Friends features many famous moments that constitute recurring gags or a singular joke that define the show. Over the years, the adventures of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courtney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Ross (David Schwimmer) began to comprise some familiar beats and themes. As the intro song says, Friends is about these characters wading through professional struggles, relationships, and more, all the while having each other’s backs — themes that are expressed within a few seconds in each of the show’s defining moments.
Romance is a major factor in Friends with the on-again-off-again saga of Ross and Rachel and the more linear but just as hilariously heartfelt love story between Monica and Chandler. As the singles of the group, Joey and Phoebe have their own special bond, while pursuing their own romances and offering recurring bits of advice and entertainment. Throughout Friends, other amazing, now-iconic moments emphasize the group’s enduring friendships in the face of every wild curve life throws their way.
10 Janice Appears Unexpectedly For The First Time
Season 1, Episode 14: “The One With The Candy Hearts”
The surprise appearances of Chandler’s ex-girlfriend Janice (Maggie Wheeler), accompanied by an exaggerated “Oh. My. God.” is doubtlessly one of the best running gags in Friends. The writers’ room figured out that they had struck gold the first time they did this — when Joey manages to secure a date with a woman he’s been flirting with forever, on the condition that he brings a friend for her friend, who turns out to be Janice. The moment when Janice appears is absolutely hysterical and indicative of the way things tend to go hilariously wrong when the odds are one in a million.
Janice’s randomly showing up at the worst possible times becomes a staple of Friends after this. However, Janice is not the only Friends character to slowly say “Oh my god” — one of the characters says it almost every episode. It is the classic response from the Friends cast when something shocking happens.
9 Phoebe Sings “Smelly Cat” For The First Time
Season 2, Episode 6: “The One With The Baby On The Bus”
Phoebe’s goofy original songs are also a beloved aspect of the show, the most famous of which is “Smelly Cat.” It is introduced to the show in the episode where Phoebe is exiled from the coffee house in favor of a “real” performer; Phoebe furiously takes to the curb out front trying to earn money for her music. Rachel comes to comfort her and tells her that “Smelly Cat” is her favorite of Phoebe’s songs.
Rachel comes to comfort her and tells her that “Smelly Cat” is her favorite of Phoebe’s songs.
Phoebe is later shown teaching the other performer Stephanie (Chrissie Hynde) how to play “Smelly Cat.” The first time hearing the opening lyrics to the song is the best representation of the effect of Phoebe’s music: It is objectively bad but oddly heartwarming and whimsical. Phoebe can always be relied upon for humor with her quirky songs and personality; her belief in the message expressed in “Smelly Cat” is the hallmark of her character.
8 “He’s Her Lobster”
Season 2, Episode 14: “The One With The Prom Video”
Throughout Friends, Ross and Rachel’s relationship drama is so sporadic it can be irritating, especially when most people know they will get together in the end. However, Phoebe’s sweet assessment that they are like lobsters (lobsters mate for life) is the perfect way to illustrate the good side of their relationship in keeping with Friends’ lighthearted tone. Some additional humor is mixed in when Ross attempts to tell Rachel the same thing, but she thinks he is rambling and is mad at him for breaking up her conversation.
It’s a line that only Phoebe can pull off, and she brings it out again when Rachel kisses Ross after witnessing his attempt to save her prom night years earlier. While there are times their relationship makes no sense, Ross and Rachel were always going to get back together. Throughout the years, the Friends experience other romantic and individual triumphs, and Phoebe will say other cute things like this.
7 Friends Hear Ross Shout “We Were On A Break” From Rachel’s Room
Season 4, Episode 1: “The One With The Jellyfish”
However, before they finally settle down together, the whole group has to endure years of Ross and Rachel’s drama. Ross technically says “We were on a break” or some variation several times before the miscommunication that ruins him and Rachel getting back together the first time. However, this moment in particular best represents the line’s purpose. The scene is set: The Friends are going about their business when they hear Ross shouting from the other room (now with the line’s recognizable intonation) and know the rest of the day will be chaos.
Ross and Rachel spend years in the middle of arguments like this before they decide they need to forgive and forget for the sake of their present relationship. It is also generally characteristic of the real, messy relationships throughout the series. Chandler falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend (against his better judgment), Richard (Tom Selleck) returns just as Chandler and Monica are getting engaged, Phoebe ends up with two men proposing at once, and the like.
6 Joey’s First “How YOU Doin”
Season 4, Episode 13: “The One With Rachel’s Crush”
Joey is always funny and always genuine, and a major flirt. The first time he drops the iconic line “How you doin’,” the group is just having a regular conversation about someone’s disastrous love life. Rachel is pondering how to ask out Joshua (Tate Donovan), and Joey tells her about his go-to pickup line. He uses it on Phoebe as a demonstration, who giggles in response. Even the first time, the joke lands well, and the writers adopted it as another recurring gag.
The quote does not have much narrative weight besides being evidence of Joey’s ease with women. Like with other similar repeated jokes, its use equates to guaranteed laughs, and the other Friends occasionally use it as a reference to Joey. Every member of the group has their characteristic lines and habits that are meaningless out of context but a beloved part of the story within Friends.
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Reveal That Monica & Chandler Spent The Night Together
Season 4, Episode 24: “The One With Ross’s Wedding: Part 2”
Monica and Chandler spending the night together is the kind of crazy plot twist that only happens once. It comes out of nowhere, but upon reexamination, has been carefully teased. Chandler suggests that he and Monica have the backup plan of getting together when Ross’ son is born, which is passed off as a joke. They have a less farcical extended conversation where Monica bemusedly says they could never get together at the beginning of season 4 before Chandler’s arc is dominated by Kathy (Paget Brewster) for the season.
The magic of Friends is that what happened in London somehow works out. It could have led to another typical sitcom situation of two characters who can’t figure out if they should be friends or lovers. In contrast, Monica and Chandler spend one night together, keep sleeping together because they can’t stop, realize they are in a real relationship, and move forward from there. As Chandler says years later, it felt instantly right for them from the start.
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Ross Says Rachel’s Name At The Altar
Season 4, Episode 24: “The One With Ross’s Wedding: Part 2”
The other wild plot twist that happens in the chaos of Ross’ wedding to Emily (Helen Baxendale) is, of course, the iconic moment when he accidentally says Rachel’s name at the altar. Before this, Friends treats Ross and Emily as a couple to root for. They have a whirlwind romance and engagement; Rachel’s feelings are understandable, but she is framed as reckless and selfish for traveling to London at the last minute to tell Ross she is still in love with him.
However, Friends is defined by the inevitability of Ross and Rachel.
It then seems like the danger has passed, and the Ross and Rachel storyline may truly be coming to an end. However, Friends is defined by the inevitability of Ross and Rachel. The audience gets a startling reminder of this, accompanied by the main cast’s amazing reactions that are true evidence of their talents. Ross and Emily’s marriage then falls apart shockingly and disastrously fast.
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Reveal That Monica & Chandler Are Having Twins
Season 10, Episode 17: “The Last One”
Another famous Friends plot twist is when Monica and Chandler find out while in the delivery room that the woman giving birth to the child they plan to adopt is actually having twins. Chandler’s initial reaction is startled and concerned. However, Cox in particular shines at this moment with Monica’s reaction to “the other one will be along in a minute.” Monica’s expression almost has an element of meta humor, as though she is thinking: “Of course this would happen. It’s the last episode. We can’t just live happily ever after. There has to be one last gimmick.”
Monica adapts fast and affirms to Chandler that they are bringing both babies home. By the time they get back to the apartment, Chandler is just as happy and adjusted. Aside from being another defining plot twist, it is another characteristic Friends moment, where something went impossibly wrong, but it all worked out anyway.
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Rachel Got Off The Plane
Season 10, Episode 17: “The Last One”
With emotions running high in the lead-up to Rachel’s departure for Paris, the final Ross and Rachel moment was coming. Luckily, the writers were able to deliver on a moment years in the making. After getting some laughs from Ross freaking out over Rachel’s message, demanding to know if she got off the plane, Rachel simply appears, on the verge of tears herself.
It’s the perfect romantic ending for the decade-long turbulence of their relationship. Friends ends before people can wonder if Ross and Rachel will stay together this time, but they do assert after Rachel comes back that they are done with everything that happened before and are just going to be happy. Even people who are skeptical about Ross and Rachel’s compatibility cannot help being happy for them at that moment.
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Friends Go To Central Perk One Last Time
Season 10, Episode 17: “The Last One”
Friends has an elegant final image of the six main cast members standing in the empty apartment, a melancholy way to visually show that it is all over. There are some solemn moments like Monica and Chandler telling their children about all the things that happened there and Phoebe pointing out that they all lived there at some point — and a few last jokes, like the reveal that Ross lived there when he spent a summer trying to “make it as a dancer.”
Everyone is emotional as they leave, with the last quip being a question of where they will go for coffee. It serves as a reminder that while the show is ending, the adventures are not. Monica and Chandler might live in the suburbs now, but they will always make an effort to see each other, occasionally meeting up for coffee. The final joke showcases once again how enduring friendship is the backbone of Friends.
