Summary: Monica and Chandler get a surprise when Erica gives birth to twins. Rachel and Ross have a passionate night together but Rachel still chooses to go to Paris. Ross decides to go after her with Phoebe's help. Joey gets a chick and a duck for Chandler and Monica but they get stuck in the foosball table.
The Good: This episode feels almost like a "best of" compilation and that's totally fine. That's a big improvement for "Friends" because it means that we get a lot of the quality storytelling and jokes that were a staple of the early seasons of the show. The many storylines in this episode are quite fun to watch. The twins twist is a good one, and Monica and Chandler's reactions to this were quite funny. It was fitting to do one last birth story in this finale. There was also one final Chandler/Joey story, and their chemistry is as fun as ever as they solve a pretty ridiculous problem. There is some emotion in destroying the foosball table and seeing them say goodbye, but the dialogue and jokes are good too. Ross and Rachel's story is also really good. It was obvious that they would get together in this finale, but I really like the way that it was done with that classic "guy chases down the girl" story. The jokes in this storyline were very high quality throughout. Phoebe was her usual teasing self and her presence in this episode was terrific. So many moments worked really well, like Ross calling a baby-obsessed Monica, Rachel's interactions with the airport staff, and Phoebe's insane driving. The emotional aspect worked quite well, and the conclusion was excellent with Ross hilariously shouting at an answering machine as Rachel returns to his apartment. This led into the final few scenes of the episode which were melancholy and did a great job of capturing all that we would miss about this show. Lastly, I love that Gunther's long-running crush on Rachel was finally paid off, and his confession to her was one of the episode's best laughs. The Bad: We have seen so many births by this point that the birth jokes mostly fell flat. They weren't creative or funny. The early parts of the episode did feel quite rough with a lack of good jokes or story momentum. Some of the characters were still far too silly, with Joey being unreasonably stupid, and Chandler being uncharacteristically awkward. The left phalange joke is totally ridiculous. There's no way that I can buy everyone storming out of the plane for this absurd reason. It's too big of a stretch. Best Moment: The final moments were very emotional, and Chandler's final joke was a fitting joke to end the show. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: The series finale of "Friends" managed to recapture some of the glory of the show. It was funny, emotional, exciting, and enjoyable to watch. There was still some of the roughness that has been present in the last five seasons, but thankfully it wasn't very distracting. Overall, this was a definite high note to close out the series. The final season of "Friends" went pretty much as I had expected. It was too late for this show to reclaim its consistency and there was a fair bit of stupidity throughout the season, with the end of Ross and Charlie's relationship being the pinnacle of the horrendous writing in this series. That being said, there was some extra love given to this season through some creative comedy ideas, references to the past, and a great series finale that captured something special. This extra effort prevented season 10 from being a trainwreck, and while I still don't think that this is a very good season, there is enough quality stuff that this still feels like the great show that I adored for the first five seasons. It has taken me five years to review every episode of this show, so needless to say I've had a long road with this show. "Friends" overall holds a very special place in my heart. I believe that the first five seasons of this show are some of the best comedy that you can find. The show was consistent and it found a perfect niche with its comedy style, targeting young adults by being a typical sitcom but with the added twist of featuring realistic relationship-oriented comedy situations that made for an organic blend of reality and fiction. This niche was not only unique, but the injection of reality and relatability made the comedy style easily accessible and uniquely funny in a way that few other shows could manage. But as the show went on, it became clear that the writers were running out of fresh ideas to keep these situations fresh, and what resulted was a dramatic decline as the show tried changing everything to be funny. The situation comedy became repetitive, and the characters started to become simplified versions of themselves to keep these situations funny. Along with that, the long-running storylines became blander with duller side characters, constant focus on the will they/won't they of Ross and Rachel, and an overall decline in joke writing also dragged down the show in its later seasons. Every now and then we would get greatness (especially in seasons 7 and 8), but the consistency of the show was gone and a lot of what made "Friends" special was lost in its final five seasons. Season 9 was a prime example of this, a genuinely awful season of television that exemplified the fall of "Friends" from a top-quality sitcom to a show that I struggled to motivate myself to watch. But regardless of all of the bad stuff that came about, the first five seasons are so terrific that I am glad that I watched this show, and I maintain a positive opinion about this show because of these early seasons alone. Score: 77
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Summary: Monica hosts a party the day before Rachel goes to Paris. Rachel says goodbye to everyone individually. Chandler tries to find the owner of handcuffs he finds in the guestroom.
The Good: The goodbyes are all decent fun and they nicely showcase the relationships between the characters with some fun moments. Ross getting skipped over is sensible for Rachel and an effective way to create some drama. The baby cliffhanger is a decent way to end the episode, and it is fitting that there will be a birth in the finale. Every character gets a couple fun moments, like Phoebe with the cuffs, Joey with the bubble wrap, and a few other good laughs. The Bad: Unfortunately a lot of the jokes fall flat. This episode works better as an emotional farewell than it does as a laugh-fest. The furry handcuffs storyline is pretty weak, especially since it leads to more ridiculous presumptions from Chandler who still hasn't learned anything about how to effectively communicate. The same goes for Ross getting angry at Rachel for skipping over him. It should be blatantly obvious to him that she is finding it hard to say goodbye to him. It's baffling that nobody brought this up, and Ross getting angry feels forced because the writers wanted some drama. Best Moment: Joey getting beat up with bubble wrap on his head. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This episode was too melodramatic, but it was decent stuff before the series finale. Score: 55 Summary: Phoebe learns that Estelle has died and doesn't have the heart to tell Joey. Ross tries to get Rachel her old job back so she doesn't have to go to Paris. Chandler and Monica learn that Janice is likely going to be their neighbor.
The Good: There is a lot of fun to be had in all 3 stories. Ross is the star as he awkwardly bribes Zelner to give Rachel her job back. What started as a fun one-time gag kept on going and adding new layers of humour with every scene. It was original, well-acted by David Schwimmer who extracts as much comedy as possible, and fun to watch. I'm also glad that the episode ended realistically with Ross being blindsided that Rachel was actually excited to go to Paris in spite of her fear, and so he ultimately chooses to encourage her to leave. That was a sweet moment. Janice returns for what is presumably one final appearance and she is actually pretty good here. She is still a caricature, but the episode makes her presence funnier by coming up with some clever new jokes and showing awareness of how ridiculous it is that she never seems to go away. Chandler pretending to still love her is a fun ending to that story. Joey and Phoebe's story is decent. Phoebe is fun as she impersonates Estelle, and the story goes to a predictable but still amusing conclusion as Joey thinks that he is speaking with Estelle's spirit. The Bad: Phoebe's lies to Joey are shockingly bad, and Joey looks terrible for believing them. Joey has become an unfeasibly stupid caricature of his past self in this last season, which is unfortunate. The guy that eats paper is a random, unfunny joke that doesn't work at all. Best Moment: Ross accidentally making himself sound like a creepy pedophile. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a consistent, funny episode that furthered some storylines in the build-up to the series finale, and offered some good laughs. Score: 69 Summary: Joey is taken to see Monica and Chandler's new house and still struggles to accept them leaving. Phoebe changes her name to Princess Consuela Bananahammock, perplexing Mike. Rachel has an interview for a new job but runs into trouble when her boss is seated right next to her.
The Good: The cast continues to carry the show. The opening scene is so funny because everyone has great chemistry by this point in the series, and they extract a lot of humour. Joey is a bit childish in this episode (see: The Bad), but he has some good moments like not knowing what escrow was, and a few odd lines with the kid were pretty funny. There's another good joke as Joey refuses to help Phoebe with the thing she wants Mike to do in bed. Rachel at the interview was a great premise and it was funny to see her struggle to salvage the interview and ultimately lose both. Ross has a terrific episode as he pops in without enough information and it makes for lots of laughs. Mike is pretty good for once as he plays along with Phoebe's name change to help her realize how stupid she was being. Craig Robinson has a fun cameo in this episode too. The Bad: Joey is too childish and moronic in this episode. The episode takes it way too far, and the final joke of Joey speaking to a teddy bear is completely ridiculous. Joey's been written as an extreme idiot lately and I'm not pleased by this. Phoebe's name change story is fine, but ultimately feels inconsequential and goes to a predictable conclusion. Best Moment: Ross celebrating his success in Central perk, oblivious to Rachel's failure. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a pretty standard episode with some funny moments. Score: 66 Summary: Joey gets Phoebe to help him learn French. Chandler and Monica show Erica around New York and learn about the baby's father. Rachel's father has a heart attack and Ross goes with her to visit him.
The Good: Ross and Rachel's story is really strong. Their relationship is given good depth here as we understand that no matter how hard they try, there will always be some underlying attraction between them. It was conveyed to us in a funny way, and both Ross and Rachel are really good in this episode. We also get more interactions between Ross and Rachel's father, which are quite funny. Monica and Chandler have a good story too as they get faced with the fear that the baby's father is a murderer. Their paranoia is amusing to see, especially Chandler's, and I really like that Monica used Erica to mess with him a little bit, but not in a cruel way. Phoebe is decent in this episode as she tries to help Joey, and ultimately does a nice thing for him at the end of the episode by making him think that his French was good. The Bad: Joey speaking French is one of the stupidest ideas this show has had. He looks like a complete moron that is incapable of basic speech, and that is awful. The joke is not funny, and the only thing that Joey did to make me smile was chug down the gallon of milk. But that's one small moment at the end of the episode, and to get there we had to go through scene after scene of Joey speaking nonsense. It's so childish and unfunny. A small nitpick, but I'm not a fan of Rachel's father having a heart attack being used for comedy. It makes the story feel less real, and the characters seem like assholes for not taking this seriously. Best Moment: Monica and Chandler fretting over their baby's father in bed. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: Outside of the ridiculous Joey plot, this was a pretty good episode with good laughs and nice stories. It's just a shame that Joey's story is so bad that it almost ruins this episode on its own. Score: 55 Summary: Phoebe is getting married to Mike. Monica is the wedding manager, but when she goes too far, Phoebe fires her. Ross and Chandler argue over who gets the open groomsman spot. Joey lives up to the role of temporarily being Phoebe's father.
The Good: Joey is fun as he gets to ham up being Phoebe's father for the day. The intro scene between Joey and Phoebe that establishes this is well done. Monica is fun at times as she is over-the-top organized. I liked the continuity of Chandler still being afraid of dogs. As this is a wedding episode, it builds to a typically nice conclusion. The Bad: This went too far in a lot of places. Joey goes too far in a lot of places and he stops being funny. Monica becomes terrible for much of this episode. She over-manages and completely ruins Phoebe's wedding, and yet we are supposed to feel bad for her being fired? Come on, that is tone-deaf and stupid. Furthermore, there is no way that Monica doesn't realize how bad it is that she stressed Phoebe out for her wedding. Ross and Chandler's story feels way too familiar, and there isn't enough uniqueness to get any laughs. Mike still doesn't feel like a character, so I had no reason to care about this wedding. Unlike other wedding episodes, this had no emotional impact whatsoever. Best Moment: Ross and Mike's awkward hug. Character of the Episode: Phoebe. Conclusion: A wedding episode that was light on both laughs and emotions. This was flat, and at times very poorly written. This disappointed me. Score: 52 Summary: Rachel and Monica get a male stripper for Phoebe's bachelorette party, but he is short and ugly. Ross and Chandler go to a high school reunion event and uncover some surprising drama. Joey gets to be on a gameshow.
The Good: This is a fun episode. Episodes that go into the past are almost always a blast to watch. Ross and Chandler throwing random new slang into every sentence is extremely funny, and a funny poke at the ridiculousness of the 80s. It's a lot of fun exploring the "betrayals" of the past, ending off with a fantastic twist that Ross kissed Monica back then. The other stories have less to them but are still fun. Joey at the gameshow is meaningless fluff, but he's so much fun as he endearingly tries his best with horrid results. His scenes are very funny though. Joey is the only character in this show that's almost always handled well. The stripper plot offers a few laughs and it has a nice ending as Phoebe cheers up the stripper and allows him to do his dance. The Bad: The opening scene was bad. There wasn't a smidge of humour in that entire sequence. While the Ross/Chandler plot is a funny idea, it's strange that none of this stuff ever came up before this final season. It's a small flaw, but it reminds us that this story was recently created since Ross never mentioned his first kiss with Rachel and Monica never mentioned her "midnight mystery kisser" in any previous episode. Best Moment: The twist reveal that Ross kissed Monica caught me off guard and was hilarious. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This was good stuff. Three solid plots with some good jokes throughout the episode. Score: 68 Summary: Phoebe and Rachel see Chandler with a woman and suspect he is cheating. In reality, Chandler is being shown a new house by his realtor; he and Monica plan to move out of the city.
The Good: The opening scene was solid with a fun discussion on food vs sex. The main story of the episode is decent as it covers an enormous change, exploring what it means for everyone. Chandler in particular has some nice moments throughout that continue to highlight his personal growth. The Bad: Things went well until the episode became a clip show around the 10 minute mark. After that, it was hard to care about what was happening. I still hate clip shows. It's a shame because this episode had a concept that could have made for a great episode. Best Moment: Joey refusing to believe that Chandler could last 45 minutes. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: A solid episode that was ruined by turning into a clip show halfway through. Score: 45 Summary: Monica and Chandler have an adoption interview. Phoebe sets Joey up with her friend but he is disturbed when she takes food off of his plate. Rachel and Phoebe help Ross buy some fashionable clothes, but Ross takes a liking to a ladies' top.
The Good: There are lots of laughs to be had here. Joey steals the show once again with the entire "Joey doesn't share food" gimmick. There are some tremendous jokes here as Joey struggles to control his impulses. It's especially amusing to me that Rachel is used to it, and Joey accepts this as a part of himself. The ending joke with Sarah is superb as Joey hypocritically eats Sarah's cake without regret, making it clear that this "rule" is just because he loves food way too much. Really good comedy. Monica and Chandler have some nice moments. Chandler gets some good lines, and I really like the conclusion where Chandler talks Erica into giving them the baby because of how honest and earnest he was in this scene. It shows some real character growth for Chandler. Ross has a few funny moments. Phoebe's leather jacket suggestion is in-line with what the character would give to Ross, and I got a laugh out of the running gag of the guys making guy jokes with Rachel, who is baffled by it ("do you think I'm someone else?"). The Bad: The episode goes too far in a few places. Joey goes a bit too far into absurdity with his inability to share food, particularly with his inability to communicate this with people. Monica and Chandler's story is hurt by the fact that they lie. It's a typical cringeworthy Monica/Chandler story where they both make poor decisions without providing much comedy. The conclusion is good, but it is hurt by the fact that these two characters still have not learned not to lie after 10 seasons of this. Naturally Ross has to be humiliated again, and I found it entirely unbelievable that he would find that pink shirt to be fashionable. Best Moment: The introduction to the idea that "Joey doesn't share food" is quite funny. It fits the character, and its executed superbly. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: A solid episode. There are flaws, but the three storylines are good and make for solid entertainment. And there is a good amount of laughs. Score: 64 Summary: Monica and Chandler don't want to hold Thanksgiving dinne rbut they are persuaded into it anyways. However, all of the others end up being late with Ross and Joey going to a Rangers game, and Rachel and Phoebe entering Emma into a beauty pageant.
The Good: I'm always happy to get episodes where all of the characters come together and this is no exception. The interactions are top-notch and there are lots of clever, funny running jokes that the writers maximize throughout the episode. Joey not letting Chandler guess, Rachel and Ross accepting beauty pageants after they hear about the money involved, the mugging, rock paper scissors, the cranberry sauce, and Joey's Rangers hand are all fantastic moments of dialogue that made me laugh. The characters are utilized to the maximum in producing good jokes and I was thrilled by it. Everyone being late felt like a natural development to lead into a fun little conflict, and I enjoyed how everything heated up before the four outside realized they needed to apologize. The floating heads saying sorry was a terrific visual, as was Joey's hilarious stare as he apologized. True to peak "Friends", they don't stop there and the comedy escalates with Joey's head getting stuck in the door, and the use of turkey grease leads to Joey desperately trying to lick it up. Joey is at his best in this episode and everything he did was hilarious. Then after all of the comedy, the episode has a sweet ending as Chandler and Monica finally get a baby, which was a satisfyingly sweet ending that does make you smile. The Bad: But there are still problems here. The one joke that completely fell flat was Monica's vein, mainly because you can clearly see that it is not there. The joke came back several times and every time it had the impact of a wet fart, especially considering how funny the other jokes were compared to it. The characters still carry some flaws. Monica's competitiveness being used to get the Thanksgiving dinner to happen is cheesy and it makes her look like a cartoon. Some small things like Rachel forgetting Emma's age and Joey and Ross deciding to get tickets on the day of the Thanksgiving dinner makes them look terrible. Best Moment: So many jokes to pick from, but I'll give it to the "mugging". Joey immediately destroying Ross's shirt was hilarious, made even better with Ross later saying that "I got mugged and they stole my pocket". Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: Another excellent Thanksgiving episode. It's always a winning formula to put all of the friends together, and the jokes here were almost all superb. The problems that have plagued the recent seasons of "Friends" are made into almost a non-factor simply because of the quality of the laughs. Great stuff, certainly the best episode of the season so far. Score: 76 Summary: Chandler and Monica meet with a social worker for a home study but discover that Joey slept with her and never called back and try to keep Joey away from her. Ross takes Emma to the playground to help Rachel get over her irrational fear of swings. Phoebe and Mike decide to donate their wedding money to a children's charity but have second thoughts.
The Good: There is a good amount of laughs here. The characters are their usual witty selves and there are plenty of clever lines. Ross and Rachel's story starts off well and their gentle teasing of each other's fears is decently funny. Joey steals the show in the second half of the episode and watching him turn things around on Laura was really funny and unexpected. There is some inherent comedy in Phoebe constantly changing her mind and Mike failing to step in and stop her. The Bad: As usual, some of the comedy lines go too far with the characters being unfeasibly mean. Ross and Rachel's story falls apart in the second half by having dumb jokes with Ross getting hit and no real pay-off. Monica and Chandler are at their worst here as they are overly fake, awkward, cringey, and overall unfunny. Watching them make such inexplicable decisions is reminiscent of "The One with the Stain", an episode where they were at their absolute worst. Phoebe and Mike's storyline is a decent idea but it isn't done well. They both seem thoughtless and rash by making such big decisions without thinking them through fully. Mike looks weak and spineless, while Phoebe looks like an impatient idiot. Furthermore, the story relies on too much cringe-based humour to be effective. Best Moment: Everything from the moment Joey enters the apartment with a bat to the moment he leaves, sobbing out "I waited a long time, I can't wait anymore!" For once Joey has lived up to his reputation as an actor, and it is terrific. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: The fantastic ending with Joey aside, this is a weak episode of comedy with three fairly flat storylines. Thankfully, Joey saves this episode and brings it up significantly. It's a long way ahead of the previous episode, that's for sure. Score: 55 Summary: Ross has been nominated for a research grant but it is being given out by Charlie's ex-boyfriend Benjamin. Chandler gets a commercial but has to find a way to decline letting Joey audition for it. Phoebe offers to give Monica one of her paintings and Monica obviously hates it.
The Good: Joey provides the episode's only laughs. The Ichiban commercial and Joey constantly getting distracted on the way to work is funny. Unfortunately that is it for The Good. The Bad: All three stories are terrible. To start, we have yet another awful Phoebe/Monica story where they are both awful to each other and completely unrealistic. Monica is such a terrible friend who lies as a natural instinct every time. Instead of telling Phoebe she doesn't want her "creation", she hides it and tries to manipulate it away. Even worse is Rachel who plays along with this, leading up to a stupid final joke as Monica and Rachel physically battle over Gladys. Phoebe is shockingly stupid. It is unbelievable that she wouldn't realize that Monica and Rachel hate her paintings, especially given her prior history. Speaking of prior history, why on Earth would Phoebe ever think that super picky, clean-freak Monica would ever want Gladys? It's as if these people hardly know each other. Add on a stupid joke of Joey being scared of ghosts and we have an awful storyline. Then we get to Ross. Poor Ross, who was once a great, relatable character is now such an unbelievable joke that is abused by the writers at every chance. David Schwimmer is the only reason that Ross still (kind of) works as a character. Here he hits a new low as his girlfriend openly goes to be with her ex right in front of him in what has to be the stupidest, most tone-deaf scene I have ever seen. Nobody in real life would ever be this shockingly awful! Charlie is terrible to Ross by abandoning him like this, and accepting Benjamin while right in front of him. It's a stupid storyline that is obviously only done to free Ross up to hook up with Rachel before the show's end. What a surprise. After all that drama last season with the Joey/Rachel/Ross/Charlie story, the pairings are broken up in a mere six episodes. Then add on Benjamin who is a terrible character who has no ethical credibility and is completely unprofessional and unsubtle at every turn. So much for being a Nobel Prize winner, this guy is a total goof. Lastly, there's Chandler's story and Chandler is a complete asshole here. Not only does he lie, but he infeasibly sticks to the lie and has the gall to be angry when found out. It's so stupid, and I can't fathom why Chandler doesn't simply watch the video, or at least tell Joey the truth! Every character is so bad in this episode. Best Moment: The Ichiban commercial. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This is the worst episode of the whole show so far, and that includes the clip shows. At least the clip shows didn't infuriate me every 5 seconds. This episode was unfunny, nonsensical, written badly, completely impossible to relate to, and it frustrated me to no end. I hardly even care for these characters that I once cared for so dearly. They are mere shadows of their former selves. "Friends" has hit a new low with this abomination. Score: 26 Summary: Amy returns and Rachel offers to help her out but pays the price when Amy gets Emma's ear pierced. Mike tries to propose to Phoebe, but Phoebe continually trashes his attempted style of proposal unintentionally. Monica and Chandler get Joey to write a letter of recommendation for the adoption process.
The Good: There were some good lines throughout the episode; I counted five moments that made me chuckle. Much of that is to do with the spirited performances. Mike and Phoebe's story is fine, and the concept of Phoebe continually messing up Mike's proposal is creative. The Bad: But a 28 minute episode that only makes me laugh 5 times is a total failure, and such has been the case for most "Friends" episodes these last two seasons. Amy's return is terrible. She was passable in season 9, but she is impossibly irritating and unfunny here. Somehow the character is even more brash and unsubtle than her last appearance, and that removes every bit of the limited comedy she had in her first appearance. The marriage plot is undeniably stupid and damages Amy's credibility as a character; Rachel was nowhere near this bad. Joey looks like a complete fool in his story. I maintain that Joey is at his funniest when he is narrow-minded and misses the big picture. He is not funny when he behaves like a child and becomes unfeasibly stupid. This episode writes Joey very poorly as he inexplicably decides to write this letter (completely out of character), submits it without even showing it to Chandler and Monica (makes everyone look stupid for not taking this important letter seriously), and then apparently does such a bad job that he is mistaken for a child (Joey is not this incapable). It is not funny. Phoebe's story is once again hurt by Mike being completely uninteresting. This has to be one of the flattest proposals in a sitcom I have ever seen. Best Moment: Joey screaming "I'm curvy and I like it!" Evidently Amy has crossed the line by trying to separate Joey from his food. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was an overly long episode with poor writing and flat humour with very few jokes actually landing. So much for the last three episodes being decent, we're back to the doldrums of season 9 with this pathetic effort. Score: 37 Summary: Ross and Rachel throw a party for Emma's first birthday. Monica and Chandler want to go to Vermont but stay behind for the party. Joey forgets to get a gift for Emma.
The Good: As with most episodes where the friends are all together, this is a lot of fun! I enjoyed seeing the characters bounce off of each other and there are a lot of fun little moments here like Chandler's constant sass about wanting to leave, Joey's beautiful performance completely overshadowing Phoebe, and the Gellers making a quick appearance to earn some welcome laughs. Ross' time capsule video is another good source of laughs. The Bad: This episode isn't all that funny. The interactions are very hit or miss throughout the episode, and there aren't any jokes that get more than a small chuckle out of me. Plus, there is a clear deficit of original and creative ideas in this episode. It's fine, but very by-the-numbers for a sitcom. The cake is a funny idea, but it is ridiculous to think that Rachel would leave the bakery in New Jersey without verifying that the cake was good. Best Moment: Ross asking Joey to say something to 18 year old Emma and he immediately goes to say something dirty. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This is good fun, but it never manages to make any memorable or creative laughs. At least this season hasn't been as dire as season 9 (so far). Score: 61 Summary: Ross goes to get a spray tan but it goes horribly wrong. Joey and Rachel try to hook up but find that they are unable to have sex with each other. Monica and Phoebe are stuck reconnecting with an old friend they despise.
The Good: The character interactions saved this. There are lots of funny lines throughout the episode, especially from Ross and Chandler who are at the top of their game as characters. It feels like the writers are more motivated to come up with better comedy scenarios to make season 10 a good final season. Ross' story is a blast and filled with laughs. It's a simple concept but it is executed brilliantly with lots of great jokes along the way such as "Mississipilessly", Ross ending up spraying himself on the front more and more, and the great ending joke as Chandler snaps a picture. The other two stories start off promising. The cold open with Joey and Chandler is quite funny with the awkward tension arising between them. Monica and Phoebe's story has a promising set-up as they try to avoid an old irritating friend, and the mockery of Amanda's antics are amusing. I really appreciate the detail of Rachel being reminded of her embarrassing first kiss with Ross. This show is typically quite poor with continuity in these later seasons so it is surprising to see a minor detail from season 3 pop up like this. The Bad: Joey and Rachel's entire story does not work. Their scenario is totally implausible (who has ever heard of a couple failing to have sex like this?), making it impossible for anyone to relate with and understand the characters. This story reeks of the writers scrambling to come up with a way to end this relationship before it even starts without creating any drama. There's no way that this would happen in real life without drama, so the writers have sacrificed realism to tell this stupid story. I suspect that they simply need Rachel to be single so she can finally get back together with Ross, and I'm not pleased with how the writers have accomplished this. Monica and Phoebe's story started so well but fell into mediocrity rapidly. Amanda is awful. Absolutely terrible. Nothing about her is funny and she is irritating to no end. And to make matters worse, she is used to catalyze yet another episode of Monica and Phoebe being terrible friends. Phoebe looks awful for trying to cut her out, and Moncia looks worse for letting the past motivate her to go as far as to declare that they need to cut off Phoebe. Chandler looks horrible for accepting it so submissively. Again I have to ask, how are these people friends? Best Moment: Ross' trips to the tanning salon are all hilarious, but the best moment within them all has to be his interaction with the initial tanning man. He asks "what [tan level] are you", only to met with a superbly delviered "Puerto Rican". Great moment that really made me laugh. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This is another mixed episode. Season 10 has been much more successive at making me laugh (which goes a long way), but the writing problems still persist. I did enjoy and laugh at this episode more than the previous one, so it gets a pretty good score. Score: 65 Summary: Ross tries to tell Joey and Rachel that he is fine with them when he is clearly not. Monica and Chandler meet with Phoebe's friends who have advice on adoption. Phoebe helps Frank Jr. take care of his triplets.
The Good: Ross absolutely overreacts in this episode, but luckily it is funny a lot of his time. It certainly goes far into the ridiculous (see: The Bad), but luckily for the show, it made me laugh. Ross' exaggerated reactions were fantastically realized by David Schwimmer who managed to get a lot of humour out of his antics. Be it Ross using an absurdly squeaky voice when exclaiming he is fine, or excitedly shouting about his "fajitas!", the episode manages to be really funny in this storyline. Thankfully, the end of the episode dials things back and we end with a surprisingly meaningful scene between Joey and Ross as we examine Ross' complicated emotional reaction to their relationship. It's a good scene. Phoebe gets a pretty good if unspectacular story here, and it's good to see Frank Jr. return. Chandler starting fires everywhere he goes is an amusing subplot in the episode. The Bad: There is absolutely no subtlety in Ross' actions in this episode and many times his behaviour falls into absurdity. Ross acts like an unbelievable idiot in most of his scenes, and the drunk acting was far from convincing, even if it was funny at times. Furthermore, Joey and Rachel have a quiet episode because the extent of their contributions come from reacting to Ross who is so inconsistent in his comedy. At times, it is genius, but at other times it is so poorly written and so lacking in subtlety that it becomes painful to watch. Chandler and Monica's plot is pure filler and while Chandler is funny, the story never resonates with me. Phoebe's story is good, but raises one big question that hurts its credibility: why hasn't Phoebe been helping Frank Jr. for the last four years? Best Moment: Ross' initial claims of being fine followed by inviting Joey and Rachel over. This was the funniest because it came before the episode fell into total absurdity. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This is a tricky one. On one hand, I really did laugh in this episode, but the writing is so blatantly bad at significant points in the episode. This definitely isn't as dire as recent episodes, but I can't exactly call it good either. Score: 59 Summary: The friends listen in as Joey hooks up with Rachel and Ross hooks up with Charlie. Ross and Joey decide that they need to tell the other about getting with Charlie and Rachel respectively. Phoebe helps Mike break up with his girlfriend. Monica gets a new hairstyle and Chandler hates it.
The Good: There are some funny lines here. I enjoyed Ross saying so many nice things to Joey to the point that Joey is unable to tell Ross that he is with Rachel now. Ross gets an excellent line as he tells Rachel "I've been having dirty dreams about this" when Rachel thinks that Joey has told him. The friends listening through the thin walls is a fun idea with the odd good moment. The Bad: So much of this did not work. The idea that Joey and Ross had to tell the other before doing anything with Rachel;/Charlie is a bit ridiculous and doesn't line up with how people behave in real life. Surely they would go ahead and worry about talking things through later. The scene of Rachel and Joey kissing Ross due to guilt is laughably absurd. I laughed at the thin walls, but it is disgusting that the friends are listening in lustfully when they know that Ross, Joey, and Rachel are likely about to have sex. Reality was sold out for cheap jokes in these scenes. Phoebe and Mike's story is nothing special at all. Again, Mike is boring, and my opinion of Phoebe has dropped spectacularly in the last 5 seasons. Monica's hair is still inexplicably used for jokes. It wasn't funny in the season 9 finale and the story continues in this episode for some reason, and somehow manages to get even dumber. Monica's love for her ridiculous hair is practically unfathomable. Best Moment: I'll go with Ross going along with saying "thank you" to the hotel, a funny moment that's very consistent with the character. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: So much of this did not work. The odd joke is funny but there is so much awkwardness and weak comedy across several poorly written and uninteresting storylines. This episode probably isn't inherently as bad as I am scoring it, but season 9 has eviscerated my attachment and investment to these characters and their stories, and so I am inclined to score lower. A poor start to the season. Score: 42 Summary: Joey realizes that Rachel is into him and struggles with wanting to be with her. Ross and Charlie continue to spend time together and hook up. Monica challenges Mike to playing table tennis.
The Good: The relationship twist went exactly as expected. There are the odd funny lines throughout as the plot heads to its predictable conclusion. Ross and Charlie are fun together, and it's nice to see the show highlight the positive attributes of Ross that allowed him to be so likeable in the early seasons. Joey and Rachel do a decent job and I bought into them getting together. The table tennis story doesn't have much substance but it provides most of the laughs. It's nice to see Mike finally have some personality as he unleashes his competitive side. The Bad: The biggest issue with this is how predictable it is. We knew exactly what was going to happen, and there were no surprises. This removes any sense of drama or investment, which is a major issue because this story is not well written and not funny. It feels very flat as a result. I wasn't happy with Joey's excuse about not wanting to make Ross feel weird, it felt like a forced excuse to keep stalling. Phoebe moved on far too quickly from David which completely removes any sense of reality from the Mike vs David story, further disconnecting me from Phoebe as a character. The gay professor side character was a step too far and lacked the subtlety needed to be funny. Best Moment: Rachel opening the door that Joey was leaning on and he falls into the room. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: Much like part 1, this was flat and predictable television that was merely serviceable as a season finale. I'm honestly surprised that this season finale wasn't a complete mess because that's what this entire season has been. I can count the episodes I've enjoyed on a single hand, and when there are 24 episodes in the season, that's a massive problem. There were so many terrible episodes this season and my opinion on the show fell drastically as I continued on through the season. I don't have the same love for these characters as I did before, and I have little faith in this show following what has to be one of the worst seasons of comedy I have seen from a good TV show. Thankfully, season 10 will be the final season and I hope that "Friends" can end on a high. But my optimism has taken a serious hit after this season, and I suspect that the final season will be a flat, dire end to one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Score: 54 Summary: David plans to propose to Phoebe in Barbados after getting advice from Chandler. Monica learns that Phoebe might say yes even though she still loves Mike. Chandler accidentally deletes Ross's speech, so Charlie has to help him rewrite it.
The Good: The switch to Ross/Charlie and Joey/Rachel relationships is very telegraphed but it is built up in a sensible way with some good lines and ideas. Chandler is funny as he goes around ruining everything he involves himself with. David's as charming and funny as ever and he carries the Phoebe story on his back. I wish that he could have been the one to stay with her because he is so much more fun to watch. The Bad: The proposal storyline is incredibly dumb and unrealistic. David deciding to propose to Phoebe is such a dumb idea, and even worse is Chandler thinking that he gave decent advice. He should know full well that it's a terrible idea! I was more frustrated than amused by Chandler and Monica meddling so much in Phoebe's life, and I was very confused that Phoebe took no issue with this. Mike arriving in Barbados doesn't feel earned, and I'm incredibly disappointed that the writers have decided to set up Phoebe with bland, boring Mike instead of the charismatic and endearing David. Monica's hair being so messy is one of those unrealistic and stupid late season "Friends" jokes that never makes me laugh. While the relationship switch is being set up well, it's hard for me to care much about it with how much the reputation of "Friends" has tanked over this last season. I don't have much faith that this story will be funny or written well. Best Moment: David's commentary while Phoebe talks with Mike is really funny, culminating in the perfect moment when Phoebe says no to Mike's proposal and David chimes in with "um, haha". Character of the Episode: David. He deserved better. Conclusion: This was a fine part 1 of the season finale carried by David's performance. Unfortunately my investment in these characters and the show as a whole has fallen drastically over the course of this season. Even though this episode doesn't do a whole lot wrong compared to other episodes, I still found watching it to be a mediocre experience. Score: 55 Summary: Chandler invites Zack to his house and he grills him along with Monica to see if he would be a good sperm donor. Rachel still can't bring herself to like Charlie. Phoebe contemplates going to a party where Mike is going to be. Ross does an interview to get a big speaking position, but his interviewer falls asleep.
The Good: Ross' situation is mildly funny and David Schwimmer does his best to get whatever laughs he can. David's return is a good twist at the end of the episode, and his antics are as funny as ever. I hope that he does end up with Phoebe because he is a far better character than Mike. The Bad: But this was another bad episode. Joey continues on from the previous episode and is unfeasibly stupid. Rachel's jealousy isn't funny to watch and it feels like the show is treading on familiar ground. I wasn't pleased with Charlie mistaking Rachel for Phoebe and not putting together what is really going on. She has to be unfeasibly stupid to not catch on to Rachel's obvious, poorly disguised jealousy. Leave it to "Friends" to ruin the most promising guest star the show has had in a long while. Lastly we get to Chandler and Monica's story which is just awful. Watching Chandler and Monica awkwardly ask these probing questions is more painful than funny and it feels completely unrealistic. Furthermore, it's impossible to buy into Chandler being so into the idea of using Zack specifically as a sperm donor. Why did he suddenly think that Zack was a perfect candidate? This entire storyline was a mess, one of the worst of the season. Best Moment: Chandler's dumb jokes to the doctor were pretty funny. I especially liked the line "talk about an inhospitable environment" when the doctor didn't laugh at anything he said. Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: This was another poor effort with bad storytelling, and an overall lack of memorable comedy. This was not a good episode to hype up the two-part season finale. Score: 36 Summary: Chandler and Monica go to test their fertility and run into Janice. Ross helps Joey attempt to impress Charlie. Phoebe doesn't approve of Rachel getting a free massage from a corporation, but Phoebe is secretly working there and ends up having to massage Rachel.
The Good: This show continues to be carried by the character interactions. As stupid as the show gets, the cast does a good job and they have charm interacting with each other. Joey is funny at times with his excessive stupidity. Chandler and Monica do okay with the sad realization that they are unlikely to conceive. The Bad: All three storylines are awful. The Rachel/Phoebe story is by far the worst, and of course it's because of Phoebe. To suggest that Phoebe has principles and is to be admired for this is laughable because this is a character who has historically abandoned her principles and is generally a terrible person, lying, being rude, and making things all about herself. In this episode Phoebe even plays the friendship card to get what she wants by guilt-tripping Rachel out of getting a free massage, offering her nothing in return. That's pretty rich from someone who regularly trashes her friends. Plus, what kind of friend would be so unbelievably selfish as to screw Rachel out of a massage over basically nothing? And that too when she is working for the same damn company anyways! Phoebe continues to sink lower and lower with her selfish behaviour, and she hit a new low here. Monica and Chandler's story is also bad. Most of the jokes are immature jokes about masturbating to a cup which are childish and not at all funny. Janice also makes an appearance, but by this point she is a caricature and not funny anymore. Monica and Chandler's serious moment at the end is hurt by the lack of meaningful build-up, and the silly jokes that Chandler makes. Joey is unbelievably stupid in almost every scene in this episode. Joey is narrow-minded and oblivious, he is not a complete moron like the show seems to suggest in this episode. Having him mistake left and right is a step too far. Best Moment: As stupid as it was, Joey mistaking left and right was the funniest moment due to how unexpected it was. But that's less about how good this joke was and more about how unfunny the rest of the episode was. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: After a couple good episodes, we are back to insufferable television. All three storylines here did not work and there was very little humour. Phoebe continues to be atrocious. Another awful episode this season. Score: 35 Summary: Joey holds a secret soap opera party and tries to get the others to go to a play. Rachel discovers this and ends up leaking the information tot he others who end up going. Chandler doesn't get the message and gets stuck at the play. Ross meets Charlie, a fellow professor, and has insecurities asking her out when he learns she has only dated Nobel Prize winners.
The Good: This was a fun episode. The soap opera plot is really creative and lots of great jokes are thrown out as the plot unfolds. Joey's excuse for waking up early is immediately suspicious, and there's a really funny moment when Rachel exposes his secret plan by playing the answering machine. Joey's interactions with Rachel are a lot of fun in this episode. I enjoyed him revealing all of his other plans and then telling Rachel that she's the worst of the bunch when it comes to behaving around stars. Rachel faking sick is also really funny, and that joke has a hilarious pay-off with Joey flashing everyone. The party itself is decent fun. Rachel continues to grapple with her feelings, and Ross has an iffy conflict (see: The Bad), but it makes good use of Phoebe who gets to be a good friend for once. The ending twist with Joey connecting with Charlie is a genuine surprise and a good moment. Chandler getting left alone at the play was really funny, and it hearkened back to the Chandler of old getting caught up in awkward, hilarious situations. The episode ends with a terrific pay-off as Chandler abandons Monica and Phoebe to extract vengeance. The Bad: Ross acts like a clown with Charlie on a number of occasions. His attempt to leave without the other professor completely lacked subtlety and made him look like an idiot, and his insecurity after hearing Charlie dates only smart people made sense but was far too ridiculous. Surely he understands that her dating smart guys in the past doesn't mean that she will only date smart guys now. Monica is way out of character throughout the episode as she fawns over the soap opera stars. Rachel was always the one fawning, not Monica. It's hard to believe that her actions do not create serious issues in her marriage with Chandler. Best Moment: Joey flashing everyone after Monica tells him to take off his robe, expecting him to be dressed for a party like Rachel. Naturally, he wasn't. And the funniest part in retrospect is Joey briefly hitting on Charlie as he walks out, made better by the fact that they actually hook up at the end of the episode. Character of the Episode: Rachel. Conclusion: This felt more like an early "Friends" episode. A fun plot that incorporates everyone, some good humour, and a decent new guest star. There are still some problems, but I enjoyed this. Score: 67 Summary: Rachel has a dream about kissing Joey after helping him with his soap opera scenes and realizes that she may have a crush on Drake. Chandler and Ross spend a weekend at a hotel in Vermont and start stealing things. Phoebe sets up outside Monica's restaurant to play guitar, but Monica wants her to stop.
The Good: The opening scene has amusing moments, like Joey with the pineapple and Rachel's incident in the men's room. Rachel's story in this episode is decent and it's a funny bit of writing to have Rachel develop a crush on Joey's character rather than Joey himself. Chandler and Ross do well in their plot. There are some weak moments, but the hotel story has enough clever ideas and laughs to work well enough. The Bad: This episode doesn't do great at getting laughs. Rachel's story has hardly any laughs. Ross feels much more stupid than he should be in this episode with the maple candy and the salt. Monica and Phoebe's story is absolutely terrible. Phoebe remains really awful in most episodes. Monica politely and reasonably asks her to play somewhere else, but rather than explain her side to Monica, Phoebe attacks her cooking abilities and restaurant ruthlessly, and Monica responds by viciously attacking Phoebe's musical abilities. These are serious attacks that can damage a friendship and should not be used in a sitcom story. Both characters look awful after this episode. Best Moment: Ross giving Chandler an exaggerated clap after he figures out the stealing rule. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was decent stuff outside of the bad Monica/Phoebe story. This certainly isn't one of the weakest episodes of the season, but it's still a long way from being good. Score: 50 Summary: Everyone decides to pitch in and buy tons of lottery tickets, intending to split the winnings between themselves. Chandler waits to hear back on if he has a new job.
The Good: This was a lot of fun. I always love episodes that see the six friends all together because it always makes for really funny and entertaining viewing. With everyone together, the interactions are a blast and it's easier for the characters to bounce off of each other. I wish that more episodes had all of the characters together like this instead of only reuniting everyone for just one or two scenes. Using this format made a marked improvement over other episodes in this season. The interactions were written well, and there were times where the show really got me to laugh hard, reminiscent of the excellent comedy of season 1-5 "Friends". Lots of ideas here were well executed like Joey not telling Monica his wish, Ross being so firmly against the idea of wasting money on a lottery, and Phoebe taking to calling Ross "daddy" (see: Best Moment). I thought the episode ended nicely with Chandler getting the job and Joey revealing that he had secretly wished for him to get the job. The Bad: This episode was so good for so long, but it loses a lot of its quality by needlessly shoving in a conflict in an utterly ridiculous way. This episode seemingly tried a similar format to "The One where Underdog Gets Away" from season 1 by having the friends all argue before making up afterwards. But where that episode created a credible situation for an argument, this episode sacrifices the credibility of the characters to make this conflict happen. Monica is annoying and an awful friend for sneakily getting lottery tickets for herself, and Chandler siding with her is even worse. Just as bad is Phoebe who is self-centered and annoying in how she handles the problem, and the lack of a genuine apology for dropping the lottery tickets does not suit her character at all. This needless conflict does not add much and makes many characters look worse, hurting this episode's quality. Best Moment: Ross explains that he wants Rachel to call him "daddy" to help with Emma's first words, but Phoebe decides to call Ross "daddy" instead. Lisa Kudrow handles the scene superbly, and it only gets funnier as Ross tries to match Phoebe by committing to the role, only to give up. This is a fantastic moment that utilizes Phoebe correctly as a caring friend who likes doing some harmless teasing. It's been a long time since we have seen this side of Phoebe. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This episode has a great premise and some fantastic interactions, but it does get brought down by the needless, tedious conflict that emerges. Still, it's a funny, enjoyable, and at times terrific episode that is the strongest of season 9 so far. Score: 68 Summary: Ross and Chandler prank each other online by spreading lies, which escalates into Ross holding a fake memorial service for himself. Joey doesn't want to share Hugsy with Emma. Phoebe enlists Monica in keeping her away from Mike.
The Good: Some interactions here are decent. Phoebe and Monica have an okay story and there is some humour in Mike getting someone to keep him away from Phoebe too. Chandler and Ross pranking each other has some funny aspects. The Bad: It is hard to say much good about this episode. Where to begin? Ross and Chandler's pranks cross a line and are really absurd. Chandler should know better than to endanger Ross' career with these statements on his profile, and Ross is really immature every step of the way which makes him look awful. Stuff like this can permanently damage relationships, and it was hard to buy into their sappy moment of friendship at the end of the episode when they are saying such dangerous things about each other which clearly are not in good spirits. The fake memorial service is an awful idea and it's a complete sell-out of the character of Ross. Ross used to be one of the most likeable and relatable characters in the show, but now he is a total self-absorbed, geeky, annoying asshole in most episodes. Without David Schwimmer's performance, I would not be able to stand him at all. Episodes like this prove that Ross is not a good character anymore. It has been evident all season long, but this really is the icing on the cake. Ross being so upset about people not caring he's dead getting to the point that he holds a fake memorial is terrible. Even worse is that he didn't even seem to call his parents to spare them of the heartbreak! And the ultimate moment of awfulness comes when he reveals himself to be alive to Kori, expecting that she might actually give him a shot. And instead of being reprimanded from how obviously sick this fake memorial service is, all he cares about is that Kori did have a crush on him. That is such unrealistic garbage that makes Ross feel like an unlikeable caricature that deserves nothing from anyone. What terrible character writing. Then we get to Joey's plot which is useless, unfunny filler. Joey is funny when he is shown to be narrow-minded, he is not funny when he is shown to be unrealistically childish. The episode doesn't come to any real conclusion and the entire joke is just Joey taking a stuffed animal away from a baby and not being the bigger person. I fail to see any comedy in this. Phoebe's story doesn't work either. Again, Mike being so flat makes it impossible to care, and Monica is more irritating than anything else in her role before she unfathomably has a change in heart and tells Phoebe to get back with Mike. What a trainwreck. Best Moment: Chandler hitting on Kori only he be reminded by Monica that he's married. Chandler replies "don't mind him, he's in a really bad mood". Character of the Episode: Chandler. Conclusion: What a bad episode. Right when I think season 9 might be improving towards the end of the season we get such an awful stinker of an episode. This is one of the worst episodes of the entire show, and further fuel to the fire that is my feeling that season 9 is going to end up as one of the worst seasons of a good TV show I have ever seen. Score: 30 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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