with a stranger coming to town , and Rachel is the perfect stranger for this plot " . Reid also believes that Rachel initiated character development in the five other main characters , describing her arrival as " a catalyst for all of them to grow , because unlike the rest of them , Rachel is interested in finding meaning for her life " . Also writing for The A. V. Club , Sonia <unk> was pleased with Rachel and Ross ' first romantic encounter because , for the first time , " Rachel displays a moment of true empathy for another human being " . <unk> went on to describe Rachel as " as a model for women coming of age in the 1990s — the popular , pretty girl dissatisfied with where those illusions have taken her but also unwilling to embrace the more aggressively ' feminist ' career @-@ woman strategy " . The New York Times Joseph <unk> enjoyed Rachel 's telephone conversation with her father during the pilot , describing it as " hilarious . " The Los Angeles Times Bob <unk> admitted that he is attracted to Rachel , joking , " my feelings for Rachel , I say with some embarrassment , mirror those of <unk> " . Cosmopolitan reviewed Rachel as " the best fictional gal pal we 've ever had " , while People called her " spoiled yet <unk> " . USA Today 's Robert Bianco credits Rachel 's pregnancy arc with saving Friends , explaining that it " propel [ led ] the show to the top of the ratings " and ultimately " <unk> [ ed ] the show 's decline in ways ... that no one watching ' The One With Monica & Chandler 's Wedding ' could ever have imagined . " Bianco concluded , " Indeed , without that fortune @-@ altering twist , Friends probably would have ended sooner " . 
