Holidays can be a joyous time with family — or a wonderful time to catch up with Friends.
The 1990s sitcom made Thanksgiving an annual tradition — except for that one year where Ross was preoccupied with the world’s most unnecessary pros-and-cons list (Julie, really?!) — leaving millions of viewers to anticipate how the Central Perk dwellers would celebrate the gluttonous occasion. Whether the holiday was marked by the disappearance of a certain Macy’s Parade staple, or the arrival of A-list guest stars like Brad Pitt and Christina Applegate, you knew to expect something special.
With all episodes currently streaming on HBO Max, we decided to rank every Thanksgiving episode, from worst to best. Scroll down to see how your favorites fared…
Perhaps best remembered for Joey mistaking the phrase “moot point” for “moo point” — “It’s like a cow’s opinion — it just doesn’t matter!” — this otherwise forgettable Season 7 outing sees Rachel gets together with Tag, who, let’s be honest, is tied with Mona and Gavin for least interesting love interest.
We’re still trying to get the hypothetical taste of Chandler’s Palmolive cranberries out of our mouths. And nothing screams “Season 10” like a B-story that sees Rachel and Phoebe enter baby Emma in an off-screen beauty pageant.
Ross and Monica’s sibling rivalry is always good for a laugh, but other parts of this episode simply don’t work for us. Rachel and Phoebe are portrayed as women incapable of grasping football (ugh, women!), while Joey and Chandler argue over a random Dutch girl we’ll never seen again. (The Gellar Cup is yours if you can remember said woman’s name.)
Akin to Brad Pitt’s turn as Will “Hot Stuff” Colbert in Season 8 (which we’ll get to momentarily), the best thing about this episode is Christina Applegate as Rachel’s second favorite sister Amy. The role would earn the Dead to Me star an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2004.
Brad Pitt’s Will is reacquainted with his two mortal enemies — Rachel Greene, and complex carbohydrates — in this Season 8 installment, most memorable for having Jennifer Aniston’s then-husband stop by. But we forgot how truly lackluster this one was: Phoebe volunteers to join the “I Hate Rachel Greene” fan club, then poof! Will’s gone and the story has abruptly ended. Nothing is resolved. The B-plot, meanwhile, involves Joey eating an entire turkey by himself — which, let’s face it, is just a typical Thursday for the Days of Our Lives star.
The gang’s first holiday together gave us the origin story behind Chandler’s phobia of traditional Thanksgiving delicacies. Plus, who could forget that montage of Joey’s STD posters scattered across New York City? (We still think of that scene whenever we hear The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.”)
The love triangle between Joey, Chandler and Paget Brewster’s Kathy gives the late Matthew Perry as well as Matt LeBlanc some unexpectedly poignant material to work with in Season 4, as their epic bromance is threatened by Chandler’s unwitting betrayal.
Who can forget Rachel’s traditional British trifle? It all starts with a layer of ladyfingers, then a layer of jam and custard — which she made from scratch! — then raspberries, more ladyfingers, then beef sautéed with peas and onions…. The recipe may be foul, but the episode is baked to perfection.
The gang relives past Thanksgivings, during which multiple body parts are lost. First you have Phoebe, who claims to have lost a limb in a past life as a Civil War nurse. Then there’s Chandler, who loses part of his pinky toe after fat-shaming Monica. It all culminates in Monica’s apology dance before Chandler, complete with a raw turkey on her head.
What’s your favorite Friends Thanksgiving episode? Sound off in Comments.
Definitely the one with Brad Pitt – I cry with laughter every time I see that.
Yeah, I’m surprised they didn’t rank that one higher. The first time I saw that episode is one of the hardest I’ve ever laughed at a Friends episode.
7. She was called Marja (might not have spelt that correctly). For some reason that’s about the only episode of Friends I ever see.
I would have swapped #1 and #2 personally
Me too, that’s what I was going to say. The scene where everyone shouts their confessions is one of my favorites… there’s one or two other scenes like this through the series too… where everyone just shouts a line in succession. Gets me every time, don’t know why.
I’d also move Football up a spot, and drop Underdog a spot.
“THE ONE WHERE ROSS GOT HIGH” — Season 6, Episode 9 is my #1
Agreed its actually my all time fave friends episode not just thanksgiving!
Solid List, but season 6 episode is the best Thanksgiving episode!!!
Since my boyfr works every damn holiday I binge-watch a lot of Friends at T’giving and Christmas time. I never keep the list from holiday to holiday but each time I google to find out which season’s episode is the Thanksgiving one. This year I’m going to do it with Christmas too. Before you say I have no life (which yeah is true), I have no relatives or friends who live anywhere near me to have interactions with real people on holidays so I find comfort in Friends.
How is no one talking about Monica’s plates?!?!
who cares about a show from the 90s…
Sadly, far too many people. My 14 yo niece is obsessed with it.
I love the flashback episodes, so I have to agree with your number one pick.
The one with the football should definitely be number 1. That one was the best!!