Friends: 25 Greatest Episodes

7. The One With The Jellyfish (S4E1)

Friends The One With The Jellyfish
NBC

The Episode

Monica gets stung by a jellyfish. Ross chooses Rachel over Bonnie, but unwittingly accepts full responsibility for their breakup. Phoebe connects with her birth mother.

Why It's Great

Friends had some good episodes leaving its own little corner of Manhattan, but the trip to the beach was the best of them. After some good setup, it all pays off with Ross and Rachel getting back together, her 18 pages (front and back!), and then splitting up again. The couple have many great bust-ups over the years, but this - "It is a big deal", "Y-O-U-R means your!" - ranks among the very best of 'em.

That's rollercoaster enough, but it's only one great element of this episode. As is often the case with Phoebe storylines, there's a wonderful weirdness to the situation, but it's underpinned by genuine feelings of loss and family.

Then there's the titular jellyfish arc, which centres around Chandler, Monica, and Joey, who try to hide what happened on the beach. Episodes where the gang are trying to find something out/keep something hidden are often brilliant (e.g. The One With The Red Sweater), and the results here are outrageously funny.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.