Friends had various traditions and running gags throughout its 10-year run, and it broke its biggest tradition in its final episode – and it was a perfect decision. The 1990s are home to some of the most successful and beloved sitcoms in TV history, among them Friends. Over the course of 10 seasons, viewers got to know each of the main characters of Friends quite well, even adopting some of their catchphrases, mannerisms, and fashion choices (like the famous “Rachel cut”), and they saw the show building its own trends and traditions.
Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Ross, and Rachel all had their signature catchphrases and moves, making way for some memorable running gags and more, but Friends had other types of traditions as well. One of the biggest and most famous ones is all about the title of every Friends episode, as each of them begins with the same two words – except the series finale, but even though it broke this rule, the title of Friends’ final episode was still perfect.
Why Friends' Final Episode Broke The Show's Episode Title Rule
Friends adopted a very peculiar format for its episode titles, each one beginning with “The One…”. The producers decided to do it this way after realizing that the episode titles wouldn’t be appearing in the opening credits, so the audience wasn’t going to know the titles. In addition to that, the episodes beginning with “The One…” is a reference to how people talk about a show’s title with friends, making them a lot easier to and bringing the show closer to the audience. Friends’ pilot episode was originally titled “The Pilot”, and it was later given the alternate titles of “The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate” and “The One Where It All Began”, making the series finale the first episode to break the show’s episode title rule.
Friends' series finale, “The Last One”, was divided into two parts, as it was treated as an event – and it truly was. “The Last One” wrapped up the stories of all the main characters (though Joey continued his journey in the failed spinoff TV series Joey), so there’s a lot happening in the episode. An official reason for the series finale of Friends breaking the show’s episode title rule hasn’t been given, but it might have to do with there not being one event in the episode that should be in the title. Surely, Rachel getting off the plane is the most talked-about moment of the series finale, but putting it in the title would have minimized everyone else’s stories.
Friends' Finale Title Was Perfect (Despite The Change)
The producers of Friends could have come up with a title for the series finale that fit the tradition, but the truth is that skipping it was the best decision. In a way, “The Last One” still fits the tradition in the sense of that being how the audience would refer to the episode, but it’s also a perfect title as it gives equal importance to everyone’s stories. “The Last One” is not just about Rachel and Ross getting back together, but Monica and Chandler becoming parents and Phoebe finally having her happy ending with her husband, Mike, so the title not pointing out one particular event is a lot fairer. “The Last One” is still considered among the best TV finales in history, and its title was perfect even if it broke a decade-long tradition in Friends.
