Season 8 of Friends was a season that I don't really know how to think about. It starts off so well and reaches such high heights, but it manages to end on one of the worst notes of any season in the show. It's not the worst season, but it makes me sad more than anything else.
The main storyline of the season is, of course, Ross and Rachel having a baby together. I'm not a big fan of pregnancy plotlines but this actually works for me since it lets the season spend a lot of time examining why Ross and Rachel aren't together yet along with building up to a reunion between them. There's also a subplot about Joey having a crush on Rachel, which isn't great, but it's mostly harmless and even kind of adorable at times.
The high point of the season is at the very start, with the first four episodes being one of the best streaks of episodes in the whole show. There's a mystery vibe to it, as the group learns Rachel is pregnant, tries to figure out who the father is, struggles with telling Ross, and ultimately learns who was the one who initiated it. In general, the rest of the season is really solid throughout, but nothing matches those first few episodes in quality.
Now if they managed to end the season on a high point like Seasons 4 & 7, this could have been the best season since the fifth. However, the final episode is so bad, it ruins all of the build up and character development and drags the whole season down with it. It's not even all bad, as I like Chandler finally deciding he wants to have kids. But at the very last minute, they back out of bringing Ross and Rachel back together and instead have a dumb cliffhanger about Joey accidentally proposing to Rachel. I hate this plot point so much. All of this season's build up was squandered and Joey's character arc where he overcame his feelings for Rachel was reverted. It ends up making the whole season uncomfortable to watch in retrospective.
But still, before that godawful finale, there are still a lot of strong and notable episodes this season:
The One With The Red Sweater: This is the best example of that aforementioned "mystery vibe" I was talking about. It was a lot of fun to watch the group run around and try and sleuth out who was the father. While we all knew it was going to be Ross, it didn't make that final reveal any less special.
The One With The Videotape: This episode is so incredibly well-crafted. The set-up of Joey's backpacking story and the punchline of the titular videotape was phenomenal, and I love how it allowed Ross to finally get a win about something. It's a great concept executed even better.
The One With The Rumor: More like "The One With Brad Pitt", am I right? Aside from the blatant guest star gimmick, I think this was a really funny and well-written episode. The "I Hate Rachel" club is a funny concept, and all of the other characters get their own fun Thanksgiving subplots to round out the episode.
The One In Massapequa: A fairly above-average episode made even better with the hilarious Alec Baldwin's amazing guest appearance. Monica's sob speech subplot was also really funny, and Ross and Rachel got some really sweet moments that were made all the more bitter by that finale.
The One With The Baby Shower: Friends has always been great at quiz show episodes, and the sheer bizarreness of Joey's new game show Bamboozled is a joy to watch. I also love the gradual development of Ross and Chandler from being baffled by the game to going full competitive.
This season just makes me sad. At its best, it was some of the best Friends we've had in a while and felt as thoughtfully-plotted as the seventh, packed with tons of great episodes. But alas, this is a case study of how a bad finale can almost ruin an entire season's worth of development.
4/5 Stars for Episodes 1-22
1/5 Stars for the finale
2.5/5 Stars Average?
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