Friends: The 10 Best Episodes of Season 8, According to IMDb

When season 7 of Friends ended, audiences were both happy and shocked. On the one hand, Chandler and Monica finally made their relationship official and got married in a beautiful ceremony officiated by Joey. But on the other hand, Rachel found out she was pregnant, leaving everyone to wonder who the father was and what the consequences would be for her future. Would she tell the mysterious man she was carrying her child? Would she raise the baby alone?

Thankfully, season 8 finally rolled around, and eventually answered all the questions fans were left with. Over the course of over twenty episodes, everyone was glued to their screens in order to accompany Rachel’s journey through pregnancy, her surprising relationship with Joey, Monica and Chandler’s newlywed life, and a Brad Pitt cameo. A lot happened on season 8 of Friends, which means it’s time to jog your memory and relive some of the best moments.

10 The One Where Joey Dates Rachel (8.6)

Friends is probably the one to blame for kickstarting the trend of having two unlikely people date each other. In this episode, Rachel tells Joey that she misses dressing up and going on a date, so they go out together pretending they don’t know each other and begin talking, paving the way for what would become a very unexpected relationship.

In the meantime, Chandler tries to become better than Phoebe and Monica at playing Ms. Pac-Man. When Ben is about to come over, the girls have to beat him because he gave all the characters dirty names.

9 The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath (8.6)

After his date with Rachel, Joey can’t seem to stop thinking about her in a romantic way. However, he can’t speak of it to anyone except himself, and when Monica listens to his ramblings, she believes he must be in love with Phoebe.

Simultaneously, Monica explains to Chandler the wonders of relaxing baths. He gets a little too much into it and steals her quality time, prompting the gang to witness some hilarious bits.

8 The One Where Rachel Tells… (8.7)

In the third episode of the season, Monica and Chandler are on their honeymoon, and Monica keeps being Monica. After they try to sneak into the first-class lounge, they fail and are left with only an orange that she stole.

Back in New York, Rachel tells Ross that he’s the father of her babe, and after a funny bit about the efficacy of the condoms, he offers her all of his support, going as far as to propose. She refuses because they’re not together or in love. Deep down, Rachel is starting to panic over the prospect of having a child.

7 The One After I Do (8.7)

The season premiered exactly where it left off – at Monica and Chandler’s wedding. Everyone thinks Monica is the one who’s pregnant, and she must spend the entirety of the reception denying the rumor. The only thing that works is Phoebe assuming the pregnancy instead.

When Ross sees an attractive woman, he attempts to switch the seating arrangements and ends up seating at the kids’ table. Still, the girl is impressed by him when he lets the little kids dance with him.

6 The One with the Stripper (8.8)

When Ross finds out that Monica had a bachelorette party with a stripper, he feels betrayed, since they agreed not have them. In order to make it up to him, Monica throws him a private bachelor party with Joey and stripper…only the stripper turns out to be a prostitute.

Meantime, Rachel tells her dad the news, and he’s delighted upon finding out he’ll be a grandfather. However, he’s livid when Rachel panics and tells him she won’t get married because Ross doesn’t want to, prompting Mr. Green to go out and yell at Ross.

5 The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Part 1 (8.8)

In typical Friends fashion, the season finale was split into two episodes. In the first one, Rachel and Ross head out to the hospital since it’s roundabout time for the baby to be born.

However, the labor is long, and they end up in a room where a myriad of couples go in and out, include a pregnant Janice and her husband. With all of this happening, Monica and Chandler decide it’s time to start trying for a baby.

4 The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Part 2 (8.9)

After a very long labor, Rachel and Ross’s baby is finally here. Monica is more than happy to allow Rachel to have the name she had already picked out for her future kid, and Emma officially joins the gang.

After a conversation with Janice, Rachel starts feeling alone and insecure and attempts to talk to Ross about a moment they had, prompting him to swear off a relationship with her. When Joey finds an engagement ring in Ross’s pocket, he kneels down to pick it u, leading Rachel to believe he is proposing – and she says yes!

3 The One with the Red Sweater (9.1)

Way back in the second episode of the eighth season, Monica is feeling incredibly sad at the prospect of no longer being a bride, so she decides to open wedding presents without Chandler there.

In the meantime, Ross has lost the wedding photos, so he and Chandler attempt to fake some at another wedding. Joey is put in the loop in regards to who the pregnant member of the gang is, and finds a sweater that he believes is a clue to the father’s identity.

2 The One with the Rumor (9.3)

In this hilarious Thanksgiving episode guest-starring Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston’s husband at the time, Monica, Ross, and Rachel are reunited with Will, an old school friend.

However, they soon find out that Will isn’t a big fan of Rachel, and reveals they had a club dedicated to hating her back in the day – the members being him and Ross! They were responsible for spreading a rumor about her, making Rachel upset and leading to the club growing again.

1 The One with the Videotape (9.3)

Rachel and Ross finally tell the rest of the gang about their night of passion together, which eventually led to the conception of the child Rachel is now carrying.

Their versions of the events are very different, and when Ross suddenly remembers that he filmed the whole thing, everyone wants to see it. Rachel is, of course, hellbent on destroying the tape.

About The Author

Mariana Fernandes
(100 Articles Published)

Mariana is a 24-year-old Marketing graduate and self-proclaimed business storyteller who loves books, travelling, and the beach. With too many notebooks to keep track of and a persistent feeling of wanderlust, she wants nothing more than to tell stories and pet puppies. All the puppies!

More From Mariana Fernandes