Being on for ten years, it was only a matter of time before some of the storylines on Friends became too repetitive. Keeping a show new and exciting can be difficult, especially for a series as popular as Friends, where there was a level of expectation regarding the quality of the jokes. Ross, Rachel, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, and Chandler went through a lot together during their time in New York City, but sometimes things fell into a reasonably expected pattern.

While some plot twists were genuinely shocking, such as Ross saying Rachel’s name at the alter, other stories were revived much too often.

GUNTHER’S OBSESSIVE CRUSH ON RACHEL

For ten seasons, Gunther worked at Central Perk, serving coffee to the six friends that would hang out there nearly every day. During that time, he developed a crush on Rachel.

As it turned out though Gunther’s crush would not last only a few episodes but the entire length of the series. Gunther’s crush became creepy after a while since Rachel never reciprocated nor knew about it until the series finale. Gunther occasionally went too far when it came to Rachel even if she was oblivious to his intentions. After Gunther confessed Rachel confirmed her lack of awareness about Gunther’s feelings and turned him down.

PHOEBE’S FAMILY PROBLEMS

It became common knowledge throughout the series that Phoebe did not have a good background. She makes various references to her mother’s suicide, her father’s leaving, a low-income family dynamic, and her less than decent relationship with her twin sister, Ursula. However, Phoebe’s family issues do not end there and instead continue to her half-brother Frank, and a biological mother she had never known about.

Although Phoebe’s bizarre mentions of her background may have been uncomfortable, there were moments in the series where bringing it up was unnecessary. The moment did not call for a reference, and instead, it came off like the show needed a joke to place where that line of dialogue was.

MONICA’S WEIGHT

A running joke during Friends was that Monica had been overweight and obsessed with eating from a young age. Home videos from high school show Monica, happy but not thin. Unfortunately, Ross and their friends could not leave Monica’s weight alone and would make constant jokes concerning her size.

Although Monica did not always seem upset or angry by the fun, there are brief moments where she looks uncomfortable by their comments, which should have been enough to get them to stop. The plotlines referencing Monica’s weight eventually became too many.

WE WERE ON A BREAK

“We were on a break” was Ross’ mantra to justify his actions in sleeping with another woman freshly after a fight with Rachel.

Ross uses it often as if to continually explain that his actions were acceptable the moment they happened. Rachel does not appreciate Ross’ constant use of the defense, and their arguments about it continue for a long time. Even after they’ve both agreed to move past their anger and attempt to get back to their friendship, over time, the phrase keeps finding its way back into the storyline.

ROSS’ DECISIONS

Ross had a habit of doing things that he knew would make himself happy, even at the expense of others. He exhibits this behavior many times throughout the series, including his issues with his three divorces and later after Emma is born.

After Ross promised Rachel that he would speak to his lawyer about getting an annulment, he reveals to Phoebe that he had not gotten the annulment. Ross shows this side of himself again when he answers the phone to a man asking for Rachel. Instead of giving Rachel the message Ross hides it in his pocket and does not tell Rachel about it until he uses it to try to defend his actions.

JOEY’S IDIOCY

Joey was never the brains of the gang. However, he had moments of being smarter than people gave him credit for. Joey had grown a lot over the ten years since the show had started but was often only given jokes regarding sex and food.

In “The One Where Joey Speaks French,” Joey is unnaturally bad at picking up the language. In moments when Phoebe slows the words down for him, Joey can mimic Phoebe, that is until she puts it all together. In that case, Joey gets completely lost and is only capable of spewing out gibberish. It is an unfortunate arc for his character as Joey had been trying to do better professionally.

SHOWING FAVORITISM

Judy and Jack were recurring characters on Friends, and although they did not appear in every episode, they were still around often enough for some gags about them to be tired. The most notable storyline that Judy and Jack had to enforce repeatedly was the favoritism they had between Ross and Monica. From their first appearance in “The One With A Sonogram At The End,” it is clear that Judy favors Ross.

Although Jack attempts to explain that he and Judy love both their kids equally, their actions do not follow that statement. Jack uses Monica’s old boxes to protect a car in the garage and refers to Ross as a medical marvel.

CHANDLER’S BACKSTORY

It seems like nearly every character on the show has something problematic with the way they grew up. Chandler is another example of poor relationships with his relatives that comes up quite often. Chandler never holds back when it comes to talking badly about his parents, but this is another way the series pushed the storyline to go on for too long.

Although Chandler’s mother is introduced in the early days of Friends, his father does not make an appearance until just before he and Monica are set to get married.

EVERYONE’S ATTITUDE TOWARD JANICE

In the beginning, when Janice was just considered to be Chandler’s annoying girlfriend who he was trying to break up with it made sense that everyone was happy to be rid of her. At the time, Janice was not as included in storylines as she later became.

However, as the years went by, it was apparent that everyone had spent enough time with Janice to know her as a person rather than just a person with an annoying laugh. It no longer made that much sense why they all appeared to hate her when, although she could be a significant presence, was mostly nice and happy to see them. Chandler, especially, was always wanting to be rid of her even when Janice was trying to support him.

WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY

For ten years, viewers tuned in wondering if Ross and Rachel would end up together or not. From getting together in season two to breaking up in season three, their relationship was a rollercoaster for the entire series.

Unfortunately, that was not always a good thing. While there is something to be said to find new ways to keep things interesting between Ross and Rachel, it could feel flat out annoying when it felt like no one could decide if they should be together or not. Ross and Rachel went back and forth for years but never felt solidly in one place.