(Editor’s note: Seasons 1 and 2 were reviewed under an earlier editorial standard and format. They’ll be revisited in the Second Look Remastered series, running January – June 2027. Subscribe to Processed Media (it’s free!) so you don’t miss the updates.)
When watching this episode (especially paired with the episode preceding it), I can’t help but feeling some of the story beats are a little rushed. In “The One Where Ross and Rachel… You Know”, Monica and Richard are meeting each other for the first time in a decade; this episode, they’re already falling in love with each other. The same goes for Joey: I love the character arc they give him here, but it almost comes out of nowhere (especially when he just bought fancy stuff for their apartment an episode ago). But the material of these two plots is executed so well, it doesn’t even matter – especially with Joey and Chandler, culminating in one of the strongest emotional moments Friends ever had.
Ross and Rachel’s little tiff over tattoos is mostly forgettable (with Phoebe being involved, how could it not?), but after being a vacuum of dramatic tension for the entire season, giving them something light and forgettable is a much-needed move to bring attention to other characters, primarily Joey, who hasn’t had a whole lot of meaningful material to occupy his time. But in “The One Where Joey Moves Out”, he’s taking a long, hard look at his adult life, and realizing it might be time for him to grow as a person (“or whatever”). He thinks he needs his own apartment to do so, being that he’s 28 and has never lived alone in his life.
Even Chandler’s arguments can’t convince Joey not to take the apartment, which shows us a little something about Chandler, too. We all know he’s not the most socially well-adjusted person, and having the hunky, womanizing Joey around gave him a mental and emotional buffer to help integrate himself into situations and conversations he’d normally be too awkward to deal with. Without Chandler, he’s just a lonely 20-something who lives in his apartment alone; and as much as he’s afraid to admit that to anyone, we see it after Joey beats him at a game of foosball for the table. Did he really think Joey and him would live together forever? Of course not, but neither of them were prepared for the day it actually could happen.
It gives the end of the episode a very somber note, as Joey and Chandler figure out the next time they’ll see each other, followed by Joey leaving, then returning to the apartment to give Chandler a big hug. This show always goes for the big emotional moments (no matter what character might be on screen at the time), and this is one of their best, a short, silent moment that showed us all how strong their bromance really is.
They really provide the emotional anchor for the episode – at first glance, it appears Monica and Richard’s moment is the crux of the episode, but there’s no denying the power of the final Joey/Chandler spot. Like I said, it feels a little quick from Monica and Richard being hesitant to being in love, but there was no better time for them to struggle with that idea than at Jack’s party. How do you break it to your father that you’re dating one of his best friends? Just the idea of that adds a dash of humor to everything that proceeds, from Monica watching her parents have sex (again: “this time I caught this live show,” she tells Ross), both of Monica’s parents making asides about Richard’s mystery woman (Judy calls her his ‘twinkie in the city’, and Jack makes jokes about trading his Porsche to Richard for a day with the twinkie, which understandably grosses Ross out).
The material before the two of them express their feelings is nice and light, which keeps the tone of their resolution (expressing their love for each other in front of Monica’s parents) from becoming too lovey-dovey with the rest of the episode. With Ross and Rachel making puppy eyes and Joey and Chandler sharing tender moments, there’s only so much sappy love I can take in one episode. “The One Where Joey Moves Out” finds that line and balances it quite well, a rare episode where the character jokes didn’t undermine the emotional arcs – along with “The One Where Ross and Rachel… You Know”, these are two of the most emotionally organic and honest episodes Friends would ever have.
Other thoughts/observations:
- thoughts on the unedited version: I see why they cut the closing scene (to give the ending a nice, quiet tone), but damn that was a funny Jack scene, discussing how he went over to beat up Richard, and ended up watching the game and drinking beer with him. Don’t get the hat joke, but that scene works like a charm.
- Chandler insists that him and Joey are not gay puppets (aka Bert and Ernie).
- Richard, warning Monica: “Judy. Going to THE BATHROOM – GOOD FOR YOU!!!”
- Chandler: “stop talking!” Chandler: “ok!”
- Rachel can’t figure out who her boss is supposed to be. Daddy issues, anyone?
- Ross: “you could come in straddling him [Richard] and nobody would believe you.”
- Up next: The title speaks for itself in “The One Where Eddie Moves In”.