It's like 'Oh, they were really falling in love all this time, or they really just had the hots for each other all this time, and all that apparent friendship-bonding stuff was just courtship' -- as if the friendship in itself wasn't enough, wasn't strong enough or interesting enough or wasn't valid in some way.

Very well said. That's just how I felt the writers saw it - "Hey, these friendships don't have any sex in them! Can't we retcon this as a love affair that was always waiting to happen?"