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From Rachel's pregnancy to Joey's unexpected crush, Friends' eighth season delivered major character growth and memorable moments! Join us as we explore how this iconic season handled post-9/11 New York, Rachel's journey to motherhood, and controversial storylines. We'll revisit Brad Pitt's guest appearance, the world's longest TV pregnancy, and that shocking proposal finale that changed everything.
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00:00Oh, wait a minute. Who's the father?
00:02Oh, no, she won't tell us.
00:03Come on, it's my wedding. That could be my present.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:08And today, we're digging into the major events and talking points of Friends Season 8.
00:12It's incredible. I mean, one minute she's inside you, and then 47 hours later, here she is.
00:18The one with the season recap.
00:20Oh, how things have changed.
00:22A season ago, Monica was accusing Rachel of stealing her thunder,
00:25and now she's begging her to take a pregnancy test at her wedding.
00:28You gotta take it now.
00:30Come on, do it as a present to me.
00:33Oh, thank you.
00:34Yes, we pick up right after the I do's, where Rachel faces her pregnancy,
00:38Chandler attempts to dance, Ross tries to impress Mona,
00:42and Joey, well, Joey treats his best man speech like an audition.
00:45And there were some sad memories.
00:51I'm sorry.
00:54And some scared memories.
00:56Much of the season follows Rachel's pregnancy journey, from red sweaters, to working up the nerve
01:02to tell the father, to that unforgettable videotape revelation.
01:06Hey, get ready to see some begging.
01:10Oh, you came on to Ross!
01:13What?
01:14Now I'm so happy.
01:17What are you talking about?
01:19You used the Europe story.
01:21We also see how she navigates pregnancy as a single woman.
01:24There's a Halloween party where Phoebe meets her sister's fiancé,
01:27and we finally settle the age-old question.
01:30Who'd win in an arm wrestle?
01:31Sputnik or a pink bunny?
01:33Then there's another iconic Thanksgiving episode, which is more stuffed than a turkey's rear end,
01:38so we'll come back to that soon.
01:40So what, do you all just join together to hate me?
01:43Who else was in this club?
01:44Me and Ross.
01:52No need to point.
01:53She knows who Ross is.
01:54Remember Mona, the woman Ross met at the wedding?
01:57They have an interesting relationship, complete with holiday cards,
02:01pink, sorry, faded salmon shirts,
02:04and Rachel's dad nearly coming between them.
02:07In the end, Ross just can't balance dating with being there for Rachel during her pregnancy.
02:11Happy Valentine's Day!
02:18Or something to remember me by.
02:21Phoebe meets the larger-than-life Parker,
02:24whom she brings to the Gellers' 35th wedding anniversary,
02:27where Monica tries to prove she's just as sentimental as her big brother.
02:30When I look around this room,
02:32I'm saddened by the thought of those who could not be with us.
02:37Nana, my beloved grandmother, who would so want to be here.
02:43But she can't,
02:45because she's dead.
02:46Speaking of things that went down like a lead balloon,
02:49out of nowhere, Joey develops a crush on Rachel.
02:52We also get another clip show,
02:54where Joey's interviewed by Soap Opera Digest,
02:56and panics he'll blow it like the last time that ended with him getting the shaft.
03:00The elevator shaft, that is.
03:02Before the season's big event, there's a baby shower,
03:05and we discover our new favorite game, Bamboozled.
03:09Oh my god!
03:10Congratulations, Ross,
03:11because Chandler, you've been bamboozled!
03:14No!
03:16This is the best game ever!
03:19Then after what feels like a lifetime,
03:21Rachel goes into labor.
03:22And a lot happens before the proposal no one saw coming.
03:26Least of all, Joey.
03:27The one where they heart New York.
03:29Just 16 days before the season premiered,
03:32much of the world was glued to its screens as the news of the 9-11 attacks unfolded.
03:36Like many in the industry,
03:37especially those working on shows set in New York,
03:40the Friends team faced a difficult question.
03:42What now?
03:43The show had never really intentionally tackled real-world events,
03:46and very special episodes weren't its style.
03:49Well, I'm a paleontologist.
03:52I live in New York.
03:54I have a son, Ben.
03:56Hi, Ben!
03:58And, uh...
03:59I said a little bit, Ross.
04:00The bigger question became,
04:02what do audiences need most?
04:04Executive producer and director Kevin Esprite decided it was for Friends to stay what it had always been,
04:09comforting, familiar, and a source of light relief.
04:12But then I thought back over all our memories together.
04:16Some happy memories.
04:19Instead, the crew quietly planted visual tributes around the sets.
04:24Small doodles, an American flag and central perk,
04:27and clothing that honored first responders.
04:29The premiere episode was dedicated to the people of New York.
04:32It was their way of reaching out without breaking the show's tone.
04:36Unfortunately, and entirely by coincidence,
04:38they'd already planned and shot a storyline that simply wouldn't work in light of these events.
04:43If you own the DVD,
04:45you might have seen the alternate version of the one where Rachel tells Ross.
04:48In it, Monica and Chandler's honeymoon takes a turn,
04:51when Chandler makes an ill-timed joke in the airport,
04:54and Monica makes an absent-minded comment that means they never reach their destination.
04:58I mean, isn't that the guy we really have to worry about here?
05:01The guy with the bombs?
05:02Not the guy who jokes about his bombs?
05:05Not that I have bombs, but if I did, I probably wouldn't joke about them.
05:07I'd probably want to keep that rather quiet.
05:09Given that the episode aired just a month after the attacks,
05:12it's clear why it was changed.
05:15Instead, we got the lighter version,
05:16where Monica and Chandler keep losing out on perks to another newlywed couple.
05:20As a wedding gift to you, the hotel would like to give you the honeymoon suite.
05:24No! You have been screwing us all day!
05:26Who are you?
05:29We're you!
05:30Just ten seconds later!
05:31The one with Rachel's pregnancy arc.
05:34One thing Friends rarely gets enough credit for is how it portrayed what building a family can look like.
05:39Phoebe became a surrogate for her brother,
05:41Monica and Chandler eventually adopt,
05:44and Rachel experiences pregnancy as a single woman,
05:46which means confronting a whole new angle of what having a baby truly means,
05:51something Phoebe helps her work through.
05:52How can I be upset over something I never had?
05:56It's negative?
05:58No, it's positive.
06:06What?
06:07It's not negative, it's positive.
06:10Are you sure?
06:12Well, yeah, I lied before.
06:14Between that and her talk with Ross,
06:16this becomes a defining moment.
06:18For the first time, Rachel's life changes in a way she can't escape.
06:22The panic, the uncertainty,
06:24and the desire for romantic relationships to planning co-parenthood
06:27make her grow up fast and face motherhood head-on.
06:30Ross, there is no pressure on you, okay?
06:33I mean, you can be as involved as you want.
06:38Throughout the season,
06:39Rachel also contends with what it means to be single and pregnant in the dating world.
06:43When she starts to think her love life is over,
06:45Joey reminds her it doesn't have to be.
06:47You're just so beautiful.
06:48I don't think I can.
06:53Oh my god!
06:56That was fantastic!
06:58I almost leaned in, I really almost did.
07:00Slowly but surely, she gains enough confidence to defend Joey's sister, Dina,
07:04who's in a similar situation.
07:06Her baby shower brings out her deepest anxieties,
07:09but Ross reassures her that she'll be a great mom and that he'll be there for her.
07:13You are much more capable than you give yourself credit for.
07:16I have no doubt you're going to be an incredible mother.
07:20Really?
07:22I'm telling you.
07:25That comfort wavers when she reunites with Janice in the labor ward.
07:30Because the father is part of the group,
07:32we also see Ross' side,
07:34wanting to be supportive even when he's unsure how.
07:36I shouldn't be the one making her throw up.
07:39Dude, relax, Ross.
07:40It could happen to anyone.
07:41Yeah, not to you,
07:42because you know this stuff.
07:43I don't know any of it,
07:44and I'm the father.
07:46I just,
07:47I wish I could be more involved.
07:48Rachel's story offered representation that felt rare at the time.
07:52We saw single motherhood shown mostly without judgment,
07:55with the message that family is about so much more than shared DNA.
07:59The one with the crush no one asked for.
08:02Since we've mentioned it a couple of times already,
08:04let's talk about one of Friends' most divisive storylines.
08:07All that stuff about Rachel?
08:09You don't feel that now.
08:10It was crazy.
08:12You're fine.
08:13You're better than fine.
08:14You are,
08:15as your friend Tony would say,
08:17great.
08:18It starts off with an innocent friend date,
08:21but pretty soon enough,
08:22Joey realizes he's feeling way more than friendship.
08:25Some fans thought Joey and Rachel actually made more sense than Ross and Rachel.
08:29However, for a lot of us,
08:31including Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston,
08:33it made about as much sense as Joey sharing food,
08:36or Rachel going back to work at Central Perk.
08:38LeBlanc even told producers he didn't think the storyline fit Joey,
08:42and it made him,
08:42quote,
08:43uncomfortable.
08:44I think I'm gonna go.
08:45No,
08:45Joey,
08:46please don't,
08:47please don't leave like this.
08:48No,
08:48come on,
08:48you cannot do this to a pregnant woman.
08:50Look,
08:50it was clear this was never gonna grow into anything like what Rachel and Ross or Monica and Chandler had.
08:56If anything,
08:56it felt more like a spanner in the works,
08:58just a way to keep Ross and Rachel apart a little longer.
09:01But more on this next time.
09:03These are just feelings.
09:04They're gonna go away.
09:07You know what?
09:07I gotta go.
09:09Come on, Ross.
09:10Hey, Ross, Ross,
09:10don't,
09:11I just,
09:11you know,
09:11I just have one,
09:12Rachel?
09:13The one with the rumor.
09:15This Thanksgiving episode is often remembered as one of the best,
09:18mostly because of how well Brad Pitt,
09:20then Jennifer Aniston's husband,
09:22gelled with the cast,
09:23and for his ironically funny,
09:25I hate Rachel Green Club storyline.
09:27I was insanely in love with you.
09:29Obviously,
09:30I didn't handle it very well.
09:31But if you think about it,
09:32the I hate Rachel Club was really the I love Rachel Club.
09:36Uh,
09:36except that it was really the I hate Rachel Club.
09:39For fans used to seeing Pitt in serious roles,
09:41it was a fun surprise to see him do comedy so well.
09:44Aniston has called him one of her favorite guest stars ever,
09:47and the role even earned Pitt an Emmy nomination.
09:50And Mr. Pitt was wonderful.
09:51He was fantastic.
09:52But it is impossible to ignore the episode's biggest problem,
09:57its titular rumor.
09:58What else did you do?
10:00We started a rumor.
10:02What rumor?
10:04Oh, come on, Will.
10:05Just take off your shirt and tell us.
10:07Once again,
10:08the writers had made the LGBTQIA plus community the butt of the joke.
10:12Soon after it aired,
10:13NBC received complaints,
10:15including one calling it,
10:16quote,
10:16ignorant,
10:17insulting,
10:18degrading,
10:19and absolutely unprofessional.
10:21It misrepresented what it means
10:22to be intersex
10:23and made it seem like something to be ashamed of.
10:25Monica,
10:26how come you never told me this?
10:28I thought it might be true.
10:29And I was afraid that you were gonna cry
10:31and then show it to me.
10:33For such a popular show,
10:34that kind of messaging could be so harmful,
10:37especially to young people
10:38who might already feel like they have to hide.
10:40Okay,
10:41okay,
10:42listen to what Sean McMahon wrote in my yearbook senior year.
10:45Dear Rach,
10:46you're such a great person.
10:48Not girl,
10:49person.
10:50Intersex writer Matt Mitchell put it bluntly,
10:52quote,
10:52I can't think about friends without thinking about the intersex joke,
10:56greenlit by people who held my community up to the light
10:58and tormented us for somehow being less human than everyone else.
11:02As we mentioned last time,
11:04Marta Kaufman expressed regret over how they'd handle Chandler's parent.
11:07So we hope that,
11:08if the writers could travel back in time,
11:10this storyline would never have existed.
11:12But in the meantime,
11:13it's another reminder to us all to learn from the past and do better.
11:17Apparently you were a little mean to him in high school.
11:20A little mean?
11:20You made my life miserable.
11:22I had no idea.
11:24I'm sorry.
11:25Well,
11:25you should be.
11:26Before we continue,
11:27be sure to subscribe to our channel
11:28and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
11:32You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:37If you're on your phone,
11:38make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:41The one with the world's longest pregnancy.
11:44Okay,
11:45not really.
11:46Reportedly,
11:46the longest pregnancy on record is 17 months,
11:49and Rachel comes close at something like 15.
11:52She finds out around Monica and Chandler's wedding,
11:54which we're told is May 15th.
11:56I'm gonna have a baby.
11:59I'm gonna have a baby.
12:01I'm gonna have a baby!
12:03Give her a few weeks to realize she's pregnant,
12:05and you'd expect a due date around February or March.
12:08And yet,
12:09Thanksgiving passes.
12:10Barely a bump.
12:12Valentine's Day passes.
12:13Still no baby.
12:14By the one where Rachel is late,
12:16it's now summer.
12:17Get out!
12:18Get out!
12:19Get out!
12:19Get out!
12:20The show stretches reality,
12:22yes,
12:22but it also captures the agony of waiting,
12:25the anticipation,
12:26the impatience,
12:27and those moments where time just feels like it moves differently.
12:30Meanwhile,
12:31Monica and Chandler start thinking about parenthood,
12:33and Ross is reconsidering his feelings for Rachel.
12:36The friends all rally around,
12:38showing how much support matters
12:40when everything else feels like it's changing fast.
12:42That moment when Monica gives up her baby name might seem small,
12:45but it's so underrated in what it says about the bond between this group.
12:49She's clearly an Emma.
12:51Oh, honey, but you love that name.
12:54Yeah, but I love you more.
12:57Behind the scenes,
12:58Courtney Cox filmed this shortly after a miscarriage,
13:00and has talked about the struggles of forcing herself to be funny while carrying that grief,
13:04something Monica would carry through the next couple of seasons, too.
13:07By the episode's close,
13:09Rachel is still haunted by Janice's words.
13:12They all say they're going to be there,
13:14until they start their real family.
13:19That's never going to happen with Ross.
13:22That's what I thought about my first husband.
13:23Now I'm lucky if my kid gets to spend the weekend with her father,
13:26and the twins,
13:27and little Miss New Boobs.
13:28The idea that this little human is hers for life,
13:31and all the responsibility that comes with it,
13:33hits hard,
13:34especially mixed with hormones and exhaustion.
13:36It pushes her to take a leap,
13:38a leap that no one could have expected.
13:41Oh my god.
13:43Sign on the street says you don't own me.
13:48Okay.
13:50What season 8 moment could you monologue about?
13:53Let us know in the comments.
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