At the end of Season 3, fans of Big Mouth were shocked to witness the tragic destruction of Nick Birch and Andrew Glouberman’s friendship. At the beginning of the series, the two characters voiced by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney were utterly inseparable. They relied on each other and they couldn’t live without one another. Their once beautiful friendship had ultimately crumbled after typical middle school issues like hormones and dating began to interfere with their everlasting bond.
Hopefully we will see a future where Nick and Andrew makeup and reunite, but for now, their friendship is up in the air. So, what are some of the real reasons that these two aren’t really friends on the Netflix animated series?
NICK IS EMBARRASSED BY ANDREW
It is no secret that Nick is embarrassed by his best friend Andrew. This is evident from the very first season when Nick doesn’t want Andrew to wear his favorite “jazz hat” to his crush Roland’s house. Although Andrew is extremely proud of his nearly $200 hat, Nick would do anything to stop Andrew from wearing it in Roland’s presence. It is also clear that Andrew doesn’t want to go with Nick to Roland’s, but Nick drags him anyway despite his best friend’s wishes.
Although no one can truly master the art of being the perfect friend, it says a lot about the friendship if one person is embarrassed by the other and doesn’t want them to be their true self.
ANDREW DOESN’T CHECK UP ON NICK WHEN HE’S SUFFERING
As we know from the end of Season 3, Andrew is livid over the way Nick has been treating him all these years. Yet Andrew is not perfect either. Although Andrew is arguably more attentive to Nick than vise versa, it’s apparent that he will not go out of his way to check up on his best friend when he is struggling.
When Nick is upset over not being high on anyone’s list for the hottest guy at the school, he has a tragic moment of realization. Even though Andrew knows Nick is uncomfortable with his spot on the list, he does nothing to try and console him. Andrew even rubs it in Nick’s face that he got placed as number seven on the list despite him knowing Nick’s insecurities about the matter.
NICK KISSED MISSY…
This was the tipping point for Nick and Andrew’s friendship. It should go without saying that it is never okay to romantically pursue your best friend’s ex, especially if you knew your friend was really serious about them. Yet unfortunately, this happens all the time in real life, especially with younger people who have yet to mature. Of course, this sort of thing is more common in junior high when hormonal changes can sometimes get in the way of a person’s better judgment. But when Nick kisses Missy, he seems to have no guilt whatsoever.
…AND LIED ABOUT IT
The cherry on top of Nick’s deceit was when he failed to tell Andrew the truth about his illicit smooch with Missy. Andrew point-blank asked him if anything happened while he was on stage after he secretly witnessed their kiss. Nick refused to tell Andrew, even though that was his chance to come clean and clear the air. Although Nick should have told Andrew, we understand that his intentions weren’t terrible considering he simply didn’t want Andrew to get hurt. He knew how much Andrew loved Missy and he didn’t want to break his best friend’s heart.
ANDREW FAILED TO SIT DOWN AND TALK TO NICK ABOUT THEIR ISSUES
Andrew was upset with Nick pretty much throughout the duration of Season 3, and all of his anger and frustrations about his best buddy came piling out all at once during their fight in the season finale. They fought in front of the entire school, and although Andrew had the right to get angry, he never really took the effort to sit Nick down in a private setting so he could fully display his thoughts and concerns about their friendship. They should have had a dialogue where they put all of their issues with their relationship out on the table, but they did no such thing.
NICK MADE ANDREW DRIVE HIS MOM’S CAR
Nick has an unfortunate habit of pushing Andrew into situations that he is far from comfortable with. This definitely goes both ways, considering Andrew dragged Nick to Florida even though he knew the trip would be awful.
Yet in this scenario, Nick pushed Andrew to drive his mom’s car despite the fact that they are both children. This resulted in Andrew crashing the car into the garage door. After this happened, Andrew really wanted to confess to Nick’s parents, but Nick manipulated him into keeping quiet.
NICK CARES MORE ABOUT HIS PHONE THAN HIS BEST FRIEND
These days, everyone is glued to their screens to the point where the world around us begins to melt away. We start to care more about our latest Snapchat notification than the friends and family who are actually in our presence. As Maurice the hormone monster eloquently states, we have lost the “art of conversation,” which truly applies to Nick, who won’t even engage in a conversation with Andrew when his friend is over because he’s too busy checking his phone. Andrew even throws a phone-free dinner party, yet all Nick can think about is getting his device back in his hands.
ANDREW DOESN’T HAVE TIME FOR NICK WHILE DATING MISSY
During the brief period when Andrew and Missy were a couple, Nick was extremely insecure over the fact that Andrew was always ditching him for Missy. This is a very common experience that most of us have faced at some point in our lives, where our best friend started to fizzle out of our lives because they entered into a romantic relationship. It is a terrible thing to experience, and we definitely feel for Nick during this painful time. But hey, at least he has Jay and Jessie to hang out with.
THEY DON’T TRY TO HELP EACH OTHER GROW
Andrew Glouberman and Nick Birch are not exactly characters who are designed to be role models. Both of them have serious faults, whether it be issues with toxic masculinity or straight-up manipulative tendencies. There is room for improvement for both of these characters, yet this is common among middle schoolers who are still growing and adjusting in that strange period from childhood to adulthood.
When neither of them is at fault, they don’t take the time to help each other grow and point out their issues. Good friends will make a point of noting when the other person is in the wrong in a gentle and productive way. Nick and Andrew, on the other hand, show no interest in trying to help each other mature into better people.
ANDREW ENJOYS NICK’S MISERY DURING THE FLORIDA TRIP
A vacation with your best friend should be incredibly fun, a dream come true. Yet for Nick and Andrew’s trip to Florida, it is a bit more reminiscent of a nightmare. They stay in a small cramped house where they are forced to sleep on the floor, even though there is a bed for them to sleep on, but they can’t because it’s covered from top to bottom in old newspapers. Meanwhile, Andrew is trying to hook up with his cousin Cherry, which is just incredibly uncomfortable for Nick to witness. Andrew claims to enjoy the fact that Nick is suffering on the Florida trip as much as he is. This doesn’t sound like something that a good friend would want for their partner in crime.