10 Friends Episodes That Were Surprisingly Dark

Despite FriendsWith a predominantly light-hearted tone, many episodes include dark storylines and tones that are out of character for the iconic comedy. In outlining the elements behind the show’s enduring popularity, the many excellent characters of Friends elevate you above your peers. These characters are incredibly realistic and their titular relationships with each other are often at the forefront Friends’ best episodes of all time. These episodes are spread out over the show’s ten-year run, making it very difficult to classify Friends‘best seasons distinctly.

Regardless, it’s safe to say that the series remains one of the most popular sitcoms of all time due to its comedy, interpersonal relationships, emotion, and defining moments. Friends for generations. That said, there are some darker episodes in the series that may go unnoticed. Darkness in movies and TV doesn’t always mean complete sadness, as there are certainly moments like that in Friendsbut uncomfortable moments or with strange connotations. In this regard, Friends’ 10 seasons include several episodes that are darker than anyone thought, for one reason or another.

10

The one with Ross’s new girlfriend

Season 2, Episode 1

Overall, “The One with Ross’s New Girlfriend” focuses on exactly that: Ross returns from China with Julie, his new girlfriend, upsetting Rachel, who discovered her love for him while he was away. This storyline itself is somewhat dark from Rachel’s point of view, as the feeling of unrequited love while someone else is happy can certainly be described as dark. However, it’s in a subplot about Joey and Chandler that more troubling revelations come to light.

Naturally, all of these stories are treated with an air of comedy and humor, but the subject in this case involves sexual assault. Chandler visits Joey’s tailor in “The One With Ross’s New Girlfriend”, resulting in the Friends‘ character being groped. Chandler tells this to Joey, who reveals that he is under the impression that this is simply how tailors measure pants. The revelation that Joey thinks this is normal, just like his entire family, is certainly disturbing and confirms the grim reality that the Tribbianis spent years being sexually assaulted. by your tailor.

9

The one with Russ

Season 2, Episode 10

Again, on the surface, “The One with Russ” involves a funny subplot in which Rachel dates the titular Russ due to his similarities to Ross, but refuses to see the resemblance between the two. Just like “The One with Ross’s New Girlfriend”, it is in the subplot of “The One with Russ” where a darker story is found. In this episode, Monica rekindles her relationship with an old flame, Fun Bobby, who is one of the most memorable secondary characters in Friends.

However, Monica and the gang discover the reason Bobby is nicknamed “Fun”: alcohol. Monica tells Bobby that she thinks he has a drinking problem, convincing him to give up but causing him to lose the elements that make him fun to others. Bobby becomes increasingly morose as he recognizes the elements of his life that he is unhappy with. This leads Monica to drink more, reinforcing how inherently dark the idea of ​​drinking alcohol to numb the harsh reality of Bobby’s life is for such a light-hearted comedy.

8

The one after the Superbowl

Season 2, episodes 12 and 13

This two-part episode aired after Superbowl XXX in 1996 and featured Ross’ attempts to reunite with his pet monkey, Marcel. In two parts, “The One After the Superbowl” has several subplots, with the one involving Joey featuring a slightly darker plot. This subplot involved his relationship with Erika Ford, played by Brooke Shields in one of the episode’s many celebrity cameos.

The relationship between Joey and Erika, however, has a distinct twist: Erika can’t tell fiction from reality and believes that Joey is actually her son. Days of our lives character, Dr. Despite having this unspecified mental health issue, Joey dates Erika anyway. The plot ends with the gang tricking Erika into leaving Joey by convincing him that he is Drake’s evil twin, which is a grim resolution rather than getting Erika the help she could have needed.

7

The one where Eddie won’t go

Season 2, Episode 19

A grand overarching plot of Friends season two involves Joey moving out of Chandler’s apartment, with the latter having to find a replacement roommate. This replacement comes in the form of Eddie, initially a seemingly regular character. However, just like Erika, it is revealed that Eddie has an unspecified mental health disorder. He becomes increasingly erratic, accusing Chandler of various inconsequential acts, such as killing his pet fish before replacing it with a fish cracker.

This evolves into Eddie accusing Chandler of sleeping with his girlfriend, making up scenarios that the two went to Las Vegas together and watching Chandler sleep. Eddie begins to forget that these events happened, also forgetting that Chandler repeatedly asks him to move out. Eventually, Chandler tricks Eddie by manipulating the latter’s mental health conditions, removing his belongings from the apartment, changing the locks and pretending that Eddie never lived with him. Eddie’s character is, of course, played for humor and works towards that end, but by removing the comedic elements his brief character arc is dark.

6

The One Where Rachel Quits

Season 3, Episode 10

“The One Where Rachel Quits” has three continuous stories like most Friends the episodes do; Rachel worries about her career after quitting her job, Joey gets a temporary holiday job selling Christmas trees, and Ross tries to sell Girl Scout cookies to win a trip to space camp for a young girl after inadvertently breaking her leg. It is thanks to this last plot that “The One Where Rachel Quits” is considered one of the Friends‘darkest episodes. While Ross’s attempts to sell the cookies generate plenty of laughs, it’s the life of Sarah, the young girl, that brings out the darker elements of the episode.

Sarah reveals that her father is addicted to gambling and uses Sarah’s college money on slot machines. Sarah also states that she doesn’t want to win the prize for selling the second most Girl Scout cookies – a bicycle – as she would prefer something her father couldn’t sell. Sarah comments that she has to watch TV looking through the neighbor’s window, as her father also sold the TV. Finally, Sarah reveals that her father cleans her apartments to earn money to finance his gambling. Overall, Sarah’s life is incredibly tragic, with the understated exploitation making it even darker.

5

The one with Ross’s wedding

Season 4, episodes 23 and 24

Friends The season 4 finale focuses on Ross’ marriage to Emily in a surprisingly dark story. From Emily’s perspective, the plot twist of Ross saying Rachel’s name at the altar is an overly sad moment and ruins a day she’s probably dreamed about for years. Furthermore, Rachel’s trip to London has an undertone of dread as she is expected to ruin the wedding. To top it all off, Joey isn’t his usual self in ‘The One with Ross’ Wedding’ as he suffers from homesickness and argues with Chandler, making every story in these two episodes devoid of much happiness.

4

The one with all the thanksgivings

Season 5, Episode 8

Friends has a lot of Thanksgiving episodes, with season 5 containing the darkest subtext. This episode features flashbacks to several different Thanksgiving dinners, hence its title. The main focus is placed on Monica and Chandler, with several flashbacks detailing the two’s first encounters, exploring why Monica lost weight and why Chandler lost a toe.

The darkness of this episode stems from the fact that Monica and Chandler are Friends’ best couple. The two are so good together that seeing one get hurt by the other is admittedly troubling, and “The One with All the Thanksgivings” delivers that from both sides. Monica losing weight just because Chandler once called her fat is really upsetting, as are the ramifications of Chandler losing an appendix.

3

The one where Rosita dies

Season 7, Episode 13

It is true that most Friends The episodes explored on this list so far don’t tackle overtly dark subject matter, but rather have darker undertones. “The One Where Rosita Dies” bucks this trend, particularly through Phoebe’s storyline. Phoebe’s new job as a call saleswoman leads her into a conversation with Jason Alexander’s Earl, who reveals that he doesn’t need the toner she is selling as he intends to kill himself.

From here, the episode focuses on Phoebe’s attempts to change Earl’s mind about his grim decision. As mentioned, this is one of the few Friends episodes that explicitly explore something as dark as suicide, based on Earl’s loneliness and perceived lack of self-esteem. Although the subplot is treated with the same comedic tone as all the others, the episode revolves around a sad character and his mental health.

2

The one with Ross and Monica’s cousin

Season 7, Episode 19

‘The One With Ross and Monica’s Cousin’ has another open exploration of a half-baked subject. In this episode, Ross tries to kiss his cousin. Humor and jokes are used endlessly in this subplot, but that doesn’t eliminate the icky feeling that Ross is essentially auditioning for Game of Thrones. For this reason, this episode is darker and many may choose to skip it when rewatching.

1

The one with the fertility test

Season 9, Episode 21

In the end Friends The episode that explores a darker story than most is “The One with the Fertility Test.” This episode is pretty self-explanatory – it shows Chandler and Monica conducting a fertility test as they have been unable to conceive a child up to that point. In a shocking twist for a show that usually ties things up nicely, the episode reveals that Chandler and Monica are unable to conceive a child naturally.

Because of this revelation, the final sequence of “The One with the Fertility Test” is strangely dark for Friends. Monica and Chandler are visibly distraught, and while their decision to have children is cause for optimism, it’s a dark scene that brings up a real-life situation uncomfortably. Given the added fact that Chandler and Monica are the best couple on the show, “The One with the Fertility Test” solidifies itself as one of the Friends‘surprisingly dark episodes.