Friends Season 4 Episodes, Ranked (Part 1)

Before season five begins next week, it’s time to look back one last time at Friends‘s fourth season and rank its episodes (in case you missed it, here’s part 1 and part 2 of season three). Enjoy!

22. Episode 13 – “The One with Rachel’s Crush”

It certainly doesn’t help that “The One with Rachel’s Crush” comes after one of the best episodes of the series; even without that context, “The One with Rachel’s Crush” is still the worst episode of Friends‘s fourth season, a half hour that ends one recurring plot with thunderous disappointment (Chandler and Kathy’s brief relationship) and starts another (Rachel and Joshua) in similar fashion – it is the closest this season ever gets to the acerbic nastiness of season three, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Even Monica, who provides comedic relief as she reels from the loss of her identity as the one who hosts group hang outs, isn’t able to overcome the clumsy, unfunny romantic subplots it features at its center.

21. Episode 2 – “The One with the Cat”

On the one hand, “The One with the Cat” features Rachel at a particular low point, calling her best friend “Moni-cow” because she went on a date with Rachel’s prom date Chip Matthews; on the other hand, “The One with the Cat” has everyone admonishing Phoebe for believing her adopted mother’s spirit was in a cat… ok, there’s really no way to defend “The One with the Cat”, except to note that this episode does begin to tease some of the larger arcs ahead for Phoebe and Monica through future episodes of season four, and subsequent seasons of Friends‘s second act. None of that promise is realized here, of course, but it’s something that helps separate it from being the worst episode of the season.

20. Episode 20 – “The One with All the Wedding Dresses”

The strangest episode of season four, “The One with All the Wedding Dresses” features Joey developing a snoring habit, and the three women of the group freaking out over Ross’s impending marriage to Emily. While it makes for some good comedic material, it’s when the episode starts to really focus on Rachel, and struggles to justify her resilient feelings for him behind the assumption of “destiny”. None of it really works – while it’s funny to see Joey fall asleep in a waiting room, it is an unfortunately fitting image for how forgettable “The One with All the Wedding Dresses” is (despite the still-iconic image of the three women in their wedding dresses, drinking on Monica’s couch).

19. Episode 1 – “The One with the Jellyfish”

Less a season premiere than an epilogue to season three, “The One with the Jellyfish” has to do some unfortunate heavy lifting and extricate itself from the stories it left hanging at the end of “The One at the Beach”. There are a few redeeming moments here – Monica, Chandler, and Joey telling their beach story, and how the episode unknowingly teases the Monica/Chandler twist in “The One with Ross’s Wedding – but this half hour is mostly a mess, stuck in the toxicity of season three as it tries to reset its status quo and leave all its bullshit behind in the sand-laden beach house.

18. Episode 10 – “The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie”

Sometimes, Friends was able to ascend a mediocre script through pure vibes; “The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie” is one of those, a holiday episode with a few head-scratching subplots to go alongside a rather tepid Monica/Joey plot (hiring him at the restaurant so she can establish her authority by firing him). Ross not being able to decide between two women because of convenience is lame filler – but when it’s not spending time there, it’s with Chandler, trading Rachel away to the highest bidder at his office (and blundering her opportunity to get back into dating with some unclear communications). At least “The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie” has Phoebe trying to write a holiday song; without that to close the episode, this one would leave an unwelcomely bitter taste.

17. Episode 5 – “The One with Joey’s New Girlfriend”

“The One with Joey’s New Girlfriend” has a lot of great Chandler material… but it also has Ross and Rachel at perhaps their most annoying point this season, when Ross accidentally becomes a babysitter, while Rachel dates a college soccer player who steals money from her wallet. Thankfully, this episode is saved by Perry’s terrific performance, capped off with an incredible set piece where he chases Kathy across town just so he can say hi – and while Phoebe’s “sexy sick voice” is forgettable, still provides an amusing undercurrent to combat the petty toxicity with the former golden couple.

16. Episode 14 – “The One with Joey’s Dirty Day”

“The One with Joey’s Dirty Day” is more notable for the arcs it begins than the stories it tells in the episode; this is the episode where Ross runs off to Vermont with Emily (after Rachel sets him up with her, so she can go on a date with Joshua), and where Chandler goes through his post-breakup routine following his fallout with Kathy. However, a lot of the episode’s attention goes to Joey, who hastily leaves a weekend fishing to go to a film set – and ends up trying to use Charlton Heston’s shower. An ok episode, but one with an impressively outsized significance on the overarching narrative of season four.

15. Episode 22 – “The One with the Worst Best Man Ever”

Season four’s penultimate episode surprisingly avoids the season’s many running plot lines (like Monica’s career or Rachel’s recent breakup) to focus squarely on two different parties; Ross’s bachelor party and Phoebe’s impromptu baby shower. The two stories are smartly built around meaningful revelations – but it’s the resolution of those stories that prove to be a highlight, when Ross chooses both his best men, while Monica and Rachel talk to Phoebe about the benefits of being the coolest aunt to the triplets. It has a few stumbles on its way to those scenes – particularly during Ross’s attempts to recover his family’s wedding ring – but it reaches an welcomely poignant ending that makes it more than just another throwaway episode.

14. Episode 4 – “The One with the Ballroom Dancing”

Every sitcom had an episode in the 90s about gym memberships (a horrifying precursor to our subscription-addled modern lives, in its own way); Friends was no different, offering an unremarkable story about Ross and Chandler’s insecure masculinity, as they flail against the corporate tactics used to prevent them from canceling their memberships. What the episode will really be remembered for, of course, is Joey and Mr. Treeger’s dance scene; and rightly so, a delightful little subplot that turns the acerbic Mr. Treeger into an adorable goofball just looking for love.

13. Episode 21 – “The One with the Invitation”

Clip shows have a bad rap, and usually for good reason – “The One with the Invitation”, however, earns its place as one of the better examples of how to use the budget-friendly format to push a story forward. The only of the six Friends clip shows with any narrative ambitions – to explore the insular emotions of Ross and Rachel, as the former careens towards an impromptu wedding – “The One with the Invitation” is not only full of iconic Ross and Rachel scenes, but a rather pointed observation of their relationship, and whether (at least to this point, the second half of the series notwithstanding) it was really something meant to be. For an episode of rehashed material, “The One with the Invitation” has a surprisingly reflective tone, one I wish the series more honestly examined through the remainder of the series.

12. Episode 15 – “The One with All the Rugby”

Like many Friends plot devices, Janice was a character the series beat like a dead horse, her increasingly convoluted cameos often coming at the cost of the Chandler stories the show was trying to tell in later seasons. Her season four appearance, during their incredibly brief reunion in “The One with All the Rugby”, is perhaps her last quality appearance, proving as a foil for Chandler to examine where he is emotionally in his post-Kathy haze. This episode also is an important stepping stone for Ross and Emily’s relationship – and though it’s mostly physical gags with Ross trying to play rugby, the two lead stories coalesce well to form a strong mid-season entry.

Stay tuned for Part 2!