Friends: Every Season Finale Ranked Worst To Best
3. The One Where Rachel Finds Out (Season One)
Though Friends' season one finale wasn't as grand as the following nine seasons, it served its purpose, cementing the show as one that got its finales correct.
This is the episode where Rachel discovers Ross is in love with her, or rather, he was. This is backed up by Ross purchasing a special pin for her birthday like the one her grandfather had when she was young, which could be viewed as a romantic gesture from Ross.
The episode concludes with Rachel rushing to the airport to greet Ross as he returns from an emergency palaeontology find in China, opting to give their relationship a chance. It's a strong cliffhanger ending, and one of Ross and Rachel's key moments. Though it wasn't actually shown in this episode, but rather season two's opener, Ross instead returns with a new girlfriend, Julie.
This marked the first big twist from the show, a trope that would become a staple of Ross and Rachel's love story. Much like Charlie, there was nothing abundantly wrong with Julie as a character, but it would have been nice to see more of her, rather than her acting as nothing more than a hurdle to Ross and Rachel getting together.