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Culture > Entertainment

Why Gabi & Sofia Were My Favorite Dynamic on ‘Young & Hungry’

After five seasons of will-they-won’t-they and shenanigans from every member of the cast, Young & Hungry has come to a close. I, despite my criticism of the show’s inability to handle sensitive issues, am going to miss it. It was a fun dose of lighthearted romantic comedy in the middle of my week, and I got such Disney Channel nostalgia from watching Emily Osment do her thing on screen.

I’m going to miss a lot about the show, from the fun surprise cameos to the show’s sex-positive approach, but the main thing I’ll take with me now that the show is over is the friendship between Gabi (Osment) and Sofia (Aimee Carrero). These two have been roommates since the very beginning, when Gabi started working for Josh—and they’ve seen each other through breakups and makeups and nasty fights, and still remained best friends for the past five seasons. As I’ve kept up with Young & Hungry this season, here were some of my favorite things about Gabi and Sofia’s friendship.

1. They’re good together, and apart

It could’ve been very easy for the show to turn Sofia into simply a supporting character who lets Gabi lean on her for help, but does nothing else. Thankfully, the writers know that Aimee Carrero is a gift, so Sofia gets to be her own vibrant, complex character with her own storylines. While Gabi deals with Josh and the ups and downs of working as a chef, Sofia is getting her own side hustle as a driver and navigating love and life for herself. A friendship is only as good as the two individuals in it, and Gabi and Sofia are great people in their own right, making their friendship that much stronger.

2. They (make an effort to) get along with the people in each other’s lives

Of course, Elliot and Yolanda always have some wild plan that goes awry, and they no doubt make Sofia and Gabi’s lives a little more difficult (albeit much more interesting), so it’s fun to see Sofia form her own friendships with them beyond Gabi, too. And Gabi was always by her side through Sofia’s ups and downs with Juan Carlo and Nick, and even though I suspect she doesn’t like Nick all that much (which, honestly, same), she still makes an effort to take everyone out on a double date so she can get to know him. They see each other as some of the most important people in their lives, which means everyone else has to pass the friend approval test. Now that’s an unbreakable bond.

3. They’re willing to make fools of themselves for each other

Many friends say they’ll look out for each other, but how many of them are actually willing to sacrifice their own dignity for you? When Sofia wanted to postpone sleeping with Nick, all it took was a look and a little nudge from her to make Gabi throw herself on the couch in a crying fit and pretend she was even more broken up about Josh than she really was, just so Nick would leave. If you’re not on that level with your BFF, is the friendship even real?

4. They give each other honest opinions and sound advice

Well, okay, maybe this is more Sofia than Gabi (I wouldn’t trust Gabi’s advice about anything other than cooking), but it’s clear that Lil So So always keeps it real. The two of them don’t sugarcoat things, but they also want the best for each other. When Gabi and Josh have communication problems, Sofia is the one to tell Gabi what to do. And in this week’s series finale, Sofia tells Gabi to take a leap of faith when she’s considering a complete career change, which is probably the wisest and best thing a friend can say in that situation.

Watching Emily Osment and Aimee Carrero portray these characters has been so much fun, and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Now, I guess I’ll have to wait until the Young & Hungry movie premieres, so I can get one last glimpse of these two together!

Erica Kam is the Life Editor at Her Campus. She oversees the life, career, and news verticals on the site, including academics, experience, high school, money, work, and Her20s coverage. Over her six years at Her Campus, Erica has served in various editorial roles on the national team, including as the previous Culture Editor and as an editorial intern. She has also interned at Bustle Digital Group, where she covered entertainment news for Bustle and Elite Daily. She graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Barnard College, where she was the senior editor of Columbia and Barnard’s Her Campus chapter and a deputy copy editor for The Columbia Spectator. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her dissecting K-pop music videos for easter eggs and rereading Jane Austen novels. She also loves exploring her home, the best city in the world — and if you think that's not NYC, she's willing to fight you on it.