A Friends reunion special is on the way, and while it might not be exactly what fans wanted (let’s be honest, everyone was hoping for new episodes), the thought of the cast back together again to swap stories about the show is still incredibly exciting. Of course, it’s also the perfect excuse for a Friends rewatch!
While you can watch the entire ten seasons if you have time, for those fans who are just interested in catching up on how it all ended, we’ve pulled together the most important episodes of the final season to rewatch before the special airs sometime in May. From the biggest moments to the best memories - these are the vital ones to revisit (and the ones to just skip over).
Watch: The One With The Late Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving episodes are a total Friends classic, and this final Thanksgiving episode doesn’t disappoint. It may be the wrong time of year, but fans will still be cracking up over what happens when everyone ends up late to Thanksgiving dinner. The floating heads are iconic, and it also catches everyone up on where the final season finds everyone, and how their dynamic has changed. Definitely worth watching Thanksgiving dinner with the gang just one last time.
Skip: The One After Joey And Rachel Kiss
This is the season ten premiere, but it’s actually a little bit of a disappointment, as season premieres go. Every storyline revolves around relationships breaking up thanks to Barbados: Ross ended up kissing Charlie, Rachel ended up kissing Joey, Mike left his girlfriend (Precious) to get back together with Phoebe, and now that the trip is over they all have to sort it out. It was great at the time, but now that everyone knows how these relationships play out, the interest over the Charlie/Joey/Rachel/Ross situation has faded.
Watch: The One Where Chandler Gets Caught
This is a major re-watch episode because it’s the moment that everyone found out that Monica and Chandler were going to leave that iconic purple apartment and move to the suburbs, but also because it’s a clip show.
Usually, the clip show is a dreaded addition to the sitcom season, because it’s filler - but for a reminder of the show, it’s absolutely perfect. For fans who haven’t rewatched the whole thing lately, this is exactly what it should be: a way to go over the best bits without taking the time to watch the whole thing.
Skip: The One With Ross’s Tan
While this was hilarious, and definitely created some quotable moments, there’s no real reason to re-watch this episode unless you truly love it. The One With Ross’s Tan features Ross getting over-tanned (but only on half his body), the impressively annoying Amanda coming to visit and Monica learning that Phoebe tried to ‘cut her out’ years ago, and Rachel and Joey attempting to date. From the grating Amanda to the annoyance about the whole Rachel/Joey romance, this just isn’t an episode to revisit.
Watch: The One With Phoebe’s Wedding
Phoebe, that kookiest of the Friends, finally gets married in the final season, and it’s beautiful. A final season rewatch just has to include a big moment like this, and it’s amazing to see Pheobe manage to get her own twist on the day - even though it wasn’t what they had planned. Phoebe’s wedding is touching and funny in equal measure, and definitely worth rewatching. And, of course, fans are still waiting to find out if Mike may be making an appearance in the reunion.
Skip: The One With Ross’s Grant
Charlie may have seemed like an important character for a while, but now that everyone knows that Ross ends up with Rachel, their whole ‘maybe this is the one’ relationship at the end of the show just seems a little unnecessary. Most of this episode is focused on Ross’s breakup with Charlie, which just isn’t important enough to need reminding about in the end.
Chandler’s subplot, which boils down to the show making fun of men wearing makeup, just doesn’t age well, either. Phoebe, Rachel, and Monica’s story about Phoebe’s creepy art piece, Gladys, is clearly the high point, but it’s just not high point enough to really be worthwhile.
Watch: The Last One
The first of the two episode finale, there’s just no way to count down the most important episodes of the last season without including The Last One (Part One). This is a big one, unsurprisingly, as Erica goes into labor and Monica and Chandler realize that they are having twins. Phoebe and Mike also announce that they are going to want kids, and Ross and Rachel sleep together (again). While a lot of this episode is just building up to Part 2, there’s a lot going on here (especially with the characters who aren’t Ross and Rachel) that deserves to be seen again before the reunion.
Skip: The One With Rachel’s Going Away Party
This is the third-to-last episode of the season, and while it’s also incredibly touching and emotional, there’s really no need to watch all three of the final episodes in order to catch up before the reunion special. The majority of this episode is also given over to Ross mooning over Rachel and then being angry about not getting a ‘goodbye’, while everyone else is sad about her leaving for Paris. In short, just watch ‘The Last One’ (both parts), and that’s enough.
Watch: The Last One Part 2
Obviously, the actual season finale was going to be on this list! This is the big one, where Rachel gets off the plane, where Chick Jr and Duck Jr are introduced and the foosball table is destroyed, and of course, where those final moments happen in an empty apartment (and we learn that Ross lived there one summer when he was trying to make it as a dancer). This was a perfect end to the series, and there’s just no way that we could skip watching it one more time before the special.
Skip: The One Where The Stripper Cries
This does have some big moments, but in a season of big moments, it’s just not worth watching again. For one thing, this is the episode where we learn that Monica and Ross kissed when he was in college (and they didn’t know) and that’s just horrifying - and Joey’s gameshow story is just obvious filler. The main story is about Phoebe’s bachelorette, but it’s a bit of a dud, so skip it and just watch her wedding episode instead.
