It may seem hard to believe, but there weren’t as many strong bonds on Full House as the series made it appear. For some characters, their friendships were more of informed attributes, meaning these relationships were established without the series actually showing their closeness.
Danny and Joey fall under this, as the two hardly behaved like people who called each other best friends. While they did great as part of the family, the two didn’t exactly treat one another as closely as one might believe. In order to understand better, one needs to delve into how their relationships worked, which reveals that the two might not even have been true friends the whole time.
Their Friendship Was Based Around One Incident
When the overall friendships on the show are stacked up, Danny and Joey simply do not have many memorable moments. This would be because their friendship wasn’t based around good times but just the one incident that got them together.
Danny revealed that Joey had stuck up for him when they were kids and that’s why they became friends. However, it also means that, if the incident hadn’t happened, these two would never have wanted to be friends. As adults, it was this memory that kept them together rather than any new moments.
They Barely Ever Spent Time Together
The most that viewers can see these two in stories together is the earlier seasons. Not much later, Joey pretty much stopped hanging out with Danny. It was referred to in one episode where Danny got jealous that Joey and Jesse were now the ones always together.
Afterward, both of them seemed to not care anymore where the other was, only seen around one another when the family was present as well. They weren’t shown to hang out anymore, despite the fact that they lived in the same place.
Joey Started Considering Jesse As His Best Friend
The bromance between Joey and Jesse was such that they’re even considered as one of the best relationships on the show. What began as a minor inconvenience for both turned into a true friendship, which also led to Danny’s position as Joey’s best friend being usurped by Jesse.
By the final seasons, Joey was shown thinking of Jesse as his main best friend over Danny. Considering how he and Danny weren’t around each other much, it appears as if they were friends before mainly because Jesse hadn’t entered the picture yet.
Danny Didn't Let Joey Make The House Decisions
Although Joey was brought to the household to be a part of it, he wasn’t treated as much like family as he should have been. It was frequently seen that Joey had to ask Danny’s permission for things like keeping a pet or making any renovations of the house.
Had their friendship been stronger, Danny wouldn’t have been treated as the boss. Joey would have had the freedom to do what he wanted since he was supposed to be an equal part of the household. Instead, Danny didn’t seem to trust him enough to have this kind of understanding.
Their Personalities Didn't Match Well
Due to their different personalities, fans tend to either like or dislike Danny or Joey. Unlike with Jesse, these two had nothing in common, with Danny being the responsible father type while Joey was a fun-loving and outgoing person.
They weren’t seen discussing each other’s careers or likes, with either person only showing mild interest in these activities. When the time came to be serious, Danny and Joey were hardly on the same side, as Danny would prefer the strict approach while Joey the opposite.
Joey Didn't Bother Asking Danny To Date His Sister
One of the things that wouldn’t fly about Joey these days is how he so easily swooped in and romanced Danny’s sister. It’s generally a principle to avoid one’s friend’s sister, but Joey not only dated her, but he also didn’t care to ask Danny about it.
Along with that, he even got mad that Danny objected to the idea. A good friend would have steered clear of a romance such as this, but Joey was all too keen on showing physical affection to her while Danny was in the same room!
Joey Initially Moved In To Live Rent-Free
After about a decade of staying with the family, at a time when the girls were grown up, it didn’t make sense as to why Joey was still there. The answer doesn’t come down so much to his friendship with Danny as it does to the fact that Joey had also moved in to live rent-free.
This was mentioned in the first season, where Joey was okay with sleeping out in the hall when Danny reminded him he wasn’t paying for rent. While his heart was in the right place, there’s no denying that Joey had his own motives to move in, and it definitely didn’t have to do with a friendship obligation to Danny.
Danny Didn't Care About Joey's Living Arrangements
When looking at things in retrospect, there were a lot of reasons why Joey shouldn’t have continued living in the house. One of these is the relative lack of respect he received, as Danny made Joey sleep out in the hall in the initial days with Joey’s stuff lying around the ground.
He was moved into the basement after some time, but Joey was shown preferring to live upstairs in the actual bedrooms. And yet, Danny didn’t really care about this, instead he gave the rooms to his brother-in-law and children.
They Argued More Than They Communicated
These two didn’t have half as many arguments as Jesse used to have with them. However, their arguments were more striking since Danny and Joey were hardly shown together, meaning the times they were on-screen had quite a few of these clashes.
These arguments would be over petty things, too, with stuff like the two arguing about returning money owed from decades past or competing over trivial matters. One would think if they were friends for this long, the two could have simple conversations that would end these issues without any issue.
Danny Didn't Make His Kids Treat Joey As A Guardian
The easiest way to establish a level of authority would be through terminology, in that Danny could have made his children call his friend “Uncle Joey.” Danny did stress upon his children that Joey had the say when he wasn’t around, but the children still largely grew up without treating Joey as an uncle figure.
Joey himself didn’t bring this up with Danny, implying that he didn’t feel they were at that level where they could communicate such a matter. Had they been truly close, Danny would have impressed upon his children that Joey was a guardian.