While Monica’s storylines did pick up later in the series when she and Chandler got together, I think it’s fair to say her character didn’t always land the same caliber of emotionally poignant plotlines as her co-stars.
Clearly, nothing drew audiences in more than Ross and Rachel’s on-again, off-again romance, which eclipsed the “Monica and Chandler” of it all.
But in my opinion, the show benefited from Monica’s voice of reason, which often kept it from coming off as a caricature.
Someone has to be the facilitator, right? And that’s the beauty of an ensemble.