Could it BE any more obvious?
Friends is one of those comfort shows that never goes out of style. It was at the top of its game in the 90s and continued to soar into sitcom history into the 2000s. Rich friendships, dynamics, and an ugly naked guy kept the show alive. Even if people haven’t seen the show to its full extent, they might have heard of the famous question: were Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) on a break or not? Or the famous Central Perk Coffee House hey all frequent. Many fans are familiar with the many plot holes. Like the multiple meetings of Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Rachel, the number on Rachel and Monica’s (Courteney Cox) apartment, or Ross’s birthday. But the best might be in season 6 when one of the Friends characters actually points out a plot hole that makes them all stop and think.
The episode in question is Season 6, Episode 8: The One With Ross’s Teeth. Many die-hard fans know this one quite well, as it’s rather eventful for the characters. As the title suggests, something happens to Ross’s teeth. He overbleaches them, causing some great reactions from his pals. Ross even goes on a date, which is complicated by the black light in the girl’s apartment, which heightens the brightness of his teeth and freaks her out. I think it’s safe to say they never had a second date. As for the other friend group members, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is worried that Janine (Elle Macpherson) is making their apartment too feminine, and Pheobe (Lisa Kudrow) tells Rachel that she kissed Ralph Lauren.
The One Where They Don’t Work
Now, the plot hole that is addressed is when they are all chilling at Central Perk. They’re all sitting on the couch and surrounding furniture pieces, debating how their bosses dislike them, and Ross says it must be a universal thing. And Joey hilariously points out that “maybe…it’s because you’re all hanging around here at 11:30 on a Wednesday!” to which they all stop and think before scrambling off to work. It’s a hilarious nod to the fact that they spend so much time in Central Perk during prime working hours instead of actually being at work. Rather than trying to fix the plot hole, the writers simply acknowledged it by having Joey bring it up.
Although it may seem unrealistic, considering most people in their 20s and 30s would need to work to survive, it makes sense for the show. In reality, they probably wouldn’t have that much time to spend with each other because they’d all be at the grind trying to make a career for themselves or working to make rent. Lounging at a coffee house during the day doesn’t fit the bill of a group of young people working to make ends meet.
But let’s face it; the show wouldn’t have worked as well as it did if the gang had been shown at work more than at the coffee house. It’s unlikely that your friend group would come to the office daily and the show relies on the characters’ relationships with each other. Of course, we saw multiple occasions when they went to see someone at work and how chaotic that can become, like when Ross went to see Rachel at the office when she was in a crisis and asked him not to come. He literally started a fire when she was trying to fix an order. Or when Joey and Monica work together so she can fire him and make a spectacle. But having them at the coffee house gave them time to catch up with each other’s lives or meet new people. Most of the time, the friend group also hung out at Monica’s house, and with the coffee shop located right below it, it’s no wonder those two places were their go-to spots.
Sacrificing that bit of believability gave us deeper connections between the characters and allowed the gang to be together more often. Plus, it gave us one of the most beloved shows of all time. Each character added such a unique take and wit that splitting them up would have been a shame and a waste of a good cast. These spots, like Central Perk or Monica’s apartment, are also more intimate and don’t rely on the pressure of working at the same time as they dish on their lives, except when Rachel worked at Central Perk. Still, even when she did work there, she would sit with her friends more often than serving coffee.
The One With The Plot Holes
