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For 10 years, Friends was synonymous with top-tier comedy. Often marketed as the flagship program for NBC’s “must-see TV,” Friends would consistently entertain audiences with quippy one-liners, great physical comedy, and various ways to make Joey more and more clueless. While audiences might wipe a tear away from a well-deserved belly laugh, oftentimes the show would veer into more dramatic storylines and tug at the heartstrings in ways that audiences might not have expected.
While other shows might back these emotional moments with a synthesizer and try to bake in a valuable lesson for someone to learn, Friends tended to ground the drama in real situations that anyone coming of age might experience. From losing a loved one to breaking up with the love of your life, Friends knew how to make its audience reach for a box of tissues while never taking their eyes off the screen.
10 The One Where Ross & Monica’s Nana Dies
In Season 1, Ross and Monica’s grandmother dies… twice. While Nana’s death is presented in a hilarious way, the episode takes on a more serious tone as the friends begin to understand that death is now an unfortunate fixture in their lives. As he helps locate a final-resting outfit for his Nana, Ross recounts how his grandmother would steal sugar packets, only to have all those sugar packets fall on his head, as he smiles at his grandmother’s last goodbye to him.
The episode ends with the friends sitting at the coffee shop, reviewing photos of their Nana at her favorite hangout with her friends, indicating that certain things in life are cyclical, and in the end, it’s those you choose to surround yourself with that will make your life worth living.
9 The One Where Chandler & Monica Can’t Conceive
Shortly after Rachel gives birth to Emma, Monica and Chandler realize that after getting married, the next journey they both wish to embark on is to have a child of their own. From that point on, the audience is treated to Chandler and Monica sticking to Monica’s ovulation clock and trying to get pregnant, with some truly hilarious results.
However, it’s later in Season 9, after so many failed attempts at naturally trying to conceive, that the couple goes to a fertility doctor to run tests to see who might be having an issue. As it turns out, both have issues that are preventing Monica from being pregnant. This news is a blow to both the characters and the audience as they are left with Chandler just lovingly holding his wife and, with a stunned demeanor, tries to reassure her that everything is going to be ok.
8 The One Where Ross & Rachel Break Up
Since Season 1, fans had been shipping Ross and Rachel as each week they would watch their favorite couple dance around the subject of dating one another or not. After a few false starts, Italian guys, and a Julie with her cat, Rachel finally realizes how much Ross loves her (after watching a video from their prom) and decides to take a chance and be with him.
However, in Season 3, fans were in for a rude awakening as Ross and Rachel began to pull away from each other as Ross’ jealousy caused him to question whether Rachel was being faithful to him or not. After a big fight, Rachel asks Ross to take the now infamous break, and Ross sleeps with another woman. Not only was Ross’ infidelity a shock, but when Rachel wouldn’t forgive him, fans were devastated, not believing that this could possibly be over.
7 The One Where Joey & Chandler Break Up
Joey and Chandler quickly became one of the best relationships on the show, as they displayed a strong friendship. However, their love for each other was tested as Joey was picked up as a series regular on Days of Our Lives, and he decided that he was ready to move on and try living by himself.
Obviously hurt, Chandler does nothing to stop him and watches as his best friend packs up his things and moves out. This episode strikes an emotional cord as it explored close friendships and how sometimes you have to let your friends go and see the world without you always by their side.
6 The One Where Chandler Admits He Loves Monica
Season 5 saw one of the better storylines as Monica and Chandler try to hide their relationship from the others. When everyone finds out about Chandler and Monica’s relationship, Rachel and Pheobe decide they will turn it into a game of chicken and see if the secret couple will crack and confess.
However, what really pulls at the heartstrings here is when Chandler, a man who has never been able to commit to any woman and has found every excuse in the book to push women away, knows that he loves Monica. This moment of growth is both hilarious and touching.
5 The One Where Pheobe Says Goodbye to the Triplets
Pheobe becoming pregnant was a situation of the real-life actress (Lisa Kudrow) being pregnant in real life and the writers working it into the show, by having Pheobe being the surrogate for her brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), and his wife, Alice (Deborah Jo Rupp).
Ready to have the triplets come into the world, Pheobe has become attached to them and ponders if she might be able to keep one. After a tough-love conversation with Rachel, Pheobe realizes that after nine months of carrying these little creatures in her body, she will have to say goodbye. In a simple setup, the camera sits on Pheobe’s face as she tells the newly born triplets how much she loves them and how much she is going to miss them, as she cries and gently rocks them.
4 The One Where Joey Says Goodbye to Estelle
By the end of the series, the show had been setting up a lot of change that Joey just couldn’t handle. Rachel was going to be moving to Paris with Ross not sure what to do, Monica and Chandler were buying a house in the suburbs and Pheobe was now married to Mike and ready to start her life. Joey was the odd-man-out, still wondering when would his life begin.
When his agent, Estelle (June Gable) dies, Pheobe knows Joey can’t take it and pretends to be her on the phone as Joey fires her. While one of the sillier moments, when he learns of Estelle’s passing and “talks to her” on the phone, Joey gets a surprisingly poignant moment to say goodbye to the first and only person who took a chance on him as an actor. With the series coming to a close, Joey closing this chapter in his life is sure to bring a few tears to your eyes.
3 The One Where Ross & Susan Come to Terms with the Birth of Their Son
Ross and Susan (Jessica Hetch) were always butting heads, as Susan was the woman Ross’ ex-wife left him for. When Carol discovers that she is having Ross’ baby in Season 1, Susan and Ross’ bitterness intensifies.
On the day of their son’s birth, Ross and Susan have one final blowout that is grounded in tenderness and relatable insecurities. Ross is afraid he’ll be edged out as he isn’t there for his child 24/7 and Susan feels that she is just a secondary character having not given any DNA to the baby. As they duke this out in a supply closet at the hospital, they both come to a beautiful understanding and agree to name their child Ben.
2 The One Where Monica & Richard Breakup
During Season 3, it was looking like Monica was going to marry Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck). Despite their 21-year age difference, Monica was ready to have a child and grow old with him. However, Richard was not too keen on having to play father again and wait 18 years before he could start his life with Monica.
As much as Monica loved him and would carry a torch for Richard (all the way to Season 7), she didn’t want to be with someone who felt like they had to do anything with her. While it killed her on the inside, she had to let him go on a tearful goodbye that shocked even herself.
1 The One With The Final Moment
After 10 years of being on the air, Friends ended their incredible run with an emotional goodbye. In the series finale, Rachel gets off the plane to be with Ross, while Monica and Chandler are all packed up and ready to move into their new house with their son and daughter.
From start to finish, this episode is tear-inducing and hard for the audience to handle. As the core friends look upon the empty apartment they’ve built so many memories in, they all take out their keys knowing this is the last time they will be in this place. It was a happy place full of love and laughter. As they exit the apartment one last time, viewers are left with a bittersweet joke, as they wonder where they could possibly stop and get a cup of coffee.
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