How Phoebe Buffay’s Layered Enigmatic Eccentricity Forces Her ‘Friends’ to Be True to Themselves

As part of their series of deconstructing the individual personalities of the characters on the now-classic sitcom series Friends, film and television analysis platform ScreenPrism took a deep dive in to the enigmatic character of Phoebe Buffay. Phoebe’s eccentricity is incredibly nuanced and layered with a deep sense of fairness, a strict dogma and an unyielding love for her friends. This combination of traits allows Phoebe to encourage her friends to be true to themselves first.

Phoebe is the secret mastermind of the group. She uses her insights about the other characters to pull invisible strings. …Phoebe the puppet master can be a bit of a troublemaker …she has a habit of being loose lipped and even straight-up meddling in her friends personal lives. …yet Phoebe’s friends need her straight talking and boldness because she pushes them to confront their true feelings about things.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.