9 Ups & 3 Downs From Friends: The Reunion

2. The One With The Uneasy Tension

Matthew Perry, man. Such a poor soul.

From the moment the trailer for this special was released, he looked rough. His problems off-screen are well-documented, with the actor suffering from addiction to alcohol, methadone, and various other substances to the extent that he's admitted to being unable to remember filming certain episodes/seasons of the show. He's been through rehab, though, and has since opened Perry House, a sober living home for individuals suffering from similar issues.

In the first half of the reunion special, something felt awkward. It didn't help that when asked who keeps in touch with him the most, Perry retorted by saying that he doesn't hear from any of his fellow cast members. He delivered it in a dry tone, which is the sort of style used by Chandler, but it makes it harder to digest whether he was being genuine or just having a joke.

Finally, you've got the continuous slurring of Perry's words throughout the special. He had reportedly undergone an emergency dental procedure the same day, which caused the slightly slurred speech. Still, you can understand why fans were concerned.

He was laughing uncontrollably by the end of the special, clearly having a blast reminiscing with the gang. This was good to see, especially considering the way the special started.