Assuming that season 9 is the final season (and that looks like a safe assumption right now) what is going to happen, and how will it all end?
In the past, the season-ending cliffhangers have always set up the main storylines for the next season, and I think it will be the same this year. So that sets up two big story arcs for next season:
-Ross/Rachel/Emma/Joey. Ross and Rachel attempting to finally define what kind of relationship they have; perhaps exploring some kind of relationship between Rachel and Joey; Rachel learning how to be a mother to Emma.
-Mondler trying to concieve.
I'll do the latter one first. Short of CCA getting pregnant IRL, I can't imagine that Mondler will have an easy time of it. I'm sure they will have trouble getting pregnant, and that will bring out the control-freak, drill-sergeant side of Monica. She'll be obsessively tracking her ovulation and demanding sex from Chandler at the most unoppurtune times, in the most unromantic ways, simply because she's ovulating. Hilarity ensues.
Now, this may be a little out there, but I had a thought. Suppose C&M go to a doctor to find out why they can't get pregnant, and they discover that it's Chandler's fault. I can imagine them finally deciding that they will get their baby by Monica going to a sperm bank, that would be a logical conclusion. Now here's where it could get interesting: Joey's sperm is still there at the sperm bank. I know they sort of did this story already (can't remember the name of the episode, sorry) but it was _very_ tongue-in-cheek at the time, and it was way before Mondler got together. This time it could potentially be serious, and it could also give a very interesting twist to the Chandler/Joey friendship, and ultimately could demonstrate how close those two are, if Chandler were to decide that he wants Joey to be the father of Monica's baby. And there was a teensy bit of foreshadowing for this in the season finale ("I do want to have a baby, I just want Joey to be the father.").
Perhaps it would be a bit too soap-opera-y, but if handled right I think it could be interesting. Another thought is that I think it's likely that Mondler's troubles concieving a baby could cause some serious friction in their relationship, perhaps even a temporary break-up. In 4 years they have never had any serious problems in their relationships - that's gotta be some kind of modern record for a TV couple. They're overdue for some kind of major relationship trouble. Still, I feel certain that the series will end with them still together. The series must end with goodwill between all 6 characters, and there simply isn't enough time in one season for C&M to go from happily married and trying to concieve a baby together, to happily divorced, no longer in love but still friends.
I also think next season will end with Monica getting pregnant. If the writers spend a big chunk of next season on the story arc of Monica trying to get pregnant, then that story has to be resolved somehow at the end. It could resolve with Monica deciding that she no longer wants to get pregnant, or knowing that she can't and deciding to adopt, but I doubt it.
I also feel certain that sometime next season we will see a scene between Monica and Rachel, where Monica confides that she is jealous of Rachel for getting pregnant so easily, and Rachel in turn tells Monica that at least she has a husband and a stable relationship. All very good-natured, of course, but the writers do seem to like to play C&M and R&R off of each other.
As for R&R, I keep going back and forth but right now I do think they will end up together, though I also think the whole Joey thing will be an obstacle for them throughout most of next season. This may sound strange, but what mainly has me convinced is the portrayal of Emma's birth. I really believe that the writers of "Friends" wrote Emma's arrival into the world as a metaphor for Ross and Rachel's relationship as a whole.
Think about it. Emma took for-ev-er to arrive. Rachel was many days past her due date before she ever went into labor (which happened right after Ross kissed her), and then her labor lasted an excruciatingly long time ("Five women have come and gone with their babies!"). Kind of like R&R themselves have taken an eternity to get together. And then when Emma finally did arrive, she was backwards. Kind of like 2 people having a baby together before they realize that they are in love and can commit to each other - a lot of people would say that was backwards.
But in spite of the interminable wait, and in spite of being backwards, the baby did arrive and was perfectly healthy. If I'm right about Emma's birth being a metaphor for R&R's relationship, then they should finally get their day when they arrive and are healthy together as a couple. But I also think they won't arrive there until late next season. First Rachel has some more growing up to do. JA is brilliant, but Rachel can be very immature sometimes, and I really do believe that one of the reasons the writers decided to make Rachel have a baby was to force her to grow up.
And I do think the Joey thing will be an obstacle. It's pretty obvious the way it was written that there was nothing truly serious about the Joey/Rachel proposal. Joey didn't mean to make it, and Rachel really didn't mean to accept it. But the fact that it happened at all might cause Rachel to reconsider whether or not she might have any feelings for Joey. And/or Ross finds out and becomes upset and jealous, and then that throws up a roadblock between R&R. There are a lot of ways it can happen, but I'm pretty sure this "proposal" will throw up some kind of obstacle between R&R, something that will take them most of next season to overcome.
Of course the ending that I'm predicting (C&M still happily married and expecting a baby, R&R finally together and happy with their daughter) may all be a bit too pat and obvious. Especially if they decide to finally put Joey and Pheobe together. Maybe that's a little too pollyanna. Then again, this is a comedy after all. And I think the series really has to end on a mostly happy note, with all 6 characters still very close to each other. I'm sure the writers will try to think of some twist at the end, but it could be a hundred different things. Perhaps some character(s) will have to move away, out of NYC, because of work. I think that's a very likely ending. Or perhaps Rachel will end up with Joey, with Ross stepping aside and deciding to let Joey be the "father" to his child. Or Chandler deciding to let Joey be the biological father of his child. Heck, maybe Rachel gives her baby to C&M to raise. Okay, that isn't very likely but there has always had a slight incestuous vibe between these 6 characters. The series may end with some sort of twisty cross-pollination between the couples, all the better to reinforce how close these 6 people are to each other.
So, does anybody else out there have any opinions on this? Agree? Disagree? What would you like to see happen and how would you like the show to end once and for all?