Second Look: Friends ‘The One Where Rachel Finds Out’ – Men Are Here

Although Friends was a show about six friends and their lives in New York, Ross and Rachel were always at the core. Their dynamic is established in the first two minutes of the series, and carries weight in every episode thereafter. Many of the show’s best moments involve them, as do the worst: their relationship was always the show’s defining factor, no matter what other character might have a larger arc in any given season. They are the centerpieces of every single season finale except two and six, and even there, their relationship holds importance for whatever Rachel was going through at the time.

‘The One Where Rachel Finds Out’ is the first of these, although it’s essentially a series of misleads about their relationship. Every other character (except Joey) is placed to the side for the heaviest Ross/Rachel story since ‘The One With the Poker’, but it’s one without any sort of resolution. In fact, Ross is absent for nearly the entire episode, off in the distant land of China, where land lines in America couldn’t reach. So the focus is squarely on Rachel for the entirety as she flip flops back and forth on what decision she’s going to make.

Once she’s opened her birthday gift and Chandler spilled the beans, it became unintentionally hilarious how oblivious Rachel had been. Seriously – she had no idea all those experiences and moments with Ross scattered about the season had no underlying meaning? She runs off to the airport so stunned she doesn’t even know what to say! I understand the need for her to be surprised, but there’s never a moment where we see Rachel connect the dots for herself – like her conversation with Monica before she goes, she’s letting other people decide her actions and define her intentions for her.

It all changes while she’s on a date with Carl, standing on the balcony and listening to him yammer on about Ed Bagley Jr.’s electric car. All of a sudden, Friends gets experimental, and takes a detour into Rachel’s brain, in a sequence that feels like it’s from a different show. It’s the ONLY time the show ever does anything like this – but it doesn’t just stick out because of that, it sticks out because it’s a damn good scene. As she zones out on her conversation, Ross appears and talks to her about why they should be together. Rachel’s still resistant to the idea, saying “we’re best friends… what happens when it doesn’t work out?’

Ross’s response is one of the most important lines of the show: he grabs her hands, and tells her “it only has to work once.” A little sappy? Sure, but it reveals the optimism at the core of Friends that made it connect with millions of people. That philosophy applies to every one of these characters throughout the seasons of the show, and although they make a travesty of it as the show goes on, it’s that idea that taking chances is the only way to succeed in life, whether it’s jobs, friendships, or falling in love – and there’s no feeling worse than not trying.

Unfortunately, it’s only a dream – and it robs the moment a bit of its power, reflective of the episode’s biggest problem: for an episode about Ross and Rachel, there’s no Ross. The last sight of him we get is getting off a plane from China with a serious girlfriend (who we didn’t even see him meet!), while Rachel waits in the lobby as Madonna’s “Take A Bow” plays in the background. As a whole, “The One Where Rachel Finds Out” is nothing but a big fucking tease, but stands as an intriguing conclusion to the first season, albeit employing a “cliffhanger” strategy the show would use way too many times over in the future.

Grade: B

Season 1 Grade: B

Other thoughts/observations:

– the only other plot of the story: Joey’s working with science, so he can’t have sex. Instead, he learns the benefits of pleasing a woman. It’s not resolved in any way, making it a perfect companion to the big arc of the episode.

– …. Monica gets really weird about the whole Ross/Rachel thing. It’s a bit disturbing.

– I love the little jokes with the couple who get Rachel’s message to Ross on accident. “Don’t give me that deep freeze!”

– Unfortunately, Chandler’s room is right by the parade route.

And so ends the reviews for the first season of Friends. I’ve had a number of requests to continue it through at least the second season – and I’m not going to get in the way of giving people what they want. And instead of doing it over the summer, I’ve decided to take a shorter break: the Second Look at season 2 of Friends will begin with on March 22nd, and run once a week (on Thursday or Friday) through June 7th. I hope you guys (and gals) enjoyed reading about the first season – thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!