A First Lady’s wardrobe is often the subject of public scrutiny. That’s certainly been true of Melania Trump‘s fashion choices: Despite her insistence that the media and the President’s detractors assign meaning to her outfits where there is none, many of her looks have been criticized for their exorbitant price point and apparent mixed messaging. And with a white-out planned by Democratic lawmakers for the 2019 State of the Union, some wondered what the First Lady would wear to the event.
Trump and stylist Hervé Pierre landed on a black trench dress by Burberry for the President’s address to the nation. And in an interview with WWD, Pierre was quick to clarify that the public shouldn’t read into the choice of designer—or anything else she wears while residing in the White House.
Alex Wong
“As long as I find the right outfit, the designer is almost irrelevant,” the stylist told WWD. “The designer, well, is Burberry, but it could have been anybody else. It has nothing to do with England or Brexit. If I would have to think of all these things when I look at dresses and outfits, I would lose my mind.
“Afterward, social media will go on about Brexit or whatever,” Pierre continued. “They have to do their own version of this. On my side, believe me, I don’t think of it. Because I don’t have time to do that.”
Alex Wong
In the case of Trump’s State of the Union look, Pierre explained that the Burberry trench dress was a practical choice: “It’s very sharp and straight to the point. There is no room for fluff or something cute. I think she is a daring woman, but it has to be right. It is not a costume.” The stylist bought the dress for the First Lady in New York City, according to WWD. The Melton Wool Tailored Coat, from Riccardo Tisci’s debut collection from the brand, retails for $2,390.
Last year Trump wore a white Christian Dior pantsuit and Dolce & Gabbana blouse to the State of the Union. Some interpreted it as a reference to Hillary Clinton’s white inauguration pantsuit and the suffragette movement. Onlookers also noted that Dior is currently led by Maria Grazia Chiuri, a designer who has identified herself and her work as feminist.
Mark Wilson
According to Pierre, though, these interpretations simply aren’t something he thinks about when he’s dressing the First Lady. Her outfits may ignite conversation, but they’re apparently not intended to communicate any larger message.
Last month, a Reddit user and former Sunday Riley employee started a thread on Reddit titled PSA Sunday Riley Employee: We Write Fake Sephora Reviews. “A lot of the really great reviews you read are fake,” the user explained. “We were forced to write fake reviews for our products on an ongoing basis…I saved one of those emails to share here.”
The following screenshot of an internal email had Twitter rumbling. There it was: proof that the one of the biggest resources beauty shoppers use to solicit authentic and unbiased opinions was no longer such. The email detailed directives employees were given to hype up the brand’s products in reviews, including talking points like, “please address how cooling it felt, the green color, the non-drying mask effect, radiance boosting, got rid of your acne after a couple uses,” as well as instructions on how to set up a VPN, or virtual private network, to hide employees’ identities.
The news came as a shock to loyal fans of the brand; many of whom wondered why it needed to take such measures given that the company’s products are revered for their ability to transform your skin. (Good Genes is often cited as one of the best exfoliating serums out there.) A lone nugget of honesty in the memo seemed to point to a rationale: “The power of reviews is mighty, people look to what others are saying to persuade them,” one line read.
That’s exactly the problem—and not only in the beauty industry. Fake reviews are rampant within e-commerce, since online shopping eliminates the option of touching, testing, or swatching a product for yourself. Studies have shown that just having a lot of reviews can actually boost a shopper’s interest in a product—even if a comparable one with fewer reviews is of higher quality. (The reasoning behind this: The more reviews a product receives, the more popular and therefore more desirable it must be.)
And the beauty industry, in which brands face stiff competition and need to find ways to set themselves apart from the crowd, is ripe for all sorts of fakery. (Influencer reviews, which are a whole different beast, also recently came into question over shady practices.) It’s no wonder Estée Laundry, an Instagram account that dubs itself an Anonymous #BeautyCollective, has recently appointed itself a watchdog, calling out fake reviews, copycats, and company scandals. It already boasts 30,500 followers.
The repercussions for these behaviors go way beyond a public shaming. (Not to mention fake reviews could pose legal issues, though they’re usually too small-scale for the FTC, which has strict rules regarding endorsements, to pursue.) Online beauty reviews require some level of trust—namely, that the reviewer actually used the product and is sharing their genuine opinion. The breakdown of that trust can have lasting effects. “Trust and authenticity are keys to buyers today, particularly millennials,” says Russell Winer, Ph.D., a professor and the deputy chair of the marketing department at NYU Stern School of Business. “If that is destroyed, a company can be seriously hurt.”
Sunday Riley, for its part, owned up to it. A few days after the Reddit thread was posted, the brand took to Instagram. “First, you can be assured that the only way that our brand will communicate on all channels, including sephora.com, is with our official brand badge,” the brand said in the caption. “Second, we are going to have our business practices and company culture audited by a third-party and will publicly release the results. Lastly, we are actively listening and would love your constructive feedback on what you would like to see from us.” They followed it up with a post tagged with #TransparencyxSundayRiley.
The issue poses a unique challenge to big-box retailers and e-commerce sites, some which get thousands of shopper reviews a week. Sephora was quick to address the matter with the brand, according to a statement given to Glamour. “Sephora has very strict brand rules regarding our Ratings and Reviews, which we know are an important decision tool for our clients,” the retailer says. “Additionally, we have teams dedicated to protecting the integrity of our Ratings and Reviews, ensuring through detailed moderation that it’s a constant trusted, unbiased, authentic source for all.”
In some cases, retailers enlist third-party companies to sift through reviews. “There’s software that companies can use to spot fakes with high accuracy,” says Winer. Ulta Beauty partners with a third-party agency, PowerReviews, to help them manage their review process and covers both product reviews and product Q&As, according to a representative. It also takes steps to identify “Verified Buyers” with a badge attached to the review. That indicates it’s been written by someone who purchased the product directly from Ulta Beauty—thus minimizing the chances that it’s inauthentic.
Legitimate reviews for MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 Foundation.
While Amazon declined to comment for this story, the site has made headlinesfor issues with fake reviewsin the past. It’s inevitable, really, with that amount of inventory. “Anything that has a really high margin, is highly competitive, and has a low cost of goods—like, I imagine, beauty products—has a problem with inauthentic reviews on Amazon,” says Tommy Noonan, the founder of ReviewMeta.com, a website that analyzes the trustworthiness of Amazon reviews.
An elephant in the room is the retailers themselves. After all, they don’t always have a lot of incentive to take down fake reviews—especially if they’re positive. “The conflict of interest is glaring,” says Noonan. “The higher the rating of the product, the more it’s going to sell.” Sift through the foundations on Sephora and you’d be hard press to find a formula that falls below three stars. (Although, there are products in other categories with 2.5 stars or less, they’re often found buried on page six or seven of options.) Ulrike Gretzel, Ph.D., a senior fellow at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism and the director of research at market research company Netnografica, agrees. “Retail platforms often display products based on rating scores, and the average rating score is often the only thing consumers see right under the product name,” she explains. “This means that consumers will not even look at products that receive low average ratings.” And if they’re not looking at them, they’re probably not buying.
That leaves a lot of the sleuthing up to us. Aside from looking for vetted reviews, like those that stem from verified purchases, you can take matters into your own hands by looking for the hallmarks of a fake review. “The main one is a lack of detail about the product implying that the reviewer hasn’t actually used it,” says Winer. “Sometimes, a bunch of fake reviews show up at once if the competitor’s employees have been told to do this; check the timestamps on the reviews.” Fake reviews will also often be shorter—since posters may not put as much time or effort into it if they have a ton of them to write.
He also recommends that you focus on the reviews that fall in the middle of the range—so, if the rating is one to five stars, look at the reviews that give two to four stars. “The fives are generally uniformly enthusiastic, [while] the ones are the opposite,” Winer explains. “You get more information from the middle group, as they usually list pluses and minuses, which help more.”
It’s far from a perfect system and it’s disappointing that there aren’t more ways to deter fake reviews. Not only do they undermine truly good quality brands, but they also hurt and mislead customers who spend money on products that work—or so they think. While verifying purchases and, yes, maybe calling it out when it happens will help, in the long-run, brands and retailers alike need to continue to hold themselves to a higher standard. After all, if a product isn’t getting rave reviews, maybe the solution is to re-work the formula instead of simply duping fans.
In the world of royals, it’s hard to know anything for sure. Does Meghan Markle stroll outside with her dog and pick up after it? If onlookers are to be believed, yes. Every time the wind blows, does William remember what it’s like to have hair? Probably not. The one royal theory that historically holds weight is the legend of Kate Middleton’s hair. Right before big, usually pregnancy-related news comes out of the palace, she debuts a freshened-up hairstyle, cut, or color. And because immediately after a woman gets married (or engaged) there’s a frenzy to ask when she’s having kids, people are wondering if the same hair theory will apply to Meghan. Because if it does, they’ve found something to talk about.
As we all know, people will latch onto anything for royal baby significance. So while Meghan’s sleek buns and smooth waves are well-documented, she attended Monday’s inaugural Coach Core Awards in Loughborough, England, with straightened hair. Straight hair isn’t ground-breaking, but it is a notable departure from her usual routine. And because any tiny change in texture gives people an excuse to talk, people are speculating that it means she’s pregnant.
PHOTO: Karwai Tang
PHOTO: Karwai Tang
PHOTO: Karwai Tang
PHOTO: Samir Hussein
PHOTO: Karwai Tang
PHOTO: WPA Pool
PHOTO: Samir Hussein
Sisters-in-law probably do talk, but given that people are thirsty to compare Meghan and Kate in every way, we’re taking the chatter with a grain of salt (TBT to middle school and the politics of “copying”). Twitter for its part has lots of feelings on the matter:
It could be that she was just making the most of her chance to get on the court and work up some volume that way, while also taking advantage of the prime hair flip opportunities (or she knew an updo would fall out). And maybe she enjoyed the way Prince Harry fixed her hair in the wind last week, and decided to go loose from there.
But, let’s be real, she probably just felt like wearing her hair straight.
It seems like every few months, there’s a new aspect of Friends to discuss, like when we learned why all the walls were purple in Monica’s apartment. Or that we’ve been singing the wrong lyrics to the theme song this whole time. But one thing that hasn’t been explored yet? All the books read in the hit ’90s show—and what they mean for the characters.
The books that the crew—yes, including Joey—choose have a lot of significance, once you start digging. Some serve as a subtle insight into the character’s mindset at the time (see: the irony of Ross reading The Idiot). Others move the plot forward, like a birthday gift Chandler buys for Joey’s girlfriend because he has feelings for her. A few notable ones even foreshadow events to come. They all, however, show us something deeper about Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Monica.
But before we begin, a disclaimer: We didn’t include newspapers, magazines, or any books that are hanging out in the background at Central Perk. We’re talking strictly about books that the characters really read in an episode. So, for example, even though we saw the section where Ross’ dissertation lives in the library, no one ever actually reads it. Plenty of people have made out in front of it, though.
Presenting: The One With All The Books.
Season 1, Episode 9: “The One Where Underdog Gets Away”
Susan, the partner of Ross’ ex-wife Carole, reads this classic children’s tale to their unborn baby. The story’s all about the unpredictable force that comes with being in power. Yertle’s the king of the pond who perches on top of a stack of his turtle subjects, so that he can better see his kingdom. But one of the turtles, Mack, burps and Yertle’s knocked off his throne, leaving Mack as the new king. At the time of its publication, this was undoubtedly a comment on classism. But in this context, the story of the new hot turtle in town feels like a subtle address of the fact that the show totally recast Carol in this episode. (The original actress, Anita Barone, was replaced by Jane Sibbett.)
Season 1, Episode 11: “The One With Mrs. Bing”
Euphoria Unbound by Nora Bing
Unfortunately, this book doesn’t exist IRL. But Nora’s erotica novel does inspire Rachel to write her own sexy book, the first chapter of which appears at the end of the episode. And since this takes place a few episodes after Rachel begins her love affair with Paolo, we can understand the true meaning of this book to be just another cold reminder to Ross that Rachel is shacking up with another dude.
Season 1, Episode 12: “The One With The Dozen Lasagnas”
The Birth Book: Everything You Need To Know To Have A Safe And Satisfying Birth by William Sears and Martha Sears
Ross is preparing to be a father—and like anyone who can’t get enough of academia, he’s got a bag full of books to get him ready. Though there are several titles, the one we can see clearly is The Birth Book. It’s fitting that he’s most involved in a book co-written by two people, because it reminds us that Susan and Carol will be raising the baby as co-parents, and Ross is the third wheel.
Season 1, Episode 24: “The One Where Rachel Finds Out”
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
Rachel receives this book from Joey as a birthday present. Joey explains that the book—typically reserved for graduations—got him through some hard times. But what about the places Rachel might go? Um, how about TO THE AIRPORT TO TELL ROSS SHE LOVES HIM? Because that is what she does minutes later, when Chandler accidentally reveals Ross’ feelings.
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Season 2, Episode 3: “The One Where Heckles Dies”
My Big Book Of Grievances by Mr. Heckles
Before Mean Girls gave us The Burn Book, we had Mr. Heckles keeping scathing tabs on the gang. The purpose of this book—and just about everything else we find in Heckles’ apartment—is to give Chandler a Scrooge treatment, to show him what’s to come if he continues on this path. But this book is really about grievances, which sets us up for the first big fight between the friends two episodes later, when Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey complain they don’t make enough money to do all the things Chandler, Monica, and Ross suggest.
Season 2, Episode 19: “The One Where Eddie Won’t Go”
Be Your Own Windkeeper
Phoebe and Monica introduce Rachel to this new self-help book, which, unfortunately, isn’t real outside of the Friends universe. What is real, though, are the book’s sentiments of being a wind goddess and not letting men drink from the pool of your inner power. Perhaps it’s the empowerment of this fake book that bolsters Rachel’s sense of self and gets her to sing “Copacabana” at Barry and Mindy’s wedding just a few episodes later.
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Season 3, Episode 1: “The One With The Princess Leia Fantasy”
For the most part, we haven’t included the art books hanging around the Central Perk that nobody reads. But in this case, we can see clearly that Chandler’s spending time with one about fish. Perhaps this is because Janice has made one of her (many) re-entries into his life and Chandler is, um, on the hook? On Janice’s hook. OK, work with us here.
Sure, this episode is mostly about Monica using a jam-making project to distract her from being sad about Richard, but it’s also the episode where Ross teaches Chandler how to do the hug-and-roll to get more space sleeping next to Janice. At first, it can seem like Chandler reading a book about being alone for a hundred years sets up the idea that he’s just trying to get some space from Janice. But the book isn’t called 6-8 Hours Of Solitude—it’s a century. As in, Chandler is still so undateable at this point in time he will almost certainly be alone for the next hundred years.
Season 3, Episode 12: “The One With All The Jealousy”
Monica’s wrapping up a shift as the fake boob-wearing chef in the ‘50s diner as the sexy busboy Julio reads this book of fancy erotic poetry. This lays the groundwork for Julio to write his poem “The Empty Vase” about Monica, but it also allows lyricism to play a central theme in the episode, like when Monica hires the barbershop quartet to publicly dump Julio with song.
Season 3, Episode 13: “The One Where Monica And Richard Are Just Friends”
This might seem like some cute little book swap between Joey and Rachel, but here’s the truth: Just three episodes prior, Joey tells Rachel she needs to quit her job at the Central Perk to get “the fear.” In other words, to put herself in a position where she has nothing to fall back on, and she’s forced to pursue her career in fashion. What better way to get “the fear” than by reading one of the scariest books of all time? As for Joey reading Little Women, he ultimately finds it too sad and scary and wants to put it in the freezer. And since any insight into the actual thoughts and feelings of women would counteract the code by which Joey lives, of course he wants to hide it away.
Meanwhile, on the more serious side, Ross is reading the iconic Studs Terkel book about race while sitting at the Central Perk—before he and Chandler notice Phoebe’s current boyfriend is wearing gym shorts that show his junk.
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Season 3, Episode 14: “The One With Phoebe’s Ex-Partner”
Rachel and Ross are in bed, and Ross is reading The Idiot while arguing that it’s inappropriate for Rachel to go to a fashion lecture with her colleague Mark. So, Ross commits to going with Rachel to eliminate Mark from the outing. The takeaway here: Ross is an actual idiot.
When Rachel learns Ross is bringing a date to see Joey’s new play, she scrambles to find one too. No wonder she’s reading a classic book about rekindling a love life when the episode opens.
Meanwhile, Chandler’s reading The Bear Went Over The Mountain. This one’s got all the appeal of a kid’s book trapped in the body of an adult novel. If that isn’t Chandler, I don’t know what is.
Everyone’s out in Montauk to join Phoebe as she meets the woman who turns out to be her birth mother. And by everyone, we mean Ross has brought his new girlfriend, Bonnie, along. Rachel doesn’t love this—and while she’s reading this Didion novel, Bonnie complains that her long hair is too tough for the beach. So much sand! Rachel incepts Bonnie into shaving her head…and you might say that’s the last thing Ross wanted.
Season 4, Episode 1: “The One With The Jellyfish”
“Does It?” By Rachel Karen Green
The letter Rachel wrote Ross, which we may as well title “Does It?” in honor of the ultimate question at hand, is 18 pages front and back—it might as well count as a short book. It was a list of Rachel’s shortcomings that first undid this couple, so it’s natural that a written document brings them back together.
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Season 4, Episode 3: “The One With The Cuffs”
“V” Volume, The Encyclopedia
Joey purchases the single volume of “V” from the encyclopedia salesman. Why is this significant? Well, despite all the entries under “V,” Joey still has no concept of the timeless The Velveteen Rabbit, which comes into play three episodes later.
Season 4, Episode 5: “The One With Joey’s New Girlfriend”
This is at a time when Ross and Rachel have moved beyond the discomfort of being exes in the same room and are in a full-on rivalry to show off their new dates in front of each other. Rachel’s reading Anthem, a dystopian book about socialism, at the Central Perk when Ross tosses a napkin with a woman’s phone number in her face. Rachel’s reading this book to suggest she’s far too mature to play into Ross’ games, but when she starts dating an NYU student we see she really was paying attention to Ross’ antics—and proving that no one ever really reads that book.
Season 4, Episode 6: “The One With The Dirty Girl”
Chandler goes through a lot of trouble to get this book as a gift for Kathy, Joey’s girlfriend that he has feelings for, but ultimately tells her it’s from Joey. The story’s about a rabbit toy who becomes real thanks to the love of a child. So maybe we could say it’s like Kathy is the rabbit, who becomes a real romantic interest for Chandler, thanks to the love of a child (Joey).
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Season 4, Episode 13: “The One With Rachel’s Crush”
In the previous episode, Phoebe agreed to be a surrogate for Frank and Alice. In “The One With Rachel’s Crush,” she picks up *What to Expect When You’re Expecting” to, well, learn what to expect. And while this book allegedly covers everything Phoebe needs to know about her pregnancy, it didn’t include one thing that truly shocked her: that she’d want to eat meat. (Note: Joey also reads this book in season eight to prep for Rachel’s baby.)
Season 4, Episode 15: “The One With All The Rugby”
Monica and Rachel have lost their apartment to Chandler and Joey after a wild game of trivia, and Monica cannot rest until she knows the function of the switch near the door in her new apartment. She’s reading this book and sipping a glass of wine when Rachel comes home to find that the woman reading about a hole in the head has also left 7-10 actual holes in the wall and floor, having tried to locate the wiring for the switch.
Season 4, Episode 18: “The One With Rachel’s New Dress”
Phoebe is naming one of the triplets and trying to decide what to choose. Of course, the idea of choosing a name isn’t just for the baby; several episodes later, Phoebe reveals for the first time her alter ego: Regina Phalange.
Season 4, Episode 21: “The One With The Invitation”
Chandler’s reading this book to prep for the big trip to London for Ross and Emily’s wedding. But why is Chandler the only one reading about the British city? Maybe the book is foreshadowing that he’ll access a lot more than he bargained for in London…like Monica.
Season 5, Episode 7: “The One Where Ross Moves In”
Monica’s reading this book at the Central Perk while Rachel sees Danny (the yeti) carrying a box of liquor. He says he’s having a party, and Rachel launches into an episode-long sports analogy about the politics of dating that never really reaches its conclusion. The ball’s in whose court? We don’t know. But Rachel’s wild musings about her non-relationship with Danny are juxtaposed with a practical guide to dating.
Season 5, Episode 9: “The One With Ross’ Sandwich”
Rachel and Phoebe are taking a literature class together, but Rachel isn’t really reading the books. If Wuthering Heights is about how destructive jealousy and revenge can be, and Jane Eyre is about the evolution of a character, then it’s safe to say that both literary themes are applied to the main plot of this episode, which is that Ross loses his shit over someone eating his sandwich and is forced to take leave from work.
Season 5, Episode 17: “The One With Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss”
Monica’s reading this book at her apartment, but the book is really a foreshadowing of what’s going to happen with Phoebe. In this episode, Phoebe meets Gary, the cop whose badge she found at the coffee shop, and they start dating. Just four episodes later, Phoebe dumps him after he literally shoots a bird.
Season 5, Episode 22: “The One With Joey’s Big Break”
Ross is reading this classic tale of self-discovery in the episode before he goes to Vegas and drunkenly marries Rachel. The book’s central message is about following your dreams—which is perhaps what convinces him to lie to Rachel and not get their marriage annulled so he can realize his dream of not getting divorced for once.
Season 6, Episode 2: “The One Where Ross Hugs Rachel”
Does this book seem familiar? It’s the book Rachel’s reading when Monica tells her Chandler’s moving in and Rachel must move out. It’s also the same book Monica reads back in season four, when she and Rachel lose their apartment. How fitting that Rachel’s reading this book when she’s about to lose her apartment again.
Season 6, Episode 13: “The One With Rachel’s Sister”
Rachel’s sister Jill, played by Reese Witherspoon, is in town, and Phoebe tells Rachel she senses a spark between Jill and Ross. Rachel puts on a faux maturity about it and mistakenly convinces Jill to go out with Ross. All while reading The Art Of Happiness, which we can only assume she was staring at, fuming, and not actually reading.
Meanwhile, Monica is sick but trying to convince Chandler she’s not. In fact, she could really go for some sex. So though Chander is the one reading Rebuilding The Indian, a story of a man rebuilding a motorcycle and rebuilding his life, it seems Monica’s the one on a quest. With a little bit of Vapor Rub, she does succeed in getting Chandler into bed.
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Season 6, Episode 14: “The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry”
In the previous episode, Chandler is trying to take care of Monica while she’s sick. In this episode, it’s Chandler who needs the proverbial chicken soup. Of course, it’s not the gut-wrenching tales of humanity that break Chandler in the end—it’s that Ross and Rachel just can’t work things out.
Season 7, Episode 15: “The One With Joey’s New Brain”
Why is Ross reading a book about Beethoven? Probably because it’s the episode where he’s preparing to play the bagpipes at Chandler and Monica’s wedding. He’s getting in touch with his musical side! And as for the “mystery solved?” Well, thanks to Ross’ inability to be subtle, ever, we know he’s preparing the song “Celebration.”
Though Ross is reading a book called Dutch For Beginners in this episode, there’s no exact version of this book in real life. However, you can absolutely find Rachel’s book, The Girlfriend’s Guide To Pregnancy. In this episode, Rachel’s reading it when Joey asks her to keep living with him when the baby comes. If you think about it, Joey has the perfect apartment to raise a baby. We’re talking about a place where if you spill spaghetti on the floor, you just leave it. That’s the entirety of Joey’s guide to pregnancy.
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Season 8, Episode 10: “The One With Monica’s Boots”
Joey’s sister Dina is pregnant and reading this book, but Dina’s not the dummy. That title belongs, as always, to Joey as Rachel has to educate him on how hypocritical it is to think Dina’s not ready to have a baby on her own.
Season 8, Episode 11: “The One With The Creepy Holiday Card”
Ross can’t get enough of this author, and how “Ross” is it to be reading a book about death? He’s looking at it when Mona asks him to send out a holiday card together, and he immediately realizes he’s made a mistake in their relationship. Of course, when we consider the question “Will the circle be unbroken?” we can only assume that for Ross it means will his never-ending circle of bad relationships ever end?
365 Things combines the elements of motherhood with the appeal of prayer. The New Mom’s Manual provides over 800 tips from almost as many moms. The only thing that will get Emma to stop crying, though, is Monica’s embrace. This is a nice change of pace from the earlier seasons, when Ben would cry only when he was near Monica. So while these books appear to be intended for Rachel, they’re actually setting up the idea of Monica as a mother, which happens later in the series.
Season 9, Episode 15: “The One With The Mugging”
Science Boy by Ross Geller
Another book that exists only in the Friends universe, Science Boy plays an important role. A teenaged Phoebe mugged a teenaged Ross, way before they knew each other. When Ross bemoans the mugging as the loss of his original artwork for Science Boy, Phoebe recalls keeping it and returns it to Ross. This is major, because it shows that Ross at an early age chose science as his career.
There are several books read at Emma’s first birthday. Riding The Storm Out: Coping With Postpartum Depression and Sex And The Single Mother aren’t real, but Love You Forever sure is. And it’s interesting that Joey reads this book aloud, just a few episodes after kissing Rachel.
Season 10, Episode 13: “The One Where Joey Speaks French”
Essential French
Like Ross’ Dutch For Beginners, there’s no exact version of Joey’s book. Though Joey learns French for an audition, the book here foreshadows one of the final moments of the series: Rachel preparing to move to Paris. It’s safe to assume that Joey still knows all the French pickup lines.
For Game of Thrones fans, anticipation over the impending eighth and final season is enough to turn stomachs into knots. For eight years—almost a decade!—we’ve been following the clashing kingdoms of Westeros, worshipping Khaleesi‘s relentless queenly fierceness (and icy winter fashion, and platinum waves), and falling a tiny bit in love with IKEA-rug-wearing Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington. Apparently, Harington’s loved being on the show as much as we’ve loved watching him it, and he’s quite torn up about how it all ends.
“I’m really emotional about it. We had the read-through last week, so I know everything,” he told “The One Show” this week. “I cried at the end—not over anything particular that happened—but it’s been eight years, and no one cares about it more than we do.”
“It’s been an institution longer than any other institution I’ve been in,” he-of-the-perfectly-wavy-hair-even-in-blizzards continued. “School, drama school, anything. I get a bit weepy thinking about it. It’s going to be a strange year saying goodbye to everyone and having last scenes with this person and that person. Not only you’re attached to it, loads of people around the world are attached to it.”
(Well, not everyone: he won’t be saying goodbye to fiancéeRose Leslie, who played his former love Ygritte on the show. Ah, Game of Thrones, you work in wonderful ways.)
According to a Guardian profile about Harington published on Saturday, Jon Snow was a role he auditioned for shortly after drama school—so there’s no doubt that this is a hard one to walk away from (though the show didn’t actually kick off for another four years after he tried out).
Sigh. All good things must come to an end, but are we sure there’s no hope for an encore season??
