Friends – Season 8 Episodes Ranked

Season 8 of Friends is a bit of a strange one – I remember it being the last great season of the show, but in actual fact it’s a little sub-par compared to the other fantastic seasons.

I still had a fun time with it nonetheless – how would I rank every episode?

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23 – The One with Joey’s Interview

Rating: D

Cliiiip shooooow episooooooooode.

22 – The One with the Creepy Holiday Card

Rating: C

I completely forgot just how boring “The One with the Creepy Holiday Card” is.

Ross and Mona have relationship troubles, Rachel is horny, and Monica dislikes Chandler’s boss. Entirely skippable.

21 – The One with the Stain

Rating: C+

Sean Penn returns in “The One with the Stain”, and he’s alright. It’s not the best guest actor performance this show has ever produced, and his plotline with Phoebe is distinctly average.

There’s also a plotline of a maid “wearing” Monica’s jeans, and Rachel moves out of Joey’s apartment.

20 – The One with the Birthing Video

Rating: C+

Joey makes a dog depressed, Mona doesn’t like Rachel moving in with Ross, and Chandler and Monica accidentally watch a birthing video. Nothing sensational here.

19 – The One with the Secret Closet

Rating: C+

Monica having a secret dirty closet is a very odd premise, and her moaning during massages is a joke that goes nowhere.

Also, I think there’s a plot hole / editing mistake in this one – Joey is both in the hospital with Rachel and in the apartment with Chandler at the same time. How did that slip past the producers?

18 – The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath

Rating: C+

Chandler takes a bath, and apparently that’s an interesting enough plot point to carry a sitcom episode.

Rachel and Ross also pick baby names, and Joey is still madly in love with Rachel.

17 – The One Where Rachel Is Late

Rating: B-

Chandler sleeping during Joey’s premier is a little strange, and Phoebe / Monica betting on Rachel’s due date is a little cruel, but both plotlines work well enough.

16 – The One with the Cooking Class

Rating: B-

I love how Monica gets really competitive over a beginner’s cooking class, and Joey proves he’s not half bad either!

Chandler also fails an interview at the eleventh hour, and Rachel hates Ross’s date.

15 – The One Where Joey Tells Rachel

Rating: B-

To be honest, I find the “Joey and Rachel fall in love” plotline across Seasons 8,9 and 10 to be one of Friends’ lowest points.

It’s not too egregious at the start, but it still feels wholly unnecessary. Phoebe also finds Monica’s “soulmate”, which is a decent plotline.

14 – The One with Rachel’s Date

Rating: B-

The A-plot is the weakest in “The One with Rachel’s Date”, as I much prefer the gags that Chandler’s co-workers don’t know his name and Phoebe / Monica have to destroy a guy’s life on the same day.

13 – The One with the Tea Leaves

Rating: B-

I used to rank “The One with the Tea Leaves” as one of the very worst episodes, but in fairness to it they don’t hold back with any of their plotlines.

Phoebe dates a creep, Ross gets his shirt back from Mona, and Rachel tells Joey that her boss wanted to buy her baby. Not the funniest episode, but I was sure entertained.

12 – The One Where Joey Dates Rachel

Rating: B-

An innocent, actually quite sweet start to the Joey / Rachel storyline.

Monica, Chandler and Phoebe all play with a Pac-Man machine, and Ross has to leg it to the other side of the city for his lectures.

11 – The One with the Baby Shower

Rating: B

The baby shower and Rachel’s mum desperately wanting to move in with her are some mundane plotlines, but I like how Ross puts his foot down.

The real stand-out is “Bamboozled”, a crazy gameshow that all of the guys help Joey to audition for.

10 – The One with Monica’s Boots

Rating: B

Fairly solid stuff across the board – Monica’s boots are too tight, Phoebe tries to meet Sting and Joey’s sister is pregnant. That latter plotline is great foreshadowing for the Joey / Rachel relationship.

9 – The One After I Do

Rating: B

A good follow-up to Chandler and Monica’s wedding.

The fallout of Rachel’s pregnancy reveal is handled well, and I love how Ross has to sit at the kids table to impress Mona.

8 – The One in Massapequa

Rating: B

Alec Baldwin has become a controversial figure in recent years, but episodes like “The One in Massapequa” prove he’s a very talented comedian.

Parker’s positivity gets under everyone’s skin in brilliant ways, and Ross and Rachel have to lie to everyone about their marriage and what it would have looked like.

7 – The One with the Stripper

Rating: B

Chandler gets his long-overdue bachelor party, except Monica accidentally hires a hooker instead of a stripper.

The Ross and Mona plotline seems weak at first, but it’s all worth it for the calamitous phone call at the end.

6 – The One with the Red Sweater

Rating: B

Joey can’t help but propose to people, and Chandler / Ross need to fake all of the wedding photos last-minute.

The obvious stand-out is the final scene – the revelation that Ross is the father changed the course of the show, and Joey’s reaction is priceless.

5 – The One Where Rachel Tells …

Rating: B+

I remembered the reveal in “The One with the Red Sweater” being great, but I completely forgot how fun the follow-up – “The One Where Rachel Tells …” – is.

David Schwimmer’s acting is incredible, and his and Joey’s reactions to the failed condoms are spectacular. Chandler and Monica also go on their honeymoon, but that feels secondary.

4 – The One with the Halloween Party

Rating: B+

I’m not gonna lie, I mainly ranked “The One with the Halloween Party” high for the ridiculous costumes alone.

This is also where Sean Penn makes his first guest appearance, and he’s at his best here.

3 – The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Parts 1 & 2

Rating: B+

I always thought “The One Where Rachel Has a Baby” was one of the weaker Friends finales, but the comedy and drama blew me away.

Janice makes her triumphant return, Chandler and Monica try for a baby, Phoebe crushes on a patient (with help from Dr. Drake Ramoray), and Joey proposes to Rachel by accident.

2 – The One with the Rumor

Rating: A-

They may as well have called this “The One with Brad Pitt” – his cameo appearance is easily the most iconic in the series, and the fact it was in a Thanksgiving episode makes it even better.

“The One with the Rumor” has some great back-and-forth between Pitt and the cast, and all of the rumours are really funny. The last scene with Joey in maternity pants always makes me chuckle.

1 – The One with the Videotape

Rating: A-

“The One with the Videotape” is a bit of an oddity within the Friends pantheon – as far as I’m aware, there isn’t a noticeable B-plot where some of the cast do their own thing. Luckily, that central videotape plot is fantastic.

Joey teaching Ross about backpacking in Western Europe only to have Rachel pull the same trick is a great twist, and the energy is at an all-time high. I know it’s only a small joke, but Joey correcting Ross’s grammar by saying “whom” is one of his funniest moments ever.

Season Rating: B

In all honesty, I was a little disappointed by Season 8 – I remembered it being the last great season, but it doesn’t hold a candle some of Friends’ best work.

Let’s look at the stats for the season:

• 2A (9%)
• 15B (65%)
• 5C (22%)
• 1D (4%)

And the stats for the series so far:

• 33A (18%)
• 110B (59%)
• 39C (21%)
• 4D (2%)

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