For a sitcom, "Friends" was full of shocking moments. For this list, we’ll be discussing each season’s biggest surprises, and things we didn’t see coming.
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00:00 "I, Ross."
00:01 "I, Ross."
00:02 "Take thee, Emily."
00:03 "Take thee, Rachel."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at the most shocking moment
00:10 from every season of Friends.
00:12 "I've been looking for this for like a month."
00:14 "Oh my God!"
00:22 For this list, we'll be discussing each season's biggest surprises,
00:26 and things we didn't see coming.
00:28 Future plot points will be discussed, so consider this your official spoiler alert.
00:33 Which Friends moment left your mouth ajar in shocked surprise?
00:36 Let us know in the comments.
00:39 Season 1 - Julie's arrival
00:42 There were two pretty shocking moments in the final episode of the first season.
00:46 The first was Rachel finding out that Ross was in love with her.
00:49 "Does he like wanna go out with me?"
00:51 "Well, given that he's desperately in love with you, he probably wouldn't mind getting
00:55 a cup of coffee or something."
00:56 "Ross?
01:00 All this time?"
01:01 But given that the audience had known about that for quite some time,
01:05 it came as more of a surprise to her than to us.
01:08 Seeing Ross get off the plane with a partner we'd later get to know as Julie
01:12 when he got back from China, on the other hand?
01:15 Well that was a twist we definitely didn't see coming.
01:18 "I cannot wait for you to meet my friends."
01:21 "Really?"
01:22 "Yeah."
01:23 "You don't think they'll judge and ridicule me?"
01:24 "No, no, they will.
01:25 I just can't wait."
01:26 "Come on, they're gonna love you."
01:28 We were so hoping and ready to see Ross and Rachel together.
01:32 But alas, that would have to wait.
01:34 "Ross was just Ross, just this guy.
01:37 Now all of a sudden he's Ross.
01:40 Oh, he's a really great guy that I can't have."
01:45 Season 2 - Prom video reaction
01:48 Season 2 sees Ross and Rachel finally get together, only to have things abruptly end
01:53 when she discovers an insulting pros and cons list he wrote about her.
01:57 "If things were the other way around, there is nothing you could put on a list that would
02:01 ever make me not want to be with you."
02:03 "Well, then I guess that's the difference between us.
02:06 See, I'd never make a list."
02:09 So when the gang watches a video of Monica and Rachel prepping for their high school
02:12 prom some episodes later, we weren't expecting it to lead to a reconciliation.
02:17 But that's exactly what happens after Rachel sees how sweet Ross was that night, and how
02:22 much he cared for her even back then.
02:24 "Here comes your knight in shining.
02:27 Oh no."
02:28 "Bye, don't forget!
02:29 Catch ya!"
02:30 "Oh, danger."
02:35 She gets up, walks over to him and shocks everyone (in a great happy cry way) with
02:40 what she does next.
02:42 "See?
02:43 He's her lobster."
02:44 Season 3 - Ross and Chloe
02:47 We're not here to rehash the age-old Ross and Rachel break debate and whether what he
02:51 proceeded to do constitutes cheating.
02:53 "Let's cool off, okay?
02:55 Let's get some frozen yogurt or something."
02:56 "No.
02:57 A break from us."
03:02 No, the shocking nature of this moment has very little to do with whether or not you
03:09 think that they were broken up.
03:11 As Ross and Chloe dance, there's a sense that something might happen, but you don't really
03:16 believe it will.
03:17 Until it does.
03:18 "Well, you're practically dancing already.
03:19 Why don't you just do it over here?"
03:20 "No, no."
03:21 "What are you, married?
03:22 Cause that's okay."
03:29 When she goes in for the kiss and he reciprocates, well, we lose it.
03:33 The event sent shockwaves through everyone watching when the episode aired, and those
03:38 waves reverberated throughout the rest of the series.
03:41 "I didn't think there was a relationship to jeopardize.
03:43 I thought we were broken up."
03:45 "We were on a break."
03:46 "That, for all I knew, could last forever.
03:48 That to me is a break up."
03:50 Season 4 - Name Mix-Up
03:52 "I, Ross, take thee Rachel."
03:55 These were words Friends fans had been waiting to hear for four seasons.
03:59 The only issue is that Ross utters them during his wedding to Emily.
04:02 "I, Ross."
04:03 "I, Ross."
04:04 "Take thee, Emily."
04:05 "Take thee, Rachel."
04:06 You know that look on the wedding guests' faces and the audible gasps you hear from
04:16 the studio audience?
04:17 There's little doubt that viewers at home were having the exact same reactions.
04:21 "Shall I go on?"
04:23 Interestingly, the moment was even a surprise to the show's writers when production on the
04:27 fourth season began.
04:29 It reportedly wasn't until actor David Schwimmer had a Rachel/Emily slip of the tongue while
04:34 rehearsing a different line that the team came up with the season-ending twist.
04:38 "I can understand why Emily would think it meant something, you know, because it was
04:43 you, but it absolutely didn't.
04:45 It didn't!
04:46 It didn't!"
04:47 Season 5 - Ross and Rachel's Vegas Wedding
04:50 Even fans expecting Ross and Rachel to end up married one day certainly didn't imagine
04:55 it would happen like this.
04:57 During the season 5 finale, it's clear there's a possibility of a wedding taking place.
05:01 However, we assume that it'd be Chandler and Monica tying the knot.
05:05 "Hello, one marriage please."
05:07 "Yep, we wanna get married."
05:09 "Well, there's a service in progress.
05:11 Have a seat."
05:12 "Alright."
05:13 So when Ross and Rachel come through those chapel doors, intoxicated and having the time
05:18 of their lives, we're as flabbergasted as the aforementioned Chandler and Monica.
05:22 "Hello, Mrs. Ross!"
05:24 "Well, hello, Mr. Rachel!"
05:28 Of course, this rash wedding sets up a whole storyline that adds even more layers to Ross
05:32 and Rachel's complex dynamic.
05:34 "Never thought I'd be divorcing you."
05:36 "I know.
05:37 I always thought if you and I got married, that would be the one that stuck."
05:43 Season 6 - Monica's Proposal
05:46 In the season 6 finale, Chandler is gearing up to propose to Monica.
05:50 But in an effort to throw her off the scent, he starts acting like he hates the idea of
05:54 ever getting married.
05:56 "Probably, uh, yeah, never."
05:59 "Oh my god!
06:01 Then what are we even doing?
06:02 What is this?"
06:03 "Whoa, whoa, whoa!
06:04 What is all this pressure?"
06:06 The plan works a little too well, though.
06:09 It sends Monica into a state of distress over their future, and even has her contemplating
06:14 the possibility of rekindling things with Richard.
06:16 "I have to figure some, you know, some stuff before I can…"
06:22 "Yeah, I understand.
06:23 Take as much time as you want."
06:26 Given all that, we believe Joey when he tells Chandler, who's arrived home desperate to
06:31 fix things, that she's gone.
06:33 But she isn't.
06:35 As a distraught Chandler walks through their apartment door, we get one of the most smile-inducing
06:40 surprises the series ever provided.
06:42 "You wanted it to be a surprise."
06:43 "Oh my god."
06:56 Season 7, Someone is Pregnant
06:58 Seeing Chandler's scarily awkward picture smile never stops being wild.
07:02 "Now Chandler, you wanna give us a smile?"
07:05 "Okay."
07:06 "I'm sorry, is the seat uncomfortable?"
07:11 "No, I am."
07:12 But something even more surprising occurs in Season 7.
07:16 It comes at the end of the first part of the finale, and happens when Phoebe and Rachel
07:20 are in the bathroom.
07:22 Get your minds out of the gutter, we're talking about Phoebe uncovering a pregnancy test.
07:26 And yes, it's positive.
07:27 "There was a pregnancy test in the garbage, and it's positive.
07:33 Monica's pregnant."
07:35 At that moment we, like Phoebe, think Monica's the one expecting.
07:39 But we get another twist at the end of the season finale's second part, as we realize
07:44 that it's actually Rachel who's going to have a baby.
07:47 "Look at them.
07:48 Oh, and they're gonna have a baby.
07:54 Uh-huh."
07:55 Season 8 - Ross' Red Sweater
07:58 When we first found out Rachel was pregnant, there were probably a number of us who assumed
08:02 Ross was the father.
08:03 "Until I do, I don't think I should tell anybody else."
08:06 "Yeah, that's fine, that's fair.
08:09 Is it tag?"
08:10 "Oh, Phoebe!"
08:11 "Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop.
08:13 Is it Ross?
08:14 It's Ross, isn't it?"
08:15 But we didn't have a whole lot to go on.
08:17 Plus, thinking and knowing are two very different things, so we remained on the edge of our
08:23 seats.
08:24 It's only when Ross notices his red sweater - the one we've established belongs to Rachel's
08:28 baby daddy - that we finally know, though.
08:31 "Hey, my sweater!
08:32 I've been looking for this for like a month."
08:38 We also can't talk about Season 8 without giving a shout-out to Monica's secret messy
08:42 closet.
08:43 Given her unrivaled cleanliness and amazing organizational skills, that was something
08:48 we certainly never saw coming.
08:50 "You're messy."
08:51 "No, you weren't supposed to see this!"
08:54 "I married Fred Sanford!"
08:56 "No, Chandler, you don't understand."
09:01 Season 9 - Rachel and Joey Kiss
09:04 The Joey-Rachel relationship is rather polarizing among Friends fans, but regardless of how
09:09 you feel about it, there's no denying it catches a lot of us off guard at first viewing.
09:13 "After our date last night, did you feel a little weird?"
09:16 "Oh my God, you did too?
09:19 You totally freaked me out, what was that?"
09:21 Joey realizes he has feelings for Rachel after they go out to dinner halfway through Season
09:26 8, but it initially doesn't go anywhere.
09:29 Many viewers probably figured it never really would, but it does in Barbados, as the end
09:34 of the Season 9 finale sees the two passionately embrace.
09:44 This was probably the only thing that could beat out the shock of learning that little
09:47 Emma is a fan of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back."
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10:15 Season 10 - Wrong Airport
10:18 The biggest shock to Ross and Monica in Season 10 is probably when they realize that they
10:22 unintentionally kissed at a college party years ago.
10:25 "You were my midnight mystery kisser!"
10:28 "You were my first kiss with Rachel?"
10:32 "You were my first kiss ever!"
10:35 But as disturbing as that is for the audience to hear, nothing surprises us more than learning
10:40 Ross is at the wrong airport.
10:42 He's gone to tell Rachel he loves her and that he doesn't want her to go to Paris.
10:46 "Flight 421 to Paris.
10:50 I don't see it.
10:51 Do you see it?"
10:52 "No, did we miss it?"
10:53 "No, no, no.
10:54 It's impossible.
10:55 It doesn't leave for another 20 minutes."
10:56 But his romantic airport moment is ruined when they realize Rachel is leaving from Newark
11:00 Airport and they're at JFK.
11:02 "Flight 421 leaves at 840, Newark Airport."
11:05 "What?"
11:06 "Newark Airport.
11:07 Why?
11:08 Where are you?"
11:09 "JFK."
11:12 We were expecting a big pronouncement of love and Rachel and Ross getting together for good.
11:17 While that all does happen eventually, this setback had our jaws on the floor.
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11:31 [music]