As one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, Friends remains present in pop culture's subconscious, sixteen years after airing its last episode and twenty-six years after first premiering. The highs and lows of the six titular friends made for an entertaining watch, as the audience grew alongside them, celebrated their wins and mourned their losses.
In a show as long as this one, there's bound to be some peaks and some valleys. Indeed, over the show's 236 episodes, some storylines were lauded for their natural and effective development, while some others are widely ed as the epitome of ridiculousness.
Most Realistic: Monica And Chandler Get Together
While it can't be said that Monica and Chandler were meant to be Monica and Chandler shared, like when they hug each other at a time when she's sick with the flu and he's heartbroken over Joey's relationship with Kathy.
This chemistry proved most obvious in the beach house episodes. Their playful, flirty banter was proof enough that these two had all the makings of a golden couple. When they finally got together, it not only made sense, it was worthy of celebration.
Least Realistic: "My Boss Wants To Buy My Baby"
Season 8 was a turning point. Rachel became pregnant, Monica and Chandler entered married life, and Joey fell in love with Rachel in one of the show's most daring (albeit worst executed) storylines. When he finally declares his feelings, she gently turns him down, straining their once-close relationship.
To try and go back to the way things used to be, Rachel lies to Joey, telling him her boss at Ralph Lauren wants to buy her baby. This makes Joey head to the RL offices to yell at poor Mr. Zelner, who in turn is forced to clarify, in front of Human Resources, that he does not want to buy her baby. It's a ridiculous storyline that never really lands and it's only made worse by Rachel's next lie: "My gynecologist tried to kill me."
Most Realistic: Monica and Ross' Sibling Relationship
The Geller siblings had one of the most genuine relationships in the show. While they obviously deeply cared for each other, they were also in constant competition. The show makes a really nice job portraying their dynamic, making sure their banter is constant and familiar.
From literally wrestling each other to the infamous routine they did as children, their connection is perfectly established. It also helps that Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer have such strong chemistry together, which makes the relationship seem both intimate and habitual.
Least Realistic: Phoebe Finds A Thumb In Her Soda
Way back in Season 1, Phoebe, after receiving $500 from her bank for no apparent reason, decides to give them to Lizzie, a homeless woman who calls her "Weird Girl". At first, wanting nothing in return for her kindness, Phoebe finally relents and lets Lizzie buy her a soda, only to find a human thumb when she opens the can. As compensation, the soda company gives her $7,000.
The whole premise of the story fits with Phoebe's philosophy: be kind and the universe will repay you. But the execution is beyond ludicrous, preventing any kind of moral to actually stick, and instead makes the whole thing seem not only implausible but plain absurd.
Most Realistic: Chandler's Smoking Addiction
A running gag throughout the series, Chandler's smoking is often a source of conflict between him and his friends. And while the show does treat his addiction with humor, it is surprisingly consistent in portraying Chandler's constant struggle to stay away from his vice.
Instead of sugar-coating the realities of addiction, the show embraces the many controversies around smoking. Chandler is shown constantly missing it and makes it clear that, if he chooses to stay away from it, it's because of his consideration towards his wife and friends, rather than out of a desire to actually quit.
Least Realistic: Joey Can't Speak French
Joey always was the least knowledgeable of all the friends, that much is clear. His intellect remained a huge inconsistency, with the writers using it at their will, often for laughs. Sometimes it seemed that Joey was simply not particularly curious about stuff like history or science, while other times he really came across as not only ignorant but also unintelligent.
Things reached a low point in Season 10 when Phoebe tries to teach Joey French for an audition. He basically speaks gibberish, and while he's shown to both understand the sounds Phoebe is making and be able to replicate them, he simply can't put an entire sentence together. His entire attitude in the episode annoys Phoebe, who like the audience, can't understand what on Earth is wrong with him.
Most Realistic: Chandler's Advertising Career
If there was one character who absolutely hated his work, that was Chandler Bing. After all, statistical analysis and data reconfiguration was only meant to be a temporary job for him, one he found himself stuck on for several years thanks, in large part, to the money he earned.
But fed up with his nomadic situation, having to go back and forth between NYC and Oklahoma, he quits and spends a long time jobless before starting an advertising career from the bottom. He takes an unpaid internship in which he excels due to his quick, witty mind and eventually gets a Junior Copywriter position in his firm. For a show that never gave a lot of importance to the logic behind its main characters' careers, Chandler's advertising journey is surprisingly well-developed.
Least Realistic: Chandler Watches Shark Porn
In "The One With The Sharks", Monica catches Chandler in the middle of his "alone time". Quickly changing the channels, he trades the regular porn movie he was watching for a documentary about sharks, causing Monica to believe he was watching "shark porn." Madness ensues.
The premise of the whole storyline is nonsensical and the writing never elevates it. The result is an entire plot that makes the audience laugh at the show, instead of along with it. By the time the episode ends, the audience is practically rolling their eyes at how ridiculous the entire thing was.
Most Realistic: Joey and Rachel's Friendship
For the first half of the series, Joey and Rachel were the kinds of friends who got along mainly because the rest of their friends did. They didn't share a lot of storylines together and while they definitely cared for each other, they weren't really that close. That changed in season six when she moves in with him after a fire burns Phoebe's apartment. From then on, the two grow closer, becoming, arguably, the best of friends.
Their relationship takes a detour when Joey develops an unrequited love for her and complicates even further when she corresponds his feelings after he seemingly moves on with Charlie. Once they actually try to date, however, they realize their friendship is too strong and decide to keep it platonic. It's a refreshing take on male-female relationships, and while the overall execution of the story is wobbly, to say the least, the result is both touching and deeply genuine.
Least Realistic: Phoebe Gets Possessed
Phoebe always was, to quote Rachel, "flaky." Her beliefs ran deep and she had a special kind of sensitivity for the esoterical and paranormal. Still, the show went a tad too far when they actually had the spirit of one of her dead clients possess her. And instead of treating it like a joke, like it did so many of Phoebe's other eccentricities, it makes it seem as though she's actually possessed.
The result is an undeniable showcase for Lisa Kudrow's comedic talents, but as an actual storyline, it feels out of place and completely foolish. While Phoebe always was the most colorful of the six, this was too much color, even for her.