Friends (Season 10)

Season 10 is often clumped in with Season 9 as one of the worst seasons of Friends, but I don't really think it's that fair. There's a much better energy to the season, and I think it does a really good job of establishing a sense of finality and ending the show on a strong note.

Season 10 focuses on wrapping up storylines for all of the characters. Monica and Chandler try to adopt a kid and move out, Rachel achieves success in her job and almost moves to Paris, Ross finally comes to terms with his feelings for Rachel, Joey struggles to deal with the fact that everything is changing, and Phoebe and Mike get married. All of these plotlines feel final and serve as satisfying conclusions to the characters and their arcs.

I think Season 10 excels the most when it comes to these emotional moments of finality. Chandler's pleas to a potential birth mother, the group learning that Chandler and Monica are moving out, Joey's agent dying, Phoebe's wedding, and pretty much every aspect of the last two episodes work really well. 

The humor is a bit more hit-and-miss, with some moments being genuinely hilarious (Joey plays pyramid, Ross dealing with Joey and Rachel dating, the tan, Ichiban, Princess Consuela) and others feeling way too cartoonish (Joey speaking French, Monica's barbados hair, Danny DeVito stripping, another incest joke). The characterization is also a bit iffy at times, at its worst during Phoebe's wedding, where Phoebe and Monica are nearly unbearable to watch. Thankfully, the season nails its most important job, which is to say an affecting goodbye to the cast as the show comes to an end.

Notable episodes this season include:

The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits: I already stated just how funny Amy's character can be in my Season 9 review, and she's just as good here if not better. I also adore Joey's thesaurus subplot where he tries to make himself sound smarter.

The One With The Late Thanksgiving: The last Thanksgiving episode of the show, and they manage to end it on a high note. The second half is particularly funny as Monica and Chandler locking the door on the rest of the group leads to some funny antics. It all culminates in a heartwarming ending where Monica and Chandler finally get a potential birth mother.

The One With Rachel's Going-Away Party: An incredibly devastating penultimate episode that shows Rachel saying her goodbyes to every single member of the group. It's funny, sweet, and genuine, but it also manages to end on a killer cliffhanger to set up the finale.

The Last One: Still one of the most emotional and satisfying TV finales out there, The Last One packs in so many iconic moments: Monica and Chandler's twins, the new baby chicks, the foosball table getting destroyed, the group leaving their keys on the table, Rachel getting off the plane. It's all so good! While Rachel probably should have stayed on the plane to Paris, I'm so swept up in the emotional impact that I couldn't care less. It's a powerful ending that does a great job at saying goodbye to the whole ensemble.

Overall, I really like this season. The humor and characterization is a bit iffy at times, but it has a strong sense of finality and an amazing last few episodes that do a great job at saying goodbye to the cast. It's emotional, heartfelt, and just plain beautiful.

4/5 Stars

If I were to rank the seasons, it would probably be:

1. Season 5: Easily the most consistently strong Friends season. Almost every episode is hysterical, and the main storyline of Monica and Chandler keeping their relationship a secret is very fun.
2. Season 4: While not as consistent as Season 5, the heights are incredibly high and the Emily storyline is my favorite in the show, thanks mostly to the fantastic finale.
3. Season 2: The peak of Ross and Rachel's "will-they-won't-they". The pace moves along briskly, many of the episodes are super iconic, and it feels like Friends is at its most confident.
4. Season 3: While Ross and Rachel's breakup is messy, there's still a lot to love in Season 3 from the entire first third to the enjoyable final few episodes to the actual breakup episode itself.
5. Season 6: While the Ross dates a student storyline ends the season on a bit of a dud, most of Season 6 is still really good and funny, and there are plenty of iconic episodes scattered throughout.
6. Season 10: While a bit short and not the funniest, Season 10 does a great job at bringing the show to a satisfying, heartwarming, and melancholic close.
7. Season 1: While a bit aimless plotwise and not super consistent, Season 1 easily does the best job at capturing the feeling of being an aimless young adult, and probably has some of the most timeless and relatable moments in the series.
8. Season 7: Season 7 is a slow burn, focusing solely on the big wedding, and thankfully all that build-up pays off excellently. However, it's also probably the most outdated of all the seasons.
9. Season 8: Similarly Season 7, this season also had a pretty big build-up and a lot of great episodes scattered throughout. Unlike Season 7, however, the final payoff was so bad that it pretty much ruined the season for me.
10. Season 9: I don't hate Season 9 like others do, but it's easily the most tired and least remarkable season of the lot. There's plenty of episodes I can defend here, but even out of those, there's nothing that really stands out as amazing.

And if I were to rank the finales, it would be:

1. The One With Ross's Wedding: The mother of all cliffhangers and the reason I'm so obsessed with the concept of a season finale. Brilliantly shameless in its willingness to blow everything up.
2. The Last One: Really just the perfectly satisfying finale. It does a great job at pulling at your emotional cords every time you watch it.
3. The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding: Friends has a lot of weddings but this is still the most fun. Lots of hijinks issue within the cast and the great cliffhanger helps it earn its finale status.
4. The One With The Beach: A complete and utter cliffhanger-palooza. TOW The Beach leaves pretty much everyone hanging in the best way possible. Also, Rachel is especially fun in this one.
5. The One In Vegas: Some of the subplots are a bit superfluous but the new setting is fun and the double-cliffhanger at the end is still the show's most bonkers.
6. The One With The Proposal: This didn't need to be a two-part episode but the fantastic proposal scene at the end is still worth all the buildup.
7. The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding: Though small-scale, this finale is densely packed and gives pretty much every character something to do.
8. The One Where Rachel Finds Out: Most of the cast doesn't really have much to do, but the Ross and Rachel stuff is fantastic and the cliffhanger is a solid start for one of Friends' most infamous trends. 
9. The One In Barbados: The first half is genuinely pretty great. All the Mike/Phoebe stuff was great, and even the Joey/Rachel stuff doesn't anger me. It's that godawful table tennis subplot that really brings this finale down.
10. The One Where Rachel Has A Baby: The point where Friends' usual formula for a finale completely backfires. A two-part event that's way too overlong and dull. A shocking cliffhanger that erases a season's worth of build-up and an entire character arc for Joey. One of my least favorite Friends episodes ever.

Favorite Episode: The One Where Everybody Finds Out