Second Look: Friends Season 2, Episode 7 – “The One Where Ross Finds Out”

Rachel’s jealous streak reaches a new level in “The One Where Ross Finds Out”, sending her into a downward spiral and making a point Friends would make many, many times over its 10 seasons: Rachel should never, ever drink alcohol.

Getting Rachel drunk to admit her feelings to Ross is a bit of a cheap way to handle the biggest reveal of the show to date – but there’s at least some time spent with Rachel as she tries to work out her feelings for Ross and move on from the whole situation. Now, it’s not very pleasant to watch – but then again, there are a lot of times where Rachel isn’t a very likable character (odd, considering how Jennifer Aniston quickly became the most famous in real life). But her insane jealously is at least addressed here, when it previous episodes it was a well of uncharacteristically mean-spirited jokes for an otherwise light-hearted character, which really didn’t encourage anyone to invest in Ross and Rachel potentially being a real couple.

Seeing as how that’s the focal point of “The One Where Ross Finds Out” – the two of them finally confronting their feelings for each other and reacting to it – I’m not convinced the episode quite pulls it off. First of all, Ross and Julie are a couple in name only; we haven’t spent a single scene with Julie and Ross actually being a couple. Not a single one. And they decide to get a cat together, even though they live in separate apartments? It just doesn’t make any sense – and to some, it might seem like I’m nitpicking, but it’s the catalyst for everything that happens with Rachel and Ross for the rest of the series, and the lead-up to it is less than convincing.

But I’m not going to harp on it – for the sake of the more important material to follow, I’m willing to accept this ridiculous notion of the two getting an animal and transporting it around the city twice a week. This pet signals to Rachel that Julie and Ross are really serious (something that is a surprise to us, as well), and she immediately tries to counter what she’s feeling by brushing it aside, and moving on. And while on a date with someone, Rachel gets wasted and decides that to move on, she needs to have closure, which she attempts to get by leaving a drunken message on Ross’s machine.

The next day, Ross finds out, despite Rachel’s attempts to distract him. He’s understandably confused, and storms out of the apartment. I’m fine with everything up to that point – it’s when he returns to the coffee shop later that becomes a little disturbing. Ross starts yelling at Rachel, telling her she has no right to express her feelings to him – despite them being the feelings Ross has carried with him for over a decade (a fact that will be reinforced in a few episodes from now).

Let’s pause for a second: does anybody think that Ross would not drop everything and be with Rachel the moment he found out? … I didn’t think so.

But he storms out, it starts raining, and as Rachel sits down to have her second or third crying session in the episode, Ross shows back up at the door. Maybe he finally realizes what an asshole he was in the scene before it – but it’s never defined, less of an important character beat and a way to milk the shit out of the romantic tension. But he returns, Rachel struggles to unlock the door, and their scene ends in a rain-soaked embrace. Romantic as hell? Yes, it is. Complete and utter bullshit based on their behavior throughout the rest of the episode?

That I’m unsure of – and I think the natural hindsight of having seen the entire series makes it hard to take an objective view of what happens here. In a way, I don’t give a shit how they get together because I just want them to do it already, so we can get to the best stretch of episodes in the series. But like the way the two would eventually break up, the thing that brings them together is hokey, and takes away from the impact of the moments a bit.

Now, the B and C plots of the episode are so minor and insignificant, they’re both quickly forgotten: but of the two, Monica and Chandler’s exercise regimen is one of my favorite throwaway plots of the whole series. It establishes a fantastic dynamic the first season didn’t really explore much: Monica’s in-your-face aggression matches perfectly with the timid, avoid-everything-at-all-costs Chandler, the first of many tiny little bits over the next few seasons that would draw the characters closer and closer together. There isn’t much to do in their plot except be goofy and play The Odd Couple, and it’s really, really well-written and acted material.

The Phoebe and Joey stuff is a little more off-putting: I like how Joey tries to help out a friend (showing just what a swell guy he can be), but he basically revels in glory when Phoebe gets dumped because Joey’s tips to her made her seem easy. We don’t ever meet this guy she’s dating, but he goes from being a prude to a dickhead in an instant, and worst of all, Joey is beaming with joy (“this man is a god!”) while Phoebe sits next to him, noticeably hurt by what happened. There’s a thin line between lovable ladies man and repugnant misogynist, and I think “The One Where Ross Finds Out” finds humor in the latter, which is very ill-fitting for Joey (however minor and insignificant the moment is).

Other thoughts/observations:

• how does Phoebe know the guy she’s dating isn’t gay (or possibly British)? “I felt it on my hip.”
• Chandler’s spandex shorts are a short-lived, but hilarious little gag.
• why does the show often resort to physical gags during big Ross/Rachel moments?
• Rachel: “You’re being a little weird about your phone.”
• another odd thing: when asked about her feelings for Ross, Rachel basically says she just decided to be sane. And then she acts insane for the next 22 minutes.
• Up next: Mockolate is on the menu in “The One with the List”.

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