Friends Fans Spot Joey Tribbiani Continuity Error That “Ruins” Character

With 10 seasons and more than 230 episodes, it comes as no surprise to learn that Friends has its fair share of mistakes and continuity errors. Over the past two decades, viewers have pointed out inconsistencies regarding the show’s timeline, subtle character inaccuracies, and more. Now, fans have brought attention to a Joey Tribbiani continuity mishap that many claim “ruins” the beloved character.

Over on Reddit, one user noticed the Joey error in question after watching the Friends Season 1 episode “The One with the Thumb.” During the episode, that originally aired in 1994, Chandler (Matthew Perry) references a common lie parents tell their children that pets are sent to “the farm” when they’ve really been “put to sleep” — prompting Ross (David Schwimmer) to respond that his parents really did take their family dog to a farm. The rest of the group, including Joey, then look on in disbelief as it becomes clear Ross still believes his parents’ fib.

The Reddit user then points out that a decade later, in the final season of Friends, Joey falls for the exact same lie after Chandler replaces their pet chick and duck. “So, does Joey actually know about ‘the farm’?” the user asked, inspiring fellow Friends fans to discuss the “many inconsistencies” between Series 1 Joey Tribbianai and the character in later seasons.

“Season 1 - 4 Joey is not the same Joey at all whatsoever in the slightest in (especially) season 9 - 10 Joey,” one fan commented. “Joey got dumbed down so much during the series; by season 10 it was criminal,” another user chimed in, while one fan also wrote: “I’ve been watching Season 1 again and Joey is actually quite dry and sarcastic at times.”

Others took a different view, however, and claimed that Joey’s inconsistency with “the farm” lie is “not a continuity issue.” One user added: “It would make sense that a chicken would move out of Manhattan to a farm. He probably wouldn’t have even connected the dots.”