Did Carol and Susan get married? All about the Friends couple as China deletes LGBTQ scenes from show

The beloved sitcom Friends returned to mainland China after nearly 10 years but with certain subplots missing.

After premiering on major Chinese streaming platforms, certain scenes were censored, mainly the LGBTQ plotline in the series, which caused a whirlwind on social media.

Let's take a look at Carol and Susan's relationship as well as the cause behind the censorship.

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The story of Carol and Susan in Friends

Susan and Carol first met at work and had an affair while Carol was married to Ross. Initially, Susan and Ross did not get along as he resented Susan for stealing Carol away from him, and Susan resented Ross for his romantic history with Carol and his awkward behavior around her.

Over time, especially after the birth of Carol and Ross' child, Ben, Susan and Ross put their differences aside and decided to make it work. In the episode titled The One With The Lesbian Wedding, Carol and Susan announced their plans to get married. Initially, Carol's parents refused to attend the wedding, which made Carol reconsider her decision.

Ross was also upset and hesitant to see his ex-wife remarry but decided to encourage her to go ahead with the ceremony despite Carol's parents' opposition. At their wedding reception, Susan thanked Ross for saving the wedding and expressed the wish to dance with him. This resolved their strained relationship.

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China's censorship issue

Friends has always had a huge following in China, where it has informed several generations' understanding of American culture and helped many learn English. A fan of the show, Benjamin Zhao, in Hong Kong said,

"The edit-out is so over the top, and I will not watch it anymore."

In the episode where Carol divorces Ross after realizing she is a lesbian, said scene was deleted. Other suggestive conversations were also edited out of the series. In the original version, Ross mentions another woman's presence in Carol's life while Joey asks if he knew Carol was a lesbian.

Platforms like Bilibili, Tencent, Youku, Sohu, and iQiyi began streaming Friends starting February 11, 2022. Fans of the show took to social media to protest against the censorship of the show, where #FriendsCensored became one of the most trending topics on the channel. It received more than 54 million views but was also later censored by the platform.

The censorship is a result of the Chinese government tightening its grip over the media and entertainment industry. In 2016, China issued new guidelines saying television shows cannot and should not include storylines involving gay relationships, as well as other topics that exaggerate the supposedly dark side of society.