The wild success of Friends did not prevent it from facing issues throughout its ten seasons. From continuity inconsistencies to details that just did not add up, the show found ways to poke holes in its storytelling. Often, details seemed to change based on the joke of the episode, with the joke relying on changing the history from what we already knew. Unfortunately, this lead to parts of the show not making any sense.
As a result of this fans created their answers to the questions the series had inadvertently posed. Here are five things from the show Friends that do not make sense and five fan theories that do.
NO SENSE: RACHEL AND CHANDLER
When Rachel first runs into Central Perk after running from her wedding, she is relieved to see that she has found her old friend Monica. Rachel and Ross reunite at that moment as well, and then Monica introduces Rachel to the rest of the group for the first time. However, later on, we find out that this was not Chandler and Rachel’s first meeting.
They meet for the first time during at least two other occasions. In “The One With The Flashback” Chandler and Rachel meet in a bar that would become Central Perk. In another episode, Rachel and Chandler are introduced at the Gellar family’s Thanksgiving dinner. All of these contradict themselves to the point where the audience is never quite sure how they met, but the show continues to treat it as if they met during the Thanksgiving dinner when they were in college and high school respectively.
FAN THEORY: THE ENTIRE SHOW IS RACHEL’S DREAM
While perhaps a bit far-fetched, the concept is interesting. According to one fan theory, the entire series was a large anxiety dream Rachel has before her wedding to Barry. The theory stems from box art on a season DVD cover where Rachel is the only one awake.
Since Rachel never really wanted to marry Barry, she probably panicked, creating an entire world inside her head that would convince her not to go through with it. This would not be the first or the last show where fans would believe the entirety of a series was only a dream.
NO SENSE: WHAT HAPPENED TO BEN
Ben was a large part of Ross’ life for a couple of years. When Ben was a baby Ross wanted to be there to see Ben’s first steps or hear his first words. Over time Ben’s importance diminished.
He grew up and as time went on we saw him less and less until he disappeared from the show entirely. While there is the occasional reference to him, he is not seen in the last seasons of the series and it is never mentioned if he ever met his baby half-sister Emma.
FAN THEORY: ROSS LOST CUSTODY OF BEN
In answer to figuring out where Ben went, one fan theory suggests it has to do with Ross losing custody because he was a bad father. The increasingly less time Ross spends with Ben makes the idea a possible concept.
Ross’ behavior towards disagreeing with Ben’s toys as a baby or his actions toward Carol and Susan could have influenced the choice. Not to mention the time where Ross was put on leave at work due to his rage issues. However, nothing goes to support or deny the theory on the series. Given that Carol and Susan also disappeared from the series as well there may be some merit.
NO SENSE: CHANDLER’S MONEY
For someone who supposedly came from money, Chandler does not act like it. He admits multiple times that he came from money, his parents being able to afford people to work at their house. Chandler also admits he has a lot of money to be able to afford his and Monica’s wedding.
Chandler tends to have money whenever he needs it, whether it be for himself, Monica, or Joey. However, in his daily life, he never has an active sense of using the money the way one may if they had as much as he does.
FAN THEORY: PHOEBE IS A GENIUS
While Phoebe would come off as being one of the more oblivious members of the group, one fan theory suggests that Phoebe was a genius without ambition. The idea stemmed from the episode when Phoebe and Ross are discussing the concept of evolution.
Phoebe can convince Ross, who is convinced in the scientific truth of evolution, that there’s a possibility that evolution is not the way humans came to be. Since Ross is meant to be the most academically bright it could stand to say this is a possibility since Phoebe can outsmart Ross and make him question his own beliefs. In the episode “The One That Could Have Been” Phoebe is a successful stockbroker.
NO SENSE: ROSS AND RACHEL’S MARKER
On the flight from New York to Las Vegas, Ross and Rachel have a competition to see who can make the other more embarrassed. Eventually, Rachel falls asleep and Ross is hit with the idea to draw on Rachel’s face. It takes until they reach the hotel for Rachel to find out about the drawings and she hurries to the bathroom to rub it off, except it stubbornly stays on her face.
Ross makes a call to the company only to find out that there is nothing they can do to remove the markings. By the end of the episode, both Ross and Rachel have drawings on their faces from the pen. The following episode, “The One After Vegas” shows Ross and Rachel wake up, hungover from the night before. When they go down to meet the rest of the group for breakfast, all the pen marks are gone from their faces.
FAN THEORY: MONICA’S OCD HAPPENED AFTER SHE LOST THE WEIGHT
Throughout the series, Monica is known to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. She must keep everything clean, organized, and done in a specific, certain way. While it is an ingrained part of her character, it is not always an attribute.
During flashback episodes when she is ‘Fat Monica,’ she shows no signs of these symptoms. In the past before losing weight, Monica is happy, maybe a bit socially awkward, but never obsessed with cleanliness. This theory is interesting because while it is never proven or denied, the idea of it works. After losing weight Monica’s opinion of herself changed, and it may have set off a new mental state.
NO SENSE: EVERYONE’S AGES
Every season of Friends includes a holiday episode that marks a year has gone by. However, this contradicts the ages the characters claim they are. Rachel’s thirtieth birthday comes years later than it should. Phoebe turns out to be a year older than she believed she was, even though her sister, Ursula, was aware of their birth date. Ross’ age remains the same for multiple seasons.
At one point Ross claims to have skipped the second grade, however, it was confirmed that Ross was only one year ahead of Monica in school. This would lead to the conclusion that Ross and Monica would have been fraternal twins if Ross skipped a grade and Monica did not, however, it is also a known fact in the show that they are not twins and Ross is the older sibling.
FAN THEORY: JOEY AND PHOEBE WERE HOOKING UP
Joey and Phoebe always had a different relationship than the rest of the group. They could often be seen flirting and did not mind to share kisses. One theory suggests that the reason for their closeness came from a secret they kept to themselves during the series.
It states that Joey and Phoebe had been sleeping together unbeknownst by everyone else for a while. Due to the way, the series brought Ross and Rachel together as well as Chandler and Monica, and even Rachel and Joey for a bit, it is not unreasonable to believe that there had been more to Joey and Phoebe’s relationship than the series let on.
