28 Years Ago Today, Friends’ Best Ever Episode Released & Made a Major Change to the Series (That Wouldn’t Last)

Over the course of 10 years and 236 episodes, Friends became one of the biggest TV shows in history, a sitcom the likes of which we’ve never really seen since in terms of popularity. We all came to obsess over their jobs (a joke) and their love lives (DOA), and it offers an incredible amount of warmth, comfort, and familiarity on multiple viewings. It has now, I’m somewhat horrified to realize, been off-air more than twice as long as it was on it, and yet it still remains one of the most popular shows in the world.

Thanks to constant repeats and then the rise of streaming, Friends has remained a constant: a TV show that is always there for you. But when it hasn’t been your day, week, month, or even your year, which episode are you most likely to turn to? There aren’t many truly bad episodes of the show, though there are some inevitable filler installments or others that haven’t aged as well. But for the absolute greatest, while there are a few contenders, once rises above the rest, and it released on January 15th, 1998.

Why “The One With The Embryos” Is Friends’ Greatest Episode

Friends Season 4, Episode 12, “The One With The Embryos” might be better titled “The One With The Quiz,” as that’s the defining aspect of the episode to remember it by. While the title comes from Phoebe having the embryos implanted (which gives the episode its heart and sweetness, crucially), the rest is dominated by a quiz hosted by Ross, pitting Joey and Chandler against Monica and Rachel, with the apartment ultimately on the line.

Every single character shines here and gets at least one iconic, memorable moment, from Rachel saying Chandler is a “transpondster,” (and Monica’s enraged reaction) to Chandler’s inimitable “actually it’s Miss. Chanandler Bong.” It’s one of the most quotable episodes, the quiz is actually fun to play along with, we come away learning more about the characters, and the show is always great when the cast gets to bounce off one another so much like this.

The pacing is immaculate, as it never lets up on the jokes, and it feels as fun (and funny) today after 50 rewatches as it did after the first. What helps is how it all comes together: after the freneticism of the quiz, which sees Monica and Rachel lose the apartment (a change that didn’t last long, because Monica being there is the central hub of the series), the gang come together to celebrate the happiness of Phoebe’s pregnancy.

Other Friends Episodes Worthy Of Being Called “The Best”

If you don’t consider “The One With The Embryos” to be the greatest Friends episode, well, you’d obviously be wrong, but there are some other top-tier contenders. In truth, the sheer number of installments, and how you rewatch the show, means there’s a lot to choose from, but these should all be right up there in the conversation:

Season 2, Episode 14, “The One With The Prom Video”: The hilarious ‘80s flashbacks, Joey giving Chandler a bracelet eyesore from the Liberace House of Crap, and, of course, the cheer-worthy kiss between Ross and Rachel that truly started the most iconic relationship in TV history.

Season 3, Episode 2, “The One Where No One’s Ready”: Like with many of the show’s greatest episodes, there’s pure, simple joy in getting all of the friends together in Monica’s apartment and unleashing some chaos. Despite the contained setting, this perfectly blends and balances a lot of separate story strands: Joey and Chandler’s chair/clothes feud, Monica’s phone message freakout, Phoebe getting the hummus, and Ross and Rachel fighting.

Season 5, Episode 14, “The One Where Everybody Finds Out”: It’s often a good Friends episode when there’s a secret to uncover, and this is the perfect example of that, as the gang begin playing one another for information on Monica and Chandler’s relationship, the messers become the messees, and everything escalates beautifully. Chandler and Phoebe trying to fakeout the other is the comedic highlight, but again there’s real emotion underpinning it as the former declares his love for Monica.

Friends is available to stream on HBO Max.

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