Second Look: Friends Season 4, Episode 2 – “The One with the Cat”

Friends Season 4, Episode 2 “The One with the Cat”
Written by Jill Condon & Amy Toomin
Directed by Shelley Jensen
Aired October 2, 1997 on NBC

With season three’s extended epilogue behind it, “The One with the Cat” feels like the true beginning of Friends‘s fourth season – both due to the beginnings of major character arcs with Phoebe and Monica, the debut of the ‘new’ Ross/Rachel dynamic, and an exceedingly dark (even more so than season three) comedic tone. It is precisely as dichotomous as it sounds – and while it certainly would allow Friends to explore some more complex emotional places in season four, definitely feels like an updated episodic formula that needs some serious tweaking.

It doesn’t help the episode only waits a few moments before diving straight into toxicity; Ross and Rachel’s first post-second breakup scene is a real tone-setter for the episode, as Rachel chides Ross about how she’s ready to have sex with another guy and falling asleep reading documents (“did you write it?” Ross snidely asks her). Even without the context of how long Friends is going to drag this awful dynamic out, it gets off to a real bad start in “The One with the Cat”, their little barbs bookending some really important season-calibrating scenes for the other characters.

Thankfully, it isn’t the first scene of the episode: that belongs to Joey and Chandler, who try to sell the entertainment center Joey built back in “The One with Frank Jr.” – and for their efforts, end up out $300 and all of their belongings for the effort, simply because Joey Is Very Stupid. And though it is a very fitting plot for Joey, it is a strange way for “The One with the Cat” to begin, especially considering where it spends its non-Ross/Rachel minutes; with Monica and Phoebe, quietly undertaking some of the most personal journeys they would take throughout the series.

Monica’s story is easily the most interesting of the episode – unfortunately, it almost gets completely torpedoed by New Rachel, who is beginning a disturbing trend of upsetting the romantic plans of people she cares about, simply for the sake of her own ego. First, it was convincing Ross’s girlfriend to shave her head, so Ross would dump her and she could berate him for 18 pages (front and back!); this time around, she’s getting passive-aggressive with Monica, because she ran into Rachel’s prom date (from “The One with the Prom Video”, of course) Chip Matthews, and the two planned to go on a date. Forget that Chip cheated on Rachel at prom with another woman; it seems Rachel just can’t stand to see her friend, who has shed a lot of weight and self-loathing over the years, be secure and happy in her dating life.

It’s all I can think of – because the episode certainly does not give Rachel room to be anything but incredibly petty and vindictive; what friend reminds them they were called “Moni-cow” in high school if they are trying to be supportive? As it was in the season three finale, it’s an odd turn for Rachel – who seemingly got the job of her dreams, and then immediately turned into a different, almost unrecognizable person, one whose confidence seemingly comes from the despair of others. Though one might still reasonably expect Rachel to be egregiously rude to Ross (given he cheated on her but a few months ago), how she treats her supposedly ‘true’ friends in this episode is appalling… I’m not sure if this is the writer’s room trying to ground the show’s breakout character in a bit of misery, but it makes her scenes in this episode unbearably uncomfortable to watch, a distinct rebuttal of who her character grew into over the first two and a half seasons – and a terrible harbinger of what might be to come for her character, as season four continues and solidifies its narrative arcs around the other characters.

Rachel’s presence isn’t enough to completely overshadow what does work in this episode though – specifically, the thematic work behind Monica and Phoebe’s individual stories. Taken at face value, Monica’s story – she goes on a date with Chip, quickly realizing she’s living out a fantasy she wanted ten years ago, not now – is played for slapstick jokes (Chip thinks fart jokes are funny!), a distinctly forgettable bit of Friends lore only relevant for its proximity to other characters and more interesting stories.

However, if we think about the personal and professional journey Monica’s about to embark on over the next three seasons, it becomes a much more intriguing precursor – you can see the faint beginnings of Monica letting go of the various identities she’s hid behind her whole life in this episode, as she begins to realize that even though she’s shed a lot of weight, she still carries around the emotional scars and burdens built up over a quarter-century of living. Her rejection of Chip, in that way, becomes a more powerful narrative device – and while I’m not exactly ready to crown “The One with the Cat” as an incredible episode of character development (with Chip and Rachel both being particularly one-note characters in Monica’s presence), a sign that the arcs of the past two seasons haven’t been just for shits and giggles, but are important building blocks for the woman Monica is becoming.

The titular plot of the episode, unfortunately, doesn’t leave itself a lot of nuance to explore, in either the foreground or background of its story. Knowing the rumored story behind it (that Martha Kauffman pushed for this plot to be included after her own mother’s death, even though the writer’s room didn’t really like it) helps provide a bit of context – but for the most part, “The One with the Cat” wants to laugh at Phoebe for her beliefs, even in the moments it is giving room to entertain the emotional truth in them (which is mostly just when other characters are confronting her with the reality of the situation, which dampens its emotional effect). And like Monica’s story, it’s more of a nod of things to come than what’s in the present; but it’s still no less powerful to see Phoebe ask Ross how many parents he’s lost in his lifetime, and that maybe he should shut the fuck up if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Honestly, she’s more cordial than she should be – so is Chandler, after he hilariously digests the news that Joey tricked himself into losing all of their valuable belongings. After three straight episodes of Friends characters indulging in the darkest sides of themselves (led by Rachel, of course), how Phoebe and Chandler handle their third act conflicts offer a rather acidic episode of Friends some much-needed balance – and are the real reminders of the pathos at the core of this series, which has been a bit muddled by the show’s distracted, nihilistic storytelling approach since… well, since about “The One Where Monica and Richard Are Just Friends”, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

As a testing ground for its ‘new’ voice, I think “The One with the Cat” pretty readily misses the mark (even though Chandler, as always, is around with a few one-liners to keep things from being a real downer) – it still feels adhered to the second half of season three, even though there are a few definitive markers that at least some of the series is ready to move onto new stories. We all know those are coming, of course – but it doesn’t make “The One with the Cat” any more enjoyable in the moment, with its sardonic tone marking an underwhelming return to New York for the Central Perk Six.

Grade: C-

Other thoughts/observations:

• This script is the first in the series credited to Jill Condin and Amy Toomin – thankfully, they will find their redemption later this season with “The One with the Embryos”.
  
• I really love the hideous Three Stooges models Joey and Chandler have on their entertainment center (and its fine Italian craftmanship, of course).
  
• The fact Chandler doesn’t really get that mad at Joey is a subtle reminder of the strength of their friendship, right before it gets its biggest test in the entire run of the series.
  
• This episode is also the genesis of the joke about nobody knowing what Chandler does for work.
  
• Joey, talking about Phoebe’s cat: “Dude, Phoebe’s mom’s got a huge pair of…” Chandler: “Let it go!”
  
• Monica: “The fat girl inside me wants to go. I owe her this – I never let her eat.”
  
• Rachel buying into Phoebe’s cat-mom theory just to piss Ross off is so incredibly awful of her, treating her friend’s most delicate emotions as a plaything to poke Ross with. It is incredibly callous of her, and something the show (probably rightfully) quickly glosses over.
  
• “Apparently not everyone is qualified to own wood and nails!”
  
• Chip is such a joke of a caricature, it barely gives Monica room to reflect on the person she’s become, which is ostensibly the point of her arc, at least in this first half of the season. Strange storytelling decisions here.
  
• The final image, of Joey and Chandler contemplating life from their new living room boat, is one of my absolute favorites in the entire series.
  
• Extended thoughts: There’s about a minute and a half of material cut from the broadcast version – it’s mostly from the Chip/Monica dinner scene, with the rest a bunch of cut Chandler one-liners I wish they’d have kept. Also, Ross telling Monica Ben’s joke: “Why did the chicken fall out of the tree? Because you have doody on your head.”
  
• Up next: Chandler finds himself… tied up at work in “The One with the Cuffs”.