With Thanksgiving right around the corner I decided to rank all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes. If you are a fan of the show you know that every season has a Thanksgiving episode and each one is unique. This my opinion, so no one get upset or offended! Also, there will be spoilers ahead! You have been warned. Only read this if you have finished the entire show.

10. The One with Rachel’s Other Sister (Season 9)

This Thanksgiving is shortly after Rachel has Emma and early on in Season 9. The reason this one is number 10 is because nothing big really happens and I can’t stand Rachel’s feud with her sister. Her sister being there pretty much ruined the Thanksgiving dinner, which is usually a more sweet event, and the episode entirely. I know the point of her character is to be annoying, but I wish they wouldn’t have incorporated her into a Thanksgiving episode. The other characters don’t really have anything going on besides Joey’s inability to lie and Monica’s wedding China. It isn’t really an eventful episode and lacks a lot compared to the other ones.

9. The One With The List (Season 2)

So, I am not a huge fan of Ross and Rachel. Don’t start yelling! Yeah they were cute, but I felt like Rachel deserved better. In this Thanksgiving episode Ross breaks down all of Rachel’s negative qualities when comparing her to Julie. This is right after Ross and Rachel kiss so he needs to decide who he wants to be with. The line in the gif gets me every time. There also isn’t a real Thanksgiving dinner in this episode, but there are Thanksgiving-themed dishes mentioned when Monica is baking mochlate desserts for her new job.

8. The One With The Rumor (Season 8)

So, young Brad Pitt was clearly a cutie. This Thanksgiving episode is centered around a high-school friend who Monica invited over for dinner. The high-school friend hated Rachel and formed a club called the “I Hate Rachel Green Club.” Of course, Ross was a part of it. Why he was a part of this club when he loved her, the world may never know. This episode had some funny aspect to it. but the fact that Pitt’s character had all this hate for Rachel got annoying. It was funny at first, but then got irritating. Joey’s goal of eating an entire turkey lightens up the episode’s mood. My favorite part is when he slaps on Rachel’s pregnancy pants and goes back to finishing the turkey.

7. The One Where Ross Got High (Season 6) 

Ross, Ross, Ross, always ruining things. The reason Monica’s parents have never liked Chandler is because Ross and Monica’s parents thought he was a pot head. This was no thanks to Ross. One of the more hilarious aspects of this episode is Rachel’s trifle that she accidentally made wrong. The only one who who enjoyed her trifle was Joey, no surprise.  Ross’s childish ways really get on my nerves in this episode. He won’t just man up and tell his parents the truth. The hilariousness of the meaty trifle is what lightens the mood in this episode. Let’s not forget when Monica and Ross’s parents end up liking Chandler towards the end. They then proceed to ask how he deals with the both of them and gives him credit for it. It was quite comedic and the perfect closing.

6. The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs (Season 7)

This episode is quirky and cute. We learn that Chandler hates dogs *GASP*. This is also when Rachel and Tag begin developing into something. I don’t hate this episode, I enjoy watching it. There are just better episodes than this one. Nothing big happens and there’s nothing overly hilarious. The relationship between Tag and Rachel was overall strange just because she was his boss. One of my favorite parts of this episode is Ross stumped on naming all 50 states. He never successfully named all of them and it’s like a slap in the face for him. Ha, Ross, you don’t know everything. Even at the end he claims he got them all, but he repeated Nevada twice.

5. The One With Chandler in a Box (Season 4)

 

This episode makes me sad because of the strain on Joey and Chandler’s friendship. Chandler kisses Joey’s girlfriend so he had every right to be as upset and as he was. Chandler tries apologizing and explaining himself, but Joey’s not having it. In order to prove how sorry he is, Joey asks Chandler to get in a box to think about what he’s done. Joey did something similar to this when he was locked in the entertainment set while a guy robbed their apartment. Their bromance is one of the cutest on television so it was disappointing to see Chandler betray Joey like he did. Of course the episode had a happy ending. Joey let Chandler chase after the girl when he realized that he didn’t want to get between his best friend and a girl, that clearly meant a lot to him. One of the weirdest parts of this episode is Monica kissing Richard’s son! Gross! She even said it reminded her of Richard when she kissed him! So weird, but it did make me laugh.

4. The One With The Football (Season 3)

This episode is absolutely hilarious. The Geller sibling rival is pure perfection. Factoring in the entire friend group into the rivalry makes things so much better. Rachel going long and never truly playing always keeps me laughing. It was pretty predictable that she was going to catch that ball at the end. This episode just has me cracking up the whole way through. The icing on the cake is when Monica pulls out the weird-looking trophy that was believed to be thrown into a river. Ross then learns that she swam to get it back. While most of the group goes upstairs to eat, the Geller siblings are still on the ground fighting for the ball. This episode is juts one of those comedic Thanksgivings that everyone remembers 10 years later.

3. The One With The Late Thanksgiving (Season 10)

Look, it’s my favorite floating heads. I felt terrible for Monica in this episode because she didn’t want to cook Thanksgiving and did it anyway. When she did, no one decides to show up on time. Ross and Joey go to a hockey game, then Rachel and Phoebe go to a beauty pageant for Emma. Each couple thought the other would be on time and it wouldn’t look terrible getting late. Unfortunately both couples got their late and were arguing about what they would each say to Monica and Chandler outside the apartment door. One of the more funniest moments is when Joey’s head gets stuck and Monica attempts greasing it with turkey grease. Of course, that doesn’t work. When that fails, they deice to push/pull from each side of the door, this result in the door busting open. Joey breaks the table where all the food was placed. The reason this is closer to the top of my list is because of the phone call Monica receives. There is no doubt that Monica and Chandler are a power couple and are goals for many viewers. So finding out they couldn’t have children, when that was one of Monica’s dreams, was devastating. Things turned around for them at this dinner when Monica receives a call from the adoption agency saying someone chose them to adopt their baby. Even though Monica and Chandler were upset at their friend-group, they all came to together for a group hug. This part made me tear up. I was as happy as they were.

2. The One Where Underdog Gets Away (Season 1)

Of course their first Thanksgiving together was going to be at least top three. This was one the one that started it all. Everyone in the group originally had different plans for this holiday. Rachel was going to skiing with her family (thanks to her friends), Joey was going to go visit his family, Monica and Ross were supposed to go home, Chandler hates Thanksgiving, and Phoebe was the only one who didn’t have any plans. Thanks to fate, all their Thanksgiving plans fall through. Monica and Ross’s parents go to Puerto Rico, Rachel misses her flight, and Joey’s family thinks he has an STD. They end up having Thanksgiving dinner all together. Even Chandler, who hates Thanksgiving, sat down to eat with all of them. It was a sweet episode and I loved how this holiday just brought everyone together.

1. The One With All The Thanksgivings (Season 5)

Finally we have reached number one. This episode has it all; the laughs, the cries, and the love. Who doesn’t love flashbacks? The episode begins with the gang groaning on the couch because they had just finished eating Thanksgiving dinner. They then begin remembering some past Thanksgivings. The first one to begin the flashbacks was Chandler. We finally get to see the events that took place on the Thanksgiving that made him hate everything having to do with the holiday. Phoebe amuses us with a Thanksgiving from the 1800s she claims was her in another life. She also brings up the story of when Joey got his head stuck in the turkey Monica was supposed to make. We were all cracking up when Joey appears with the turkey on his head. Even though he gets stuck, he does achieve his goal of scaring Chandler. Phoebe believes this was Monica worse Thanksgiving, but in a reality it was a different one. The best part is that the gang didn’t know about Monica and Chandler yet when Rachel told this story. We learn that the reason that Monica lost weight was to get back at Chandler for calling her fat. To get even more revenge she wanted to seduce him and then leave him naked in her yard. Rachel’s advice to Monica had all of us dying of laughter while we watched Monica graze a box of macaroni against her cheek. After attempting to hold multiple things in her hands, including a knife, the knife slips and cuts off Chandler’s toe. Monica’s plan fails and Chandler is rushed to the hospital with nine toes. When Chandler learns the reasoning behind why he lost his toe he storms out of the room. Monica, being the best girlfriend ever, puts a turkey on her head to cheer him up. He’s still upset so she puts on a hat, large sunglasses, and starts dancing. Chandler starts chuckling and blurts out “You’re so great, I love you.” That line made us all pause and stare at the television/computer wide-eyed. Monica gets all excited with her head still in the turkey and it’s truly an adorable moment. Chandler says “I love you” to Monica is the funniest circumstance and we all crack up at the gang’s past Thanksgiving. C’mon, who doesn’t love college-mustache-band Ross? Monica and Chandler were the ultimate power couple of this series. I love this episode because we get to laugh at the past and then smile at the present. This was just the beginning of their relationship, it was beautiful seeing these two grow and mature together.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!