Friends (Season 9)

Season 9 is the season that most people point to when it comes to Friends at its worst, and I think that's somewhat fair. This is definitely the show's weakest season, but I still think there's a lot to like here.

This season focuses around babies, maybe even moreso than Season 8 did. Ross and Rachel are both trying to take care of their new child Emma at the cost of their job and their relationship, while Monica and Chandler are trying to have a kid themselves. These storylines aren't awful, but they're not super compelling. We also have Phoebe's blossoming relationship with Mike, who I really like. Paul Rudd is a funny guy and it was great to see him in these last two seasons. Not every storyline was great, though. Chandler's Tulsa job was just plain stupid, and Joey and Rachel's relationship should have ended with Season 8. 

I'm not gonna lie, Season 9 has a rough start. Aside from dealing with the fallout of that awful Season 8 finale, we have the infamous sharks episode, the iffy male nanny storyline, the contrived falling out of Ross and Rachel, and the Tulsa plot, ending with easily the worst and laziest clip show episode in the whole show. However, the second half of the season actually wasn't bad. We got a great stretch of episodes for most of it, and the resolution of Monica and Chandler's fertility storyline was the most affecting the show has been in quite a while. Joey and Rachel weren't great, but it was never as offensive or contrived as that accidental proposal.

Despite the many weak points, Season 9 does have a ton of notable individual episodes:

The One With Rachel's Other Sister: Amy is one of my favorite side characters in the whole show, there's just something about her character that is absolutely hysterical to me. The way she manages to cause chaos within the group by complete accident is amazing, and she makes an otherwise unremarkable Thanksgiving episode into a true classic.

The One With The Blind Dates: Joey and Phoebe's plot to bring Ross and Rachel back together was so much fun to watch and I love seeing them be evil masterminds together. The return of Jon Lovitz was very welcome, and the whole episode was just pure unadulterated fun. An underrated gem.

The One With The Mugging: Stunt casting or not, Jeff Goldblum was hilarious in this episode. I also really like the reveal that Phoebe mugged Ross, as it allows the episode to shine a light on one of the most underrated pairings. I think Schwimmer and Kudrow play off each other really well. And while the Tulsa arc sucks, the result of Chandler getting an advertising job leads to pure gold for the second half of this season.

The One With The Lottery: This was a cute bottle episode with a simple but enjoyable premise. The friends pool all their money into a lottery and hope to win. The fighting over who gets how much money is fun, and the payoff of Phoebe dropping the tickets off the balcony is just perfect. I also love Rachel trying to get Emma to say her first word.

The One In Barbados: Not the best finale, but nowhere near as bad as Season 8's. As someone who prefers Mike to David, I love Phoebe's storyline throughout the episode. As for Joey and Rachel, it's not great, but I don't hate it as much as some of the other fans do. At least they break up soon into Season 10.

Season 9 is definitely the worst season, with a pretty awful start and some weak storylines, but it doesn't deserve being written off completely. There are some great individual episodes in the second half, and the group chemistry is still there.

2/5 Stars