 Rachel 's brief romantic relationship with friend Joey during season ten drew strong criticism from both critics and fans alike , although viewership was not <unk> . In fact , Joshua <unk> of Splitsider believes that the only reason the show 's final two seasons performed well in spite of lackluster reviews " was because of the Joey / Rachel / Ross love triangle " . Eric Goldman of IGN referred to the Rachel @-@ Joey storyline as " questionable . " Entertainment Tonight Canada ranked " The One After Rachel and Joey Kiss " among the show 's ten worst episodes at number five , with author I. P. Johnson <unk> it as " desperate " , concluding , " <unk> for even <unk> this romantic plot ; cheers for abandoning it " . <unk> also cited the same episode as one of the show 's worst , calling it " the most nonsensical idea to ever be . " <unk> , E ! enjoyed Rachel and Joey as a couple because they brought out positive aspects in each other 's personalities . Their relationship also spawned a debate among fans , who argued over whether making Rachel and Joey a couple was a bad idea . Jenna <unk> of E ! determined that it is because " It was too far into the series to throw these two together . They didn 't make sense and their romantic scenes felt forced " . 
