When it comes to continuity, Friends is among the worst shows to go for. The series kept taking liberties with established ground, and stories from seasons before didn’t align from the ones in the future, with no explanations given as to why that was.
After ten seasons on-air, there were still some storylines that were left unresolved, and these were abandoned with such nonchalance, that we think the show intended for the viewers to forget these stories were ever in place. However, we’re all diehard Friends fans here, and these 10 angles are those we wish had seen a definite end.
Joey's Love For Rachel
We did get a lazy answer for those wondering if this angle was over by having Rachel and Joey agree that they were just too good as friends to be lovers, but it seems as if Joey wasn’t completely over her.
Proof of this was seen in the self-titled series Joey, where he told his sister he was truly in love with Rachel, and that it didn’t work out. The way Joey described Rachel made it seem as if he was regretting letting Rachel go, which casts doubt whether this story was really resolved on Friends or not. It seemed to have ended as inexplicably as it started, seeing as neither nor Joey brought it up again for the rest of Season 10.
Relaxi-Taxi
Phoebe and her brother seemed to have struck a gold mine with “Relaxi-Taxi” (although Relaxi-Cab sounded much better), and the plan was in full flow with Phoebe offering massages to patrons who used Frank’s taxi. The idea was ridiculous, but perhaps insane enough to work – except, we never saw it being implemented.
After Frank’s kids were born, he disappeared altogether from the show until the tenth season, where it wasn’t stated how he’d managed to support a family of three children and a wife while being only in his early-20s. Phoebe continued being a masseuse on her own, and we didn’t hear a peep about the Relaxi-Taxi business.
Chandler And Monica's Money Problems
Sure, Chandler ended up getting a permanent job as a Junior Copywriter, but that’s hardly enough to solve money problems that had left the couple thousands of dollars in debt. Chandler and Monica were seen worrying over their savings, which prompted them to borrow $4000 from Joey.
They were said to still be having these problems in the lottery episode, only for it to be unmentioned once Chandler got the job. Being an entry-level copywriter hardly solves financial problems, much less when they were also paying Erica for the baby they adopted, and the resulting costs for purchasing a villa in the suburbs.
Monica's Mommy Issues
The show seemed to be setting up Monica and Judy for a huge blowout in later seasons, as up until Season 9 Judy was shown to be very ignorant and condescending to Monica. In her second-last appearance, she even forgot she had another child other than Ross and the latter had to remind her.
However, in her only episode in Season 10, Judy and Monica were completely civil toward each other, with no hint of animosity. There wasn’t any mention from Monica that she’d patched up with her mother, and it seems as if the angle was just phased out altogether.
Phoebe's Dad's Reappearance
The first four seasons of Friends had Phoebe mulling over her family history, most of all craving to be reunited with her father. We finally saw the man in full in Season 4, and he didn’t seem to want to be all flighty by the end of the episode.
Frank and Phoebe even had a bonding moment over their love of singing, with there being nothing to suggest they wouldn’t patch up. However, immediately following that, Phoebe would again mention to her friends how her father had abandoned her when she was young, and Phoebe was disappointed her stepfather wouldn’t be present to give her away during her wedding – there was no mention of Frank.
Phoebe's Mother's Reappearance
Before Frank had returned, we were made to believe that Phoebe’s biological mother would now be a fixture in her life. She did last longer than Frank, as Phoebe Sr (is that what we should call her?) would make an additional appearance later on; however, she inexplicably disappeared following that.
When Phoebe was getting married in Season 10, her mother wasn’t mentioned to be invited, and Phoebe’s vows had her admit that she didn’t have any kind of family life, which leaves us thinking this mother-daughter reunion storyline was dropped after Season 4. Maybe it was because Phoebe gave away her mother's dog without asking?
Chandler In Yemen
In order to run away from Janice, Chandler purchased a ticket to Yemen, but had to get on the plane as well since Janice wouldn’t go without watching his plane leave. She certainly did believe Chandler was gone for good, as she mentioned this belief in Season 5 as justification for hooking up with Ross.
And yet, we didn’t see Chandler in Yemen at all. He didn’t even talk about it after that, nor was there a conversation about him returning from halfway around the world in the very next episode. It was like Chandler never left; he was back in the coffee house as if going to Yemen was an every day matter.
What Happened To Gavin?
Gavin’s appearance really was bad timing, since the character was great and we loved his portrayal. He was not only a fitting love interest for Rachel, he was also hilarious in his own right. Regardless of all that, it’s weird how we didn’t hear from him ever again after Rachel denied his feelings.
It’s weird mainly because he and Rachel were sharing an office around this time, and avoiding Gavin was an impossibility. Since he was vying for Rachel’s position, there’s no way he would just resign from his post simply because he couldn’t date her. After his last appearance, Gavin wasn’t seen in Ralph Lauren again. So, where did he go?
All the Love Interests
Sitcoms tend to hand-wave away love interests that have been put there for singular episodes, but we do need to see some resolution in these matters when there seems to be chemistry involved. For instance, Ross and Joey vied hard for the attention of the “Hot Girl from the parallel universe”, and Ross seemed to be dating her; she then never popped up again.
The same goes for girls like the one from the copy place, whom Ross was with when “on a break”, and the girl who looked like an eight-year-old boy (you know what we mean). Chandler was also seen dating girls like the sleep-screamer, and he was too desperate to just dump someone – all these stories just went unresolved.
Rachel's Career
Rachel seemed to be a real career woman, seeing as she and Ross broke up in Season 3 due to her placing too much interest in her job. In any case, you need a job to survive, especially with a kid in New York City. But what did Rachel do in her last appearance? She vetoed on the job in Paris and stayed in New York.
She had no job lined up for her, and was fired from Ralph Lauren. Louis Vuitton would hardly give her a good recommendation for blowing them off in favor of Ross, which leaves us mad with curiosity over what exactly became of Rachel’s career. Did she end up resenting Ross for it, or did she become a housewife?