Friends’ Series Finale Aired 20 Years Ago — and We Still Have Lots of Questions
Friends’ series finale may not have ended with one of the show’s classic “I, Ross, take thee Rachel” cliffhangers, but that doesn’t mean the sitcom tied up every loose end in a Monica-approved bow, either.
To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the NBC comedy’s final episode, TVLine decided to revisit “The Last One,” prompting a series of head scratchers that may never be resolved. Sadly, that finale aired well before the age of TV post mortems.
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For example, can we talk about the casual reveal of the chick and the duck’s untimely deaths? And that Joey still believes they merely moved to a special farm? This feels like something that should have been explored sooner. We would have much rather watched “The One Where the Chick and the Duck Die” over that episode where Monica thought Chandler was addicted to shark porn.
Other burning questions include: Was Monica successful in her plot to destroy Pat the Dog? Why was Joey so supportive of Ross reuniting with someone he also loved? And in the interest of keeping things real, would Rachel have been better off staying on that plane?
Browse our list of lingering Friends finale questions, then drop a comment with your own unanswered queries below.
1. When exactly did the chick and the duck die?
Given their impact on the show, we feel like Yasmine and the nameless duck deserved more than an off-camera death casually revealed in the show’s final hour. Would the same have been done for Marcel? We think not!
2. Was Chandler actually funny, or just kind of a jerk?
It’s one thing not to know what to say to a pregnant woman, but it’s another thing to awkwardly shame the birth mother carrying your children for getting pregnant out of wedlock.
3. Why was Joey so excited about Ross and Rachel getting back together?
After pining for Rachel throughout Seasons 8 and 9, we can’t imagine he’d suddenly ‘ship the sitcom’s central couple — even after he and Rachel realized they weren’t compatible early on in Season 10.
4. Did no one look at Rachel’s passport?
We can sit here and blame the props department — or we can ask ourselves how the passenger service agent managed to overlook this threat to national security.
5. How did Phoebe’s cab ever pass inspection?
Ross nicknamed it the “Death Cab” for good reason: Not only does this out-of-commission taxi not have seatbelts, but its engine could explode at any minute, according to Pheebs.
6. Does Rachel have the best/worst seatmates ever?
Long before he was Community‘s Dean Pelton, Jim Rash was the nervous nelly whose panic attack about a missing left phalange inspired everyone to get off the plane. (And who could forget back in Season 4 when Hugh Laurie told Rachel that she was a terrible person for standing in the way of Ross and Emily’s happily ever after?)
7. Should Rachel have gotten off the plane?
We have to wonder if she considered the lasting implications this decision would have on her career. She threw away her dream job, and for what? Three Divorces Guy?! Which brings us to our next question…
8. How long do we think Ross and Rachel lasted this time?
We don’t mean to rain on everyone’s parade, but considering it took less than two minutes for Ross to mention the infamous “break” upon reuniting with Rachel in the finale, we have no reason to believe that these lobsters are still holding each other’s claws today.
9. Why did Monica and Chandler really move?
Considering they were living in a rent-controlled palace, complete with a guest room plenty big enough for two babies, did Monica and Chandler really need to move out of the city? Think about it: If they had stayed, Joey probably wouldn’t have moved to Los Angeles — and we could have avoided Joey altogether.
10. Why didn’t anyone use these keys before?
Looking back on the gang’s living history, we understand why everyone has a key to Monica and Chandler’s apartment. What we don’t understand is why no one thought to use them the countless times they got locked out over the years.
11. Did Pat the Dog survive the move?
We need to know if Monica was successful in thwarting the statue’s journey to Westchester.
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