9 Most Outrageous Friends Fan Theories

They don't know that we know they know.

Friends Asylum Theory
NBC/WC

So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job's a joke, you're broke, and instead of a love life you spend all of your spare time watching repeats of Friends on Comedy Central/Netflix/DVD etc (although let's be honest, obviously the best relationship is the one where you spend all of your time together watching the show).

It has been a scary number of years since it ended, with - *spoiler alert* - Rachel getting off the plane, Chandler and Monica saying goodbye to Apartment 20, and the gang heading off for a cup of coffee ("where?"). However, thanks to how much it has remained on our screens, in our hearts, and a part of pop-culture, it's like it's never really been away (they'll be there for you, after all).

It's taken on a new life thanks to the rise of the internet, which the show was a little to early to really capitalise on first time around (save for Ross being dead), and a part of that is the number of theories about the show that have sprung up since it ended.

Like most fan theories they need to be taken with a pinch of salt, or a whole shaker of the stuff, yet at the same time will leave you thinking they could be true. As Joey tells us, there's a lot of theories that didn't pan out, and these are the ones about Friends that you need to hear.

9. Gunther Reserved The Couch

Friends Asylum Theory
HBO

At the beginning of the year, all across social media and entertainment websites, countless minds were blown when one viewer came up with a solution to just how the group of six friends always managed to snag that prime seats in Central Perk - the couch, the little wooden table and chair at one end, the green chair at the other - with the spot of a reserved sign on the table. 

It was the sort of moment where you go 'oh, of course!' and it totally makes sense, with the assumed reason being because they're such regular customers, with two of them having actually worked there (and Phoebe being a performer). However, there is another possibility. 

Rather than being because they're good customers, it's actually Gunther who puts the reserved sign on the table so that he can have a good view of Rachel everyday, and make sure she's happy in the coffee shop. He makes the gesture out of his love for her, in the hope she'll notice and reciprocate his feelings, but never actually has the courage to tell her, thus she never queries it and assumes it's because they're regulars. Oh Gunther. 

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.