The 10 Best ‘Friends’ Episodes, According to Fans
In one of the most-anticipated pop culture events of the year, the Friends cast is getting back together for a TV special—and HBO Max’s promos for May 27’s Friends: The Reunion show the stars revisiting moments from two episodes in particular, “The One With the Embryos” and “The One Where Everybody Finds Out.”
Perhaps not so coincidentally, those two Friends installments rank among the 10 most-loved episodes of the classic NBC comedy, as identified by the website ShowSkimmer.
Scroll down to see all 10 of these beloved episodes from the ’90s sitcom. And yes, some of Friends’ classic Thanksgiving episodes made the cut!
Season 1, Episode 24: “The One Where Rachel Finds Out”
As Joey (Matt LeBlanc) participates in a fertility study in this Season 1 finale, an offhand comment from Chandler (Matthew Perry) helps Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) realize that Ross (David Schwimmer) is in love with her. “‘I can’t believe he remembered.’ … One of my favorite lines in the whole series,” one fan tweeted.
Season 2, Episode 14: “The One with the Prom Video”
Half a season later, Rachel realizes how long Ross has been pining for her, after an old prom video reveals his teenage chivalry. Raved a Twitter fan: “One of the best episodes of Friends ever. I cry every time.”
Season 4, Episode 12: “The One with the Embryos”
With their apartments on the line, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Rachel challenge Chandler and Joey to a trivia contest about themselves. “The fact that the Friends cast recreated that trivia scene from ‘The One with the Embryos’ for the reunion is [probably] my fave tidbit from all the updates today,” a fan tweeted on May 19. “Literally one of my fave scenes and episodes ever.”
Season 5, Episode 8: “The One with All the Thanksgivings”
©Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
As the gang recounts their worst Thanksgiving ever, Chandler tells Monica he loves her… while she’s wearing poultry as a headpiece. “It’s a time-hopping, toe-slicing, hootenanny to be sure,” the Friends ’til the End podcasters wrote on Twitter.
Season 5, Episode 14: “The One Where Everybody Finds Out”
© Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
After seeing Monica and Chandler in the throes of passion from across the street, Rachel and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) try to prank them, with Phoebe hitting on Chandler. But Monica catches on and calls that bluff. “Easily the funniest episode of Friends,” tweeted one devotee.
Season 6, Episode 24/25: “The One with the Proposal”
(c)NBC/courtesy Everett Collection
After Chandler conspires to make his wedding proposal to Monica a surprise, she flips the script by proposing to him… with the help of dozens of candles, in what must be a fire code violation. “Just rewatched [the episode] again, and now I’m in the feels again,” a fan tweeted.
Season 8, Episode 2: “The One with the Red Sweater”
After Chandler ties the knot with Monica, he and Ross attend another wedding to fake his and Monica’s wedding photos. Meanwhile, this episode’s namesake garment exposes Ross’ hookups with Rachel. Tweeted one admirer: “It only took me 6-plus years, but I finally figured out my favorite Friends episode is ‘The One with the Red Sweater.’”
Season 8, Episode 4: “The One with the Videotape”
© Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
After Ross and Rachel bicker over their origin story, they get the gang together to watch their accidental sex tape. They don’t watch the X-rated parts, of course—just the part where Rachel deploys Joey’s “Western Europe backpacking” pickup technique. “Like, literally the best episode ever!” a fan wrote on Twitter.
Season 8, Episode 9: “The One with the Rumor”
© Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Jennifer Aniston’s then-husband Brad Pitt guest-starred in this episode, playing an old classmate who, it turns out, joined Ross in a Rachel-hating club during high school. In the words of a Twitter fan: “‘The One with the Rumor’ is an amazing episode of Friends. That is all.”
Season 10, Episode 17/18: “The Last One”
In the Friends series finale, Chandler and Monica move to the ‘burbs, Joey saves a pair of baby birds and “Phalanges” Phoebe helps Ross get his happily-ever-after with Rachel. Tweeted one teary-eyed fan, “The Friends series finale will always make me cry. [I don’t care] how many times I’ve seen it.”
Friends: The Reunion, Thursday, May 27, HBO Max
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