Thanksgiving — a day of gratitude filled with good food, family, friends, and “Friends.” Yes, “Friends” the TV show. This show is classic and iconic and overall pretty great in my opinion. I’ve definitely seen every episode way too many times, yet I’m always laughing while watching it. So now that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you’d rather not watch the parade or any more football, watch “Friends!” With a Thanksgiving episode for each of its 10 seasons except for one, “Friends” is a superior show when it comes to these holiday episodes. And don’t worry if you don’t know which episode to start with to kick off the marathon, that’s what this article is for. Here are the best “Friends” Thanksgiving episodes, ranked from worst to best. (And by worst, I simply mean slightly less entertaining, because obviously none of them are actually bad.)
9. “The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs” (Season 7, Episode 8)
As the title suggests, this episode revolves around the fact that Chandler doesn’t like dogs. The only reason I put it as number 9 is because it doesn’t actually focus much on Thanksgiving. Nonetheless, there are still plenty of entertaining things going on. Everyone finds out that Phoebe has been hiding a dog in Monica’s and Chandler’s apartment, leading Chandler to have to explain that he doesn’t like dogs, which is a revelation that his friends definitely judge him for. Chandler also challenges everyone to the states game, in which they have to name all 50 states in 6 minutes. Joey is pleased with himself for naming fifty six states, while know-it-all Ross refuses to let himself eat his food until he names every one. (Spoiler alert: he finally gives up at 2 in the morning and eats his Thanksgiving plate then, defeated.)
8. “The One with Rachel’s Other Sister” (Season 9, Episode 8)
This episode reflects an all too common Thanksgiving theme — fighting with your relatives. Rachel’s unpleasant sister Amy visits and becomes fixated on the fact that she wants custody of Ross and Rachel’s daughter, Emma, if Ross and Rachel were to die. Ross and Rachel reveal that Monica and Chandler would be the guardians of Emma if something were to happen to them, causing Amy to be hostile all night. Additionally, Monica freaks about the use of her wedding china as plates for their Thanksgiving dinner. Her panicking seems unnecessary until the end of the night, when Chandler drops the plates and breaks them all. Monica’s Thanksgiving was definitely not a happy one once she found out.
7. “The One Where Underdog Gets Away” (Season 1, Episode 9)
This is the very first Thanksgiving episode of the series, in which everyone’s Thanksgiving plans don’t actually go as planned. Rachel’s flight home is cancelled, Joey becomes the face of a VD poster, and we find out why Chandler hates Thanksgiving so much. Monica hosts her first Thanksgiving but becomes irritated when she has to accomodate everyone’s food requests. To make matters worse, everyone leaves the apartment in a rush to see the Underdog balloon from the parade, only to return and realize that they left the keys inside and are locked out. Once they finally get back inside, their Thanksgiving dinner is ruined and a huge argument erupts. But not to worry, they all make up in the end and Chandler serves grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. “Friendsgiving” to the rescue!
6. “The One with Chandler in a Box” (Season 4, Episode 8)
It’s never fun to see the friends fighting, especially on Thanksgiving. But, Chandler kissed Joey’s girlfriend, and Joey is understandably upset. Somehow, Chandler ends up lying in a box for hours to prove to Joey that he is sorry, which is strange, but certainly amusing. Plus, the group spends their time mocking Monica, who invites her ex-boyfriend’s son to dinner because she is attracted to him. Thankfully, she realizes just how weird that relationship would be and ends it before it can begin. Oh, and Chandler and Joey make up and Thanksgiving is happy again!
5. “The One with the Rumor” (Season 8, Episode 9)
The main reason this episode is special is because of its guest star: Brad Pitt. He plays Will, Monica’s friend from high school, who she invites to dinner. Rachel doesn’t recognize Will because he had quite a “glow up” since high school. When she is (re)introduced to him, she swoons. However, Will does not reciprocate — he absolutely hates Rachel because she was so mean to him in high school. Will’s hatred for Rachel brings up some old high school secrets, like the fact that he co-founded an “I Hate Rachel” club. And on top of that, guess who was the other co-founder? Ross. To make things worse, (and funnier), old and embarrassing high school rumors about Ross and Rachel resurface. Along with all of the drama, Joey provides entertainment as always when he tries to eat an entire turkey on his own. He succeeds, and even wants pie afterwards. Dang.
4. The One with the Football” (Season 3, Episode 9)
Both football fans and “Friends” fans can appreciate this episode. The gang decides to play a game of football on Thanksgiving, which seems like a fun idea to everyone except Monica and Ross. They share the story of a past Thanksgiving in which they were playing football to win the infamous “Geller Cup,” and because of their competitiveness, Ross ended up with a broken nose. They’re technically still not supposed to play, but they decide that now they can be civil. As expected, neither of their competitive natures have disappeared and they refuse give up until they win. We also get to watch Joey and Chandler attempt to impress a woman who shows up and watches them play, but unsurprisingly, they both end up making fools of themselves. This one’s definitely a funny and classic Thanksgiving episode.
3. “The One with the Late Thanksgiving” (Season 10, Episode 8)
In this episode, Thanksgiving Day is apparently the perfect day to be doing things that are completely unrelated to Thanksgiving. Phoebe and Rachel decide to enter Emma in a baby beauty pageant, while Ross and Joey go to a hockey game. Because of these activities, they all end up being late for dinner, which irritates Monica since she didn’t even want to host Thanksgiving dinner in the first place (which is oddly out of character for her, considering she’s practically always the hostess). Regardless, Monica and Chandler lock the four of them out for being late. But, because the show never fails to give us moments to laugh at, Joey gets his head stuck in the door while trying to get inside the apartment. When he finally is pushed out, he falls onto the Thanksgiving food and makes a huge mess. During the chaos, Monica and Chandler get a call from their adoption agent with the news that they are going to be parents. The anger is forgotten and the friends rejoice and all is well again!
2. “The One with All the Thanksgivings” (Season 5, Episode 8)
This is one of the best Thanksgiving episodes simply because of the hilarious flashbacks. The group reminisces on all of their worst Thanksgiving experiences. We find out that the reason Monica decided to lose weight was because Chandler so rudely called her fat, and that the next year Monica tried to seduce him with her new and improved appearance but instead accidentally dropped a knife on his toe. We also see Ross’s and Chandler’s rather unflattering haircuts and outfits of the past, as well Rachel’s nose, pre-nose job. After all of that nonsense, in present time, Monica asks for Chandler’s forgiveness — by dancing around with a turkey on her head. (He forgives her, accidentally says he loves her, and then panics and tries to take it back because, well, he’s Chandler.)
1. “The One Where Ross Got High” (Season 6, Episode 9)
This is my personal favorite Thanksgiving episode; it’s not necessarily anything special, but everything about it just makes me laugh. Monica is afraid to tell her parents that she and Chandler are dating because her parents hate Chandler. This is thanks to Ross, who smoked weed in his room during college and then blamed it on Chandler. Eventually, Ross tells his parents the truth, but Monica decides to tell their dad another one of Ross’s secrets, setting off a “tattletale” war between the two in front of their parents. Unfortunately for everyone at the table, Rachel accidentally puts beef in her dessert trifle and the group eats it (pretends to eat it, actually), to spare her feelings. Not to worry though, because Joey, AKA lover of all food no matter how gross, eats it all. “Custard? Good. Jam? Good. Meat? Good.” Okay, Joey.
Not going to lie, making this list was difficult (I’m sure Ross can relate to that), because all of these episodes are bound to make you laugh and reflect on your best and worst Thanksgiving experiences. Regardless of whether you agree with my top picks or not, you have got to agree with the fact that “Friends” does a pretty good job when it comes to these episodes. You can’t go wrong with whichever one you choose. Whether you’re bored right now and could just use some Thanksgiving spirit, or it’s Thanksgiving day and you need to do something besides talking to your rather opinionated aunt at the dinner table, any of these episodes have you covered. Take your pick, have a happy Thanksgiving, and as Joey would remind you, don’t forget to put on your Thanksgiving pants before you eat.