With over two hundred episodes spread across ten 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 of the main characters having clear roles in each one. However, there are certain episodes that have become iconic over time, truly standing out and helping the show become the high-quality sitcom everyone knows it as today, and these are the best Friends episodes of all.
15 “The One With The Red Sweater”
(Season 8, Episode 2)
The beauty of this Friends episode is that it is packed with mystery. The entire episode is all about audiences guessing who the father of Rachel’s baby might be, with the only true clue being the red sweater, that the father left behind. This ends up being picked up by Ross, which provides an amazing reveal as fans realize he and Rachel got back together for at least a night. Friends is obviously a show that is all about comedy in the end, and there are moments of that in this particular episode. However, it’s the tension and anticipation of who is at the center of this big secret that makes this particular episode such a standout.
14 “The One With All The Thanksgivings”
(Season 5, Episode 8)
Every Friends Thanksgiving episode feels like a special event, but the one that stands out is the season give installment titled “The One with All the Thanksgivings”, which brings a lot of fantastic comedy and some truly iconic moments from the series. After having their traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Monica’s, the friends start reminiscing about their worst Thanksgivings. There are several hilarious flashbacks, like Joey putting his head inside a dead turkey and Ross and Chandler’s unforgettable 1980s hairstyles. There is an unfortunate inclusion of jokes about Monica’s appearance when she was younger which has aged poorly, but the sweet resolution with her and Chandler saves it in the end.
13 “The One With All The Resolutions”
(Season 5, Episode 11)
New Year’s Eve episodes of the show are often entertaining and “The One With All The Resolutions” was a great example of that. The episode is all about New Year’s resolutions, as the title suggests, and the group all struggle to keep them from a very early point within the night. However, the funniest part of this episode is all about Ross’s leather pants. His decision to get them in order to be a bit different doesn’t work out well for him in the long run. Seeing his struggles in getting them off is a scenario that brings some of the show’s best physical comedy, with Ross trying all manner of ideas inside a bathroom during a date.
12 “The One With Ross’s Sandwich”
(Season 5, Episode 9)
The main hook of this storyline is all about Ross and the importance of his sacred Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, known as the moist maker. When someone ends up taking it at work, it leads to Ross exploding in anger and showing a completely different side of his personality. Meanwhile, Joey is forced to get creative as he tries to hide Chandler and Monica’s relationship for them, including having to pretend he took off and left his underwear in Monica’s apartment. He proves what a great friend he is in this episode, which gives the episode a signature heartfelt edge, but the situations he ends up in bring a lot of classically comedic scenes as well creating the perfect balance that the show’s known for.
11 “The One In Vegas: Part 2”
(Season 5, Episode 24)
The best Friends season finales offers fans big laughs and some surprises to end the season on. Season 5 wrapped up the group’s trip to Las Vegas. The episode features Ross and Rachel’s inebriated adventures in Vegas which involved them getting married. Meanwhile, Phoebe has to deal with competitiveness when it comes to slot machines, which brings out a different side to her character. Seeing the group out of the usual environment is always a fun experience throughout the series just by giving the group some new situations to react to, and this episode delivered in one of the biggest and most interesting settings. Plus, seeing Monica and Chandler almost get married is a brilliant tease that the show provides within this episode.
10 “The Last One”
(Season 10, Episode 17)
The last episode of Friends is the one episode that made many fans cry (and still does to this day). Ross and Phoebe are trying to catch up to Rachel before her plane takes off and, by mistake, end 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.
9 “The One With The Proposal: Part 2”
(Season 6, Episode 25)
In the season six 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 does want 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.
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. This episode sees Ross tell Chandler his parents dislike him as Ross blamed an odor of marijuana on Chandler when in actual 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.
7 “The One With Monica And Chandler’s Wedding: Part 2”
(Season 7, Episode 24)
There have been a few Friends wedding episodes 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. Meanwhile, Joey provides a much more comedic journey to the altar as he tries to get out of work while Rachel ties it all together with a bombshell ending with the reveal that she’s pregnant.
6 “The One With The Rumor”
(Season 8, Episode 9)
This is another excellent Thanksgiving episode of Friends, and it is an iconic one due to the guest appearance of Brad Pitt. He plays Monica and Ross’s high school friend Will, who Monica runs into him and invites 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 that Ross and Will not only founded the “I Hate Rachel Green Club,” but also started a vicious rumor about her which has aged poorly upon rewatching. However, Pitt makes a fun addition to the gang for this one episode and there is an electric energy with his appearance.
5 “The One With Ross’s Wedding: Part 2”
(Season 4, Episode 24)
The final of season four 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.
4 “The One With The Prom Video”
(Season 2, Episode 14)
In order 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. 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.
3 “The One With The Videotape”
(Season 8, Episode 4)
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 as 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.
2 “The One With The Embryos”
(Season 4, Episode 12)
This episode is a true fan favorite. While Phoebe was getting pregnant, the others decided to go for a friendly wager. What starts out 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 were 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 absolutely 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.
1 “The One Where Everybody Finds Out”
(Season 5, Episode 14)
For many, “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” is the best Friends episode. 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 decided to mess with the couple and Phoebe tries to seduce Chandler in order 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. It is wall-to-wall laughs ending with a touching milestone in Chandler and Monica’s relationship.
