Rachel Should Have Stayed on the Plane in the ‘Friends’ Series Finale

Hunter Ingram May 6, 2024, 1:46 pm

It was the moment that had 52 million people on the edge of their couches during the Friends series finale, which aired 20 years ago today.

Ross (David Schwimmer) raced to the airport to make one last-ditch effort to stop Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) from taking her dream job in Paris to stay in New York with him and their daughter Emma, but she got on the plane anyway. At that moment, it seemed the will-they-won’t-they couple of the century was officially over until Ross got home and played a voicemail from Rachel.

She was devastated by how they left things and admitted she still had feelings for him. As they bubbled up inside of her, she became desperate to get off the plane to be with him, much to the chagrin of a bothered flight attendant. Rachel started to make a scene, which was recorded over the voicemail playing for a panicked Ross. But suddenly, it cut off and he (and the audience) was left without resolution. Until Rachel appeared behind him in the doorway with the five words heard ‘round the world: “I got off the plane.”

The couple that defined a generation declared it was “you and me,” and the rest was history. Twenty years ago, it was one of the most romantically suspenseful moments to ever air on TV, and it is just as effective today. But in my humble opinion as a devoted fan of the show, it shouldn’t have happened.

Now, before I ignite a firestorm of fans who still use Friends reruns on Nick at Nite to sing them to sleep at night, let me explain. It should not have happened then, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have happened at all. I understand the decision to reunite Rachel and Ross was made to deliver good television—and, boy, did it.

With two decades of distance from the final episode, there is no reason why Rachel shouldn’t have stuck to her decision and followed the dreams that we had been watching her form for 10 seasons. Ross could wait.

Even today, the series gets a lot of flack for living in this fantasy world of being a twenty-something in New York City. But it doesn’t get enough credit for how it grew up by the end of its run. Gone were the days of rent-controlled apartments, always having your friends next door, and your favorite table at the coffeehouse on reserve.

Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (the late Matthew Perry) came to terms with their infertility and began the arduous journey of adoption. Joey (Matt LeBlanc) got real about the future of his acting career (a decision that led to the ill-advised, two-season spinoff Joey). Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) stood her ground about wanting to get married, something Mike (Paul Rudd) didn’t want to do again—until it was him who reversed course.

Rachel getting off the plane and choosing Ross was in direct opposition to all the other strides made by her friends. In her 30s, Rachel had steadily worked to build a career from scratch, going from waitress to assistant to personal shopper to head of purchasing (among other titles). She was finally being rewarded for the hustle so many of us recognize in ourselves when Louis Vuitton offered her the job in Paris.

It is what all of us strive for, to be recognized for our hard work and dedication to our craft despite the obstacles. Putting yourself and your triumphs first is not a bad thing, and that’s why that climactic moment shouldn’t have been an either/or decision when it came to Ross. She should have followed through with her plan. She could easily split time between Paris and New York –– this was 2004, after all, not 1915. If she chose not to straddle time zones because it would mean seeing her daughter less, who could blame her? But that is not how that big moment is framed. She chose Ross over herself, even if that decision was what she wanted.

It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong. And we don’t know what it meant for her Paris opportunity. Did she get to keep the job, and they traveled back and forth? Did she accept a different job to stay in New York? Did she start from scratch again?

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Some may defend her decision by saying her priorities changed, and she simply wanted to have it all at home. It would be OK if that is what she chose. We learned Rachel meticulously planned her future by the year in Season 7’s “The One Where They All Turn Thirty,” including marriage and children.

But growing up is understanding that you can’t plan your life like that and, more than anyone, Rachel understood that by the time she got on that plane to Paris. Having Emma with Ross wasn’t on that plan. Getting her dream job wasn’t on that plan.

If Rachel had continued on to Paris, that didn’t mean she and Ross couldn’t have gotten together. They would still have to communicate because of Emma. And who knows? He might have stayed her lobster forever, no matter what happened.

It sure seemed like they were endgame, and I’m not refuting that. But what I wanted for Rachel was for her to see what was on the other side of that flight. Who could she have been? How would she have stood on her two feet, far from her friends and family? It actually would have been the perfect ending for Rachel Green, the young woman we first met fleeing her fear of the future in a wedding dress. In Paris, she would be the grown woman embracing that fear and making it her own. I want to know what that woman is doing today.