A man complains about his impending divorce, and a woman rushes into the room in a wedding dress... the pilot of Friends starts on a high note, and the show spent ten years continuing to deliver the laughs. Over the years, the iconic sitcom also saw six friends grow up, going from vaguely lost twenty-something New Yorkers to adults with partners, careers, kids, and the same great apartments (that they would never have been able to afford).
Every character on the show had some growing to do, and everyone ended up in a much better place by the end - but it was a long journey, and there were times that fans thought they would never manage to achieve their goals. So what did the characters want in season one that they actually achieved by the finale? A surprising amount, it turns out.
Ross: To Get Married Again
One of the first lines in the entire series is Ross saying that he just wants to get married again... and boy, does he! After his divorce from Carol in the first season, Ross then marries Emily after only knowing her a short while. However, having said the wrong name at the wedding (oops), that marriage was over almost before it began. Next, he married Rachel in Vegas while drunk, and they quickly got divorced too - despite Ross's misery over having three divorces. He may not be married in the finale, but he definitely got married again... and again!
Rachel: To Get A Job
In the first few episodes of the show, Rachel wants to get a job - her first job, as a matter of fact. The problem is, she has absolutely no experience, and in the end, she can only get a job at the coffee house because Gunther has a thing for her. Of course, by the end of the series, she doesn't just have a job, she has a career. She's a fashion buyer, incredibly successful, and is even headhunted and offered a position in Paris.
Monica: To Get Married
ittedly, all the main characters make it pretty clear that they want to find 'the one', and most of them manage it. But Monica gets a little special shout out because her dating life is such a big part of the first season, and because she gets the cutest happy ending with Chandler. Despite a whole lot of bad dates, Monica realizes that her friend is the perfect partner for her, and they get an adorably perfect marriage - and babies - by the finale.
Chandler: To Quit Smoking
when Chandler smoked? ittedly, the series only ever showed this in storylines where the rest of the gang told him how disgusting it was, and he tried to quit, but Chandler was the only smoker of the gang (despite a short attempt by Rachel to smoke in order to get ahead at work).
In season one, he was trying to quit (and not always succeeding). By the finale, though, he hadn't smoked in years.
Ross: To Get Together With Rachel
If Ross wanted anything in season one, it was to be with Rachel. This was the season that set up their star-crossed-lovers story arc, and Ross spent a huge amount of it pining after Rachel (before getting together with Julie in the season finale). He would have given anything to be with her, and in the end, after a break, several breakups, and a baby, the finale ends with her getting off the plane and into his arms.
Joey: To Become A Famous Actor
From the start, Joey just wanted to be a famous actor - even if in the first season, his biggest role was as Al Pacino's butt double, and he managed to mess it up by acting too much! As the show continued, though, Joey was in Days of Our Lives, and even got a lead in a movie! By the finale, he maybe didn't reach the level of superstardom he would have wanted, but he definitely became successful... enough, anyway.
Monica: To Have A Nice Thanksgiving With Her Friends
Friends' Thanksgiving episodes have become classics, but in the first season, it wasn't even a tradition yet. In 'The One Where Underdog Gets Away', everyone had other - family-centric - Thanksgiving plans, but came to Monica when they all fell through.
Of course, it all goes wrong and Monica has a bit of a breakdown about just wanting to have a nice dinner and being asked to make too many different kinds of potatoes. In the end, though some of their Thanksgivings were still pretty crazy, she did get at least one nice dinner with friends for a holiday.
Phoebe: To Have More Than A Pl-
One of the most relatable episodes of the first season comes when Rachel realizes that while her old friends are getting married, promoted, and pregnant, she is getting coffee (and it isn't even for her). Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe fall into a funk over the lack of a plan in their lives, and as Phoebe says, she doesn't even have a 'pl-'. But by the end, she has a good job, is happily married to a musician, and has figured out her plan. No more 'pl-' here!
Monica: To Be More Spontaneous
In 'The One With The Fake Monica', Monica's identity is stolen - and the thing that upsets Monica the most is that the thief seems to have an amazing life. She takes dance classes, does exciting things... and Monica buys a mop on the shopping channel. After an episode of the usual hijinks, Monica decides the she is going to be more spontaneous - and is she ever! She starts her own company, ends up as chef of her own restaurant, propositions Chandler in London, and then proposes to him later.
Rachel: To Get Together With Ross
It wasn't just Ross that wanted to be with Rachel... by the season one finale, Rachel realized that she wanted to be with Ross. Of course, it took a whole lot of ups and downs to get there, and they didn't really get there until the final episodes, but in the end, Rachel did get her lobster. And while life would have been much simpler if they'd both just realized they wanted this in the first place, fans would have missed out on ten seasons of their love story.