Which Friends Character Has The Saddest Final Line? (It's A Tie)
When "Friends" ended in 2004, it was, to quote Monica (Courtney Cox), the end of an era. Some characters, however, said goodbye long before Season 10. Even though "Friends" was a comedy, some departures were downright tragic. Chandler's (Matthew Perry) short-lived roommate, Eddie (Adam Goldberg), essentially lost his mind, and Season 2's "The One Where Heckles Dies" speaks for itself.
Of all of the characters on "Friends," Emily (Helen Baxendale) got particularly short-changed during her time on the show. Following a very hasty courtship with Ross (David Schwimmer), the two tie the knot in a doomed ceremony in London. The marriage holds on by a thread until the Season 5 episode "The One With the Yeti," when Ross refuses Emily's request to cut Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) out of his life.
Emily crops up once more in "Friends," delivering her final line via an answering machine. In "The One with the Ride Along," Rachel goes into Ross' empty apartment to borrow his blender. There, she overhears Emily on his machine, confessing that she's getting married, but she still thinks about him. "I'm wondering if we made a mistake giving up so fast," she says, while Rachel listens, slack-jawed. "Are you thinking about me? Of course you're not, but if you are, call me tonight. Okay, bye."
Emily's message indicates that she hasn't moved on and that her second marriage may be as ill-fated as the first. It's a sad note to go out on — one that's only rivaled by Gunther's (James Michael Tyler) last line.
Gunther's big confession didn't work out
When it comes to the saddest final lines in "Friends," unrequited love is a running theme. Throughout the series, Gunther's obsession with Rachel is a frequent punchline. He even buys all of Ross' furniture in Season 5 due to its proximity to Rachel. In the series' finale, he finally confesses his love just before Rachel is about to move to France.
"I know you're leaving tonight," he tells her in Central Perk. "I just have to tell you. I love you. Now, I don't know if that changes your plans at all, but I thought you should know." Rachel's rejection is warm and gracious and Gunther seems to be at peace with her decision. In any case, he has more closure than Emily.
Another final line has become even more poignant in recent weeks. In his memoir "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," Matthew Perry recalled requesting the final line in the series. "Before that final episode, I'd taken Marta Kauffman to one side," Perry wrote (via Insider). "'Nobody else will care about this except me,' I said. 'So, may I please have the last line?' That's why as we all troop out of the apartment, and Rachel has suggested one last coffee, I got to bring the curtain down on 'Friends.'" Chandler quips, "Where?" In the wake of Matthew Perry's death, that fact has become all the more tear-jerking.