20 years ago it was the end of Friends: How does the cult series end?

From 1994 to 2004, he dominated everything. Since then, his legacy has faded. After all, we don’t get more of a cult following than the sitcom that featured Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the very late Matthew Perry, whose sudden disappearance on October 28th still leaves us heartbroken. the heart

Friends has had a truly lasting impact on the small screen, pop culture, and just the world at large. Following the adventures of the famous group of friends Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Ross, Phoebe and Joey, the sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kaufman, is as funny as it is exciting, one of its series, which gave them a second family. . He convinced the whole world with his perfect blend of humor and emotion, love and friendship and his acting that we will never forget.

Ten years, ten seasons, 236 episodes, six Emmy Awards, countless lines we can tell you at the drop of a hat, and iconic situations we want to relive as if it were the first time, this is a series for every generation — whether you grew up with it or discovered it later. After a while, Friends It’s never really left our screens: between reruns and constant streaming over the years, the sitcom is a living legend that’s still relevant today.

And yet, it’s been 20 years since it “ended”: in fact, on May 6, 2004, the show aired its final episode. The wait was long, the expectation was high and the heart was heavy. He was leaving the series while he was still at the top: fans had a hard time parting with him after a decade on that orange couch drinking coffee or in the legendary apartments of Rachel and Monica, Chandler and Joey — then Monica and Chandler. and Rachel and Joey.

And the impact was colossal: we’re talking about 52.5 million American viewers glued to their TVs. This impressive figure made “The Last One” (episode title, “Those Who Are Gone”) the most-watched entertainment television program of the past 6 years, the 5th most-watched series finale ever watched in television history, and the most-watched series episode ever. In 2000s American television. This finale, which followed episodes 17 and 18 of the show’s 10th season, was split into two parts, classified as two separate chapters.

Just to refresh your memories — even though we’ve no doubt you remember it — here’s how the sitcom that appears on every “best of all time” list ends.

Warning, spoilers. The rest of this article outlines the main plot elements of Friends as well as its ending.

Joey and Phoebe

And no, Joey and Phoebe didn’t end up together, unlike the other characters in the series! During the final season, Phoebe found happiness in the arms of her lover Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), to whom she became engaged and then married. In Mike’s final scene, he and Phoebe talk about starting a family. “Don’t you like this?“; “Not just one, I want a whole bunch!Phoebe shouts. “We teach them to sing and we can be a kind of Von Trapp family!” he continues.

This is just a glimpse of what may be in store for the Buffay-Hannigans, perhaps a future filled with babies, surreal and (en)sung adventures. Phoebe then spends the rest of the episode helping Ross make his big announcement…

While the rest of his friends go through major changes in their lives, Joey ends the series in the same apartment…but with a chick and a duckling as new companions! Although he intended to give them to Chandler and Monica as a present, the two little creatures find themselves trapped in Chandler and Joey’s legendary foosball table, which must now be destroyed to save them.

The end of an entire era… But it’s a new era beginning for Joey, who as we know is moving to Los Angeles for his short-lived spin-off.

Chandler and Monica

After several years of marriage and a heartbreaking battle with infertility, Monica and Chandler finally decided to adopt. In season 10, the couple prepares to meet the baby of Erica (Anna Faris), a pregnant teenager from Ohio, and move to the suburbs. In the series finale, her labor starts prematurely: rush to the hospital!

And here’s a surprise! Although they thought they would inherit one child, they inherit two! After the birth of the first, the doctor announces that the second is coming: shock! No one explained to the very young Erika that she was having twins. “They should have been told that there were two heartbeats. I thought it was my baby’s sister. They often said that the beating was very strong, and I said to myself: it’s better, I’m expecting a baby!“

Monica and Chandler then return to the apartment, where they surprise their friends with two newborns in their arms: Jack (Monica and Ross’ father’s name) and Erica (their biological mother’s maiden name). We wish they would grow them, or at least try!

Ross and Rachel

After many years of romance, “But we broke up“, love and friendship, co-parenting and “I love you too”, the couple spend Rachel’s last night together in New York. In fact, the young woman is about to move to Paris for a job that awaits her at Louis Vuitton. But while Ross thinks they’re back together, and this time for good, Rachel refers to their night as “The best way to say goodbye“.

Ross finally realizes it’s time to tell him how he really feels. But time is running out: Rachel has already left for the airport after meeting Monica and Chandler’s babies.

Ross then embarks on a journey to catch up with her and can count on some valuable help from Phoebe and her crazy shenanigans. He calls Rachel, who has already boarded, and manages to scare some of the other passengers with his advice:You should get off the plane, I have a feeling something is fishy in your left phalanx!“.

Typical Phoebe delirium that delays the plane’s departure and gives Ross time to run to the first airport, then cross town again this time to the correct airport and confess his love. But when he does, Rachel…still gets back on the plane.

A disappointed Ross returns home and listens to the message left on her answering machine: it’s Rachel’s message, in which he starts apologizing before also realizing that he loves her and doesn’t want to leave (controversial choice. Big opportunity…). We hear him asking to get off the plane… and the message cuts out. did he stay Did he make it out of the plane?

Ross yells at his car:Was he able to exit the device?“. And there we hear Rachel’s voice uttering, off-camera, the iconic line: “I left the machine.“There it is: a couple kissing and finally reunited… this time for good. An exciting scene that we will definitely not forget (forget Louis Vuitton, this is cinema).

Who was going, really

But it is not finished! In the final scene, the six friends gather at Monica and Chandler’s apartment as the movers take the last of their belongings. They cry, kiss, leave the key on the counter and say goodbye to this mythical place that has sheltered most of their crazy adventures.

Rachel offers to have one last cup of coffee before Monica and Chandler leave. “where” Chandler innocently asks: the last line of the series, and it may be the best, both funny and heartbreaking, full of meaning and vivid memories. Perfect, absolutely. talent Matthew PerryObviously.

We all know where they go, on the couch at their favorite Central Perk. The audience laughs at the end. Before leaving for good, the series offers us one last shot of the apartment – sadly empty – which ends on a purple door decorated with a pure yellow frame.

The end Friends. Thank you very much.

Friends is fully discoverable on Netflix.

And you know, they reunited years later. Rediscover the trailer Friends: The reunion With more emotion than ever since Matthew Perry left us.