Well, I suppose there were some "Friends" fanatics who did not tape the series finale last night and who do not already own the pilot episode. But then I always hold on to the possibility that winged monkeys could come flying out of specific orifice. Besides, given that the final episode ran over when it appears in syndication in two parts some scenes are going to have to be cut or shortened (I vote for Chandler's discussion with Erica regarding camp) so this will be the only opportunity to have the complete version of "The Last One," at least until it comes out in the best of the final season and the complete final season DVD collections.
I really thought that overall the final season of "Friends" was one of its weakest. For me the series derailed when Joey fell for Rachel and not because I thought it was a bad idea. My favorite moments with Matt LeBlanc in the series where his dealing with being in love with Rachel. But they messed up the timing with the plot line, so by the time they were willing to give it a try it felt forced and ended up with everybody deciding it will not work. Fortunately the end of the whole sorry affair was excellent, with Rachel wondering why she and Joey cannot do what Monica and Chandler did, and Joey observing that they were much better friends. The high point of the final season was clearly Phoebe's wedding and most of the rest of it in the last half was geared towards the final episode, so now is the time to render a verdict on "The Last One."
Wisely this episode did nothing to set up the "Joey" spinoff and while the whole baby birds stuck in the foosball table seems like something that make for an entertaining regular episode of "Friends," it did serve as a rather fitting metaphor for the relationship between Joey and Chandler. We get another subtle metaphor at the end with the bit with the keys. Phoebe gets to bounce around between the various plot lines and provides support and/on havoc, which is just more proof that Lisa Kudrow is going to be one of the finest supporting actresses of her generation.
The one thing I really wanted for the final episode was for Monica to announce she was pregnant, but that was probably just an extension of my relief that Courtney Cox Arquette finally got pregnant. I really felt for her having to endure years of pregnancy watches in the tabloids while she not only suffered miscarriages in her personal life but had to deal with her character's infertility problems as well. The surprise in the delivery room was pretty good and I suppose we should not be surprised that Erica was able to part with her offspring without any of the pathos of Pheobe saying goodbye to her triplets. Clearly the scenes at the hospital were not intended to be the centerpiece of the finale.
The person who stands out in the final episode is obviously David Schwimmer as Ross. The episode before the finale was the one where Jennifer Aniston's Rachel really got emotional; that episode was more the one where the characters got a chance to say goodbye to each other, leaving it to the finale to say goodbye to the characters and their fans. After the nice fake out at the end of Act Three, set up by all those preview adds for the finale, Schwimmer, who could often be over the top annoying, gets to the big moment in the life of Ross and nails it, reminding everybody why Rachel was in love with him (although it takes her a while to remember). Ross also has the best comic moment of the finale when he checks out his answering machine but Aniston's timing and delivery of the episode's best live is just as good. It is Schwimmer and Aniston that made parts of the series finale special, which is especially impressive when you consider that Ross and Rachel getting back together was what 77% of viewers (according to one poll I saw) wanted. With such high expectations coming close is a good trick and the moment compares favorable to the emotional highpoint of the series, which was Chandler's proposal to Monica (and visa versa).
"The Final One" was written by Marta Kauffman & David Crane, but I am sure everybody on the staff and in the crew had input. The initial estimate is that 51.1 million tuned in to watch the final episode, which is only two-thirds of the audience reigned in by the finales of "Seinfeld" (76.0) and "Cheers" (80.4), but still good for fourth place (way behind "M*A*S*H" at 105 million viewers) and the most popular entertainment program on television since the last episode of the first "Survivor," watched by 51.7 million in August 2000. But if there is one thing that most final episodes prove to us is that they are never totally satisfying, so the idea that the last episode of "Friends" was not a disappointment is a pretty good outcome.
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Tanner stephenson
Very happy came undamaged
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 20, 2021
