Friends: The Reunion
RATING
Introduction
I was almost a decade and a half late in joining the bandwagon. It was almost a couple of years ago when I was in acute depression when I stumbled upon Friends which was lying in my watchlist for ages. Previously, I had watched one episode here and one there and hence never really understood the hype behind it. But once I began watching the show from the very beginning, I slowly fell in love with the show and its leads. It had a strange quality of healing and so I had something to look forward to each day I woke up. It played a major part in diverting my attention and bringing back laughs that were almost missing in my life then. And back when it ended, it left me with that bitter sweet feeling. That purple door still haunts me. But that all would change when the reunion was announced a couple of weeks back. And well finally it is here! You don’t need me to tell you about the hype, here is my small tribute to the reunion.
The Nostalgia
One of the things that made Friends special was how relatable the characters were then and how they are relevant even today. While Ross is the nerdy one with a broken heart or Rachel being the beauty queen but confused, or Monica being competitive and a cleanliness freak, Chandler the funny one yet vulnerable, Phoebe being the goofy one but the sweetest or Joey being a loyal friend – we all would relate to some or most of the characters and often relate them with our own Friends. While the last episode had aired in 2004 when most of us were teenagers, we have all gone through a phase when our own Friends were family. What this episode does is that it reignites that feeling of nostalgia with several run throughs of some of our favourite episodes that will leave most of us teary eyed.
The Impact
I had previously mentioned about how bad my depression was. Through this 104 minute reunion episode, I got to know so many who were just like me sad in life. And the show was their daily fuel, slowly pulling you out of depression. Even some of the celebrities admitted to Friends being their go to mood changer or a tonic to cure sadness. And so this single episode gave us a chance to relive those several moments be it Phoebe singing Smelly Cat, or the famous quiz conducted by Ross or even reminiscing some of our favourite characters like Richard or Gunther or Mr Heckles though I personally missed Mike in today’s episode.
The memories
There are several crazy fans of the show who have had everything covered be it bloopers or behind the scenes. The Reunion though did bring to us a few hidden facts including taking us to some of the behind the scenes of our favourite episodes. The emotion was palpable for the entire crew with even an assistant giving the final clap in the final episode almost choked. Likewise for the leads where there was hugging amidst the tears which brought me to the conclusion of how life eventually pans out for everyone. The phase of friends like family would soon fade once you start your own family. To give you a perspective, it took the cast 17 years to have a reunion. In between they got married and had kids, there were occassional meetups too but not once all of them together under one roof. Guess you are just left with memories from a phase of your life that you ain’t getting back.
Conclusion
One of the lines that stayed with me after the episode had aired was when Monica said ” This might probably be the last reunion that we are a part of”. That line hit me like a piece of brick. Looking at each one of them, they have been aging and aging well. And with them, we all have grown up. There is this bittersweet feeling to life with only two phases – one that was left behind and one that we are about to enter. The episode had left me in tears throughout and it continued long after the episode was done and dusted. Possibly a reflection of life along with sweet moments of nostalgia. I can conclude my tribute in four words – Happiness, Tears, Emotions, Nostalgia. I am crying and so are you.