With over 200 episodes spread across 10 seasons, the best Friends episodes deliver outstanding, hilarious, and timeless stories that show why the series was so popular. The sitcom stands as one of television’s most popular, binge-worthy sitcoms, and the extent to which it gripped the worldwide cultural zeitgeist when it first aired in the 1990s and 2000s cannot be overstated. Not even the passage of time seems to affect the significance and relatable nature of Friends, with the recent reunion episode only revitalizing things even further. To this day, people are re-watching Friends, referencing characters, events, and lines from the show, and discussing it with other fans.
The brilliance of Friends is that it is so consistently entertaining that every episode has a rewatchable quality, but the best Friends episodes of all time are among the funniest comedy offerings to ever grace the small screen. Whether it’s emotional moments such as a wedding, or the excitement of trying to keep a relationship secret, there’s something for everyone in each episode, with all the main characters having clear roles. However, certain episodes have become iconic over time, truly standing out and helping the show become the high-quality sitcom everyone knows it as today.
1 “The One Where Everybody Finds Out”
Season 5, Episode 14
For many, “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” is the best Friends episode and is the culmination of one of the greatest storylines in the show’s run. As the title implies, this is the episode in which everybody finds out about Chandler and Monica and the secret relationship they’ve been having. Phoebe sees Monica and Chandler making out from Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment and freaks out.
Later, she and Rachel decide to mess with the couple and Phoebe tries to seduce Chandler to force them out of hiding. Monica and Chandler get wind of their intentions and attempt to foil their plans, which creates a great back-and-forth. The escalating game between the friends is increasingly hilarious with Joey unwillingly being dragged along on the confusing journey and culminating with the hilarious face-off between Chandler and Phoebe.
2 “The One With The Embryos”
Season 4, Episode 12
This episode is a true fan favorite that helps create one of the simplest and most entertaining ongoing storylines from the series. While Phoebe was getting pregnant, the others decided to go for a friendly wager. What starts as a silly bet on whether the gang can guess everything that Rachel bought at the store turns into a full-blown quiz where the stakes are Monica’s apartment and the Chick and the Duck.
The dedication with which Ross approached his task as the test-maker and host is fitting for him and ridiculous at the same time. The questions are hilarious and the answers even more so, with the contestants’ enthusiasm being infectious, making the episode a funny one. It shows some hilarious traits of the various characters from Chandler’s embarrassing upbringing to Monica’s intense competitiveness.
3 “The One With The Videotape”
Season 8, Episode 4 The storyline of Rachel’s pregnancy is made even more interesting by the fact that Ross is the father, suggesting that there is a future for this beloved couple. In this episode, Ross and Rachel try to explain to the others how they ended up in bed together six weeks earlier, but they disagree over a crucial question: who came on to whom? Luckily (and weirdly), Ross has the entire ordeal on tape, but it’s not how people might think.
Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica discover they got fake-numbered by another couple. It becomes an episode about slowly unpicking Ross and Rachel’s time together, and the way different situations interlock, mainly using Joey, is something that brings others into the tale and makes the episode an engaging one. It all builds to the hilarious reveal of the truth.
4 “The One With The Prom Video”
Season 2, Episode 14 This episode takes place in the aftermath of Rachel and Ross being seemingly over before their relationship even had a chance to begin. To give Ross hope that he and Rachel are meant to be together, Phoebe shares the lobster theory with the gang, creating one of the show’s most iconic catchphrases, “he’s her lobster.” Meanwhile, Joey finally makes money and buys Chandler a flashy bracelet, which he secretly hates, and Monica and Ross’s parents drop off some of Monica’s old things, including a videotape.
It turns out the video in question is of Monica and Rachel’s prom night. The tape reveals some fascinating details from the past, most importantly, that Ross was willing to take Rachel to prom. It’s an emotional episode that provides one of Friends’ greatest moments in Ross and Rachel’s relationship when they kiss. It is another fun look back on the past with these characters capped off by this touching moment.
5 “The One With Ross’s Wedding: Part 2”
Season 4, Episode 24 The finale of season 4 is one of those episodes where everything works, every scene is funny, and all the actors are fantastic. In “The One with Ross’s Wedding: Part 2,” a pregnant Phoebe desperately tries to warn the gang that Rachel is coming to London to tell Ross she loves him. It all culminates in the second half of the episode when it’s revealed that Monica and Chandler slept together, and Rachel arrives before the wedding but decides not to say anything.
Just as it seems the wedding was saved, Ross blows it by saying “take thee Rachel” instead of Emily, ending the season with Friends’ biggest cliffhanger ever. There is so much going on in the episode, but it never feels overstuffed or rushed. The reveal of Monica and Chandler is a hilarious and memorable one, while Ross’s mistake reopens the idea of Ross and Rachel in a clever new way.
6″The One With The Rumor”
Season 8, Episode 9 This is another excellent Thanksgiving episode of Friends, and it is an iconic one because of the guest appearance of Brad Pitt. He plays Monica and Ross’s high school friend Will. Monica runs into him and invites him to Thanksgiving dinner, not knowing that Will hates Rachel, who was “a little mean to him in high school.” Soon enough, secrets start coming out and Rachel is hurt and shocked to find out Ross and Will not only founded the “I Hate Rachel Green Club,” but also started a vicious rumor about her.
The episode contains some humor that has not aged very well, but it is not enough to ruin the whole episode. Pitt is a fun addition to the show without overpowering the rest of the cast. There are a lot of fun elements to the installment, such as Joey taking on the challenge that he can eat an entire turkey on his own, leading to good physical comedy.7
“The One With Monica And Chandler’s Wedding: Part 2”
Season
7, Episode 24 There have been a few Friends wedding episodes that always have the potential to be special, and when it involves a couple as beloved as Monica and Chandler, it’s no surprise this one was a hit. Of course, in classic Friends fashion, this episode was able to bring both emotion and humor together. Chandler almost not being able to go through with the wedding, but ultimately showing his love for Monica was a great opportunity for drama that the episode fully exploits. It is a beautiful episode to bring the brilliant storyline of Chandler and Monica’s romance into its next stage.
Meanwhile, Joey provides a much more comedic journey to the altar as he tries to get out of work only to find his drunken costar (Gary Oldman) delayed the production of their movie. It is a beautiful episode to bring the brilliant storyline of Chandler and Monica’s romance into its next stage and the episode continues to add more exciting elements with the last-minute reveal that Rachel is pregnant, setting up a new exciting storyline.
8 “The One Where Ross Got High”
Season 6, Episode 9
Another terrific Ross-centric episode is “The One Where Ross Got High,” which is all about secrecy. It also delves more into the backstory these characters shared before the show which is always fun to learn more about. This episode sees Ross tell Chandler his parents dislike him as Ross blamed an odor of marijuana on Chandler when in fact it was Ross who smoked it when they were younger.
Jack and Judy Geller are two of the show’s most entertaining supporting characters, and they’re at their best in this episode, reacting to all the chaos that’s going on within the group. Rachel also hilariously tries to make a trifle but blends it with a meat dish, which helps to create one of the most memorable episodes of the series. The way which Joey consumes the disaster of a desert without minding it at all is one of the character’s most memorable moments.
9 “The One With The Proposal: Part 2”
Season 6, Episode 25 While Ross and Rachel may have gotten the most focus on the show from beginning to end, the relationship between Chandler and Monica was arguably the better romance on Friends. This is perhaps the best episode to highlight that fact. In the season 6 finale, Chandler does such a great job at making Monica believe that he never wants to get married that he almost pushes her right back to Richard. Because, while Chandler is talking about pigs, Richard tells Monica that he wants to marry her and give her everything she’s ever wanted.
In this hilarious mix-up of an episode, both the characters and the audience are put through an emotional roller coaster before they end up proposing to each other in the show’s most romantic moment. This episode isn’t particularly about the humor but is instead all about the emotions and the love fans have for this couple.
10 “The Last One”
Season 10, Episode 17The last episode of Friends provides an emotional, funny, and satisfying end to one of the most popular shows of all time. While it is a goodbye to the entire cast, the main focus is on the future of Ross and Rachel which has been the hearty of the show from the beginning. Ross and Phoebe are trying to catch up to Rachel before her plane takes off and, by mistake, ends up at the wrong airport.
Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler prepare to leave the famous apartment. While a lot of shows struggle to stick the landing when it comes to finales, this is something that Friends nailed. The show wraps up each of the storylines of the main characters wonderfully if a little predictably. However, it remains a satisfying end for Friends which brought it to a close in a way that many fans wanted to see.
