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The Best Episodes of Friends Season 8

Every episode of Friends Season 8 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Friends Season 8!

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Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Friends Season 8 Episode 1 - The One After "I Do"
    8.6/10(5677 votes)

    #1 - The One After "I Do"

    S8:E1

    The excitement of Monica and Chandler's wedding is diminished by the news that someone may be pregnant. Chandler's hopes of not embarrassing Monica on the dance floor are ruined by his slippery new shoes, and Ross' attempts to flirt with an attractive wedding guest.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writers:Marta Kauffman, David Crane

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  2. Friends Season 8 Episode 2 - The One with the Red Sweater
    9.0/10(6542 votes)

    #2 - The One with the Red Sweater

    S8:E2

    Speculation regarding the father of Rachel's baby leads to a misunderstanding when Joey discovers a red sweater left behind in a one-night stand Rachel had. Meanwhile, Chandler and Ross search for the disposable cameras left behind at the wedding and Monica goes on a present-opening binge.

    Director:David Schwimmer
    Writer:Dana Klein

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  3. Friends Season 8 Episode 3 - The One Where Rachel Tells...
    8.6/10(5369 votes)

    #3 - The One Where Rachel Tells...

    S8:E3

    Chandler and Monica prepare to leave for their honeymoon as Rachel prepares to tell Ross that he's the father of her baby. While traveling, Monica and Chandler become jealous of another honeymooning couple who get bumped to first class on the airplane. Meanwhile, Joey and Phoebe scheme to get inside the newlyweds' apartment after discovering that they don't have a key.

    Director:Sheldon Epps
    Writers:Sherry Bilsing, Ellen Kreamer, Ellen Kreamer

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  4. Friends Season 8 Episode 4 - The One with the Videotape
    9.2/10(7614 votes)

    #4 - The One with the Videotape

    S8:E4

    Monica and Chandler return from their honeymoon with stories of a couple that they met on the flight back, but soon discover that the couple gave them a wrong number. Meanwhile, Ross and Rachel tell everyone about the night they were together, however, their stories differ as to who made the first move. While Ross emphatically defends his side of the story, he accidentally reveals that he has the encounter on videotape. Unsurprisingly, everyone wants to see it.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writer:Scott Silveri

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  5. Friends Season 8 Episode 5 - The One with Rachel's Date
    7.9/10(5128 votes)

    #5 - The One with Rachel's Date

    S8:E5

    Phoebe begins dating a guy who works for Monica as a sous-chef, however, they soon find themselves in an awkward position when things don't work out for either of them. Meanwhile, Ross discovers that a co-worker of Chandler's has been calling him Toby for five years. And Joey sets Rachel up on a date with one of his co-stars, which freaks Ross out when he realizes that this guy might become a step-father of his and Rachel's baby.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writers:Brian Buckner, Sebastian Jones

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  6. Friends Season 8 Episode 6 - The One with the Halloween Party
    8.4/10(5594 votes)

    #6 - The One with the Halloween Party

    S8:E6

    Monica and Chandler decide to throw a costumed Halloween party. Meanwhile, Phoebe runs into Ursula, who's preparing to get married soon, and as a courtesy invites her and her fiancé to the party. When they finally meet, Phoebe takes an instant liking to him, but soon she discovers that he knows nothing about the "real" Ursula.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Mark Kunerth

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  7. Friends Season 8 Episode 7 - The One with the Stain
    7.7/10(5194 votes)

    #7 - The One with the Stain

    S8:E7

    Chandler hires a maid, whom Monica suspects is stealing her clothing. Eric has broken up with Ursula and is ready to date Phoebe, except for one problem: he can't look at her without seeing Ursula. Meanwhile, Ross tries to get Rachel an apartment in his building, but the woman living there isn't in a hurry to die, and Joey wants Rachel to stay with him.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writer:R. Lee Fleming Jr.

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  8. Friends Season 8 Episode 8 - The One with the Stripper
    8.6/10(5772 votes)

    #8 - The One with the Stripper

    S8:E8

    Chandler finds out that Monica had a bachelorette party with a stripper, even though they promised not to have bachelor/bachelorette parties. Monica feels bad about it, so she organizes a bachelor party including a stripper for Chandler, however, the only one excited about it seems to be Joey. Meanwhile, Rachel prepares to have dinner with her dad and tell him that she's pregnant and it doesn't go particularly well for either of the involved parties.

    Director:David Schwimmer
    Writers:Ted Cohen, Andrew Reich

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  9. Friends Season 8 Episode 9 - The One with the Rumor
    9.2/10(9240 votes)

    #9 - The One with the Rumor

    S8:E9

    Monica invites Will, an old high school friend of her and Ross over for a Thanksgiving dinner, unaware that he isn't too fond of Rachel. Meanwhile, Joey vows to eat an entire turkey by himself, and Chandler and Phoebe pretend to watch a football game in order to avoid helping in the kitchen.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Shana Goldberg-Meehan

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  10. Friends Season 8 Episode 10 - The One with Monica's Boots
    7.8/10(5191 votes)

    #10 - The One with Monica's Boots

    S8:E10

    Chandler is peeved when Monica splurges on an expensive pair of boots. Meanwhile, Phoebe learns that Ben and Sting's son attend the same school and she angles to meet the celebrity and get concert tickets. Also, after Joey's sister Dina tells him that she's pregnant, he freaks out and goes to find the father to marry them. Rachel tries to calm him down.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Friends Season 8 Episode 11 - The One with Ross's Step Forward
    7.8/10(4991 votes)

    #11 - The One with Ross's Step Forward

    S8:E11

    Ross starts to panic when Mona suggests that the two of them could send out a holiday card together, thinking that their relationship is starting to move too fast. Chandler's newly divorced boss tries to get Monica and Chandler to go out to a dinner with him, but Monica can't stand him, so Chandler steps up to cover for her. Meanwhile, Rachel's hormones start acting up due to her pregnancy, causing her to hit on almost every guy she meets.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Robert Carlock

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  12. Friends Season 8 Episode 12 - The One Where Joey Dates Rachel
    8.4/10(5430 votes)

    #12 - The One Where Joey Dates Rachel

    S8:E12

    Phoebe gets Monica and Chandler a Ms. Pacman arcade game for a wedding present, which leads to some heavy competition between Monica, Phoebe, and, surprisingly, Chandler. Ross gets to teach an advanced class because of a retiring professor, but soon learns that its on the other side of town, and he doesn't have enough time to get there. Meanwhile, Joey takes Rachel to dinner on a pretend date and they have a great time together, however, at the end of the night things take an unexpected turn.

    Director:David Schwimmer
    Writers:Sherry Bilsing, Ellen Kreamer

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  13. Friends Season 8 Episode 13 - The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath
    8.4/10(5273 votes)

    #13 - The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath

    S8:E13

    Monica turns Chandler on to the concept of taking a bath to relax, complete with scented oils and candles. Ross and Rachel toss baby names back and forth while deciding whether to learn the baby's sex. Meanwhile, Joey struggles with his feelings for Rachel.

    Director:Ben Weiss
    Writer:Vanessa McCarthy

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  14. Friends Season 8 Episode 14 - The One with the Secret Closet
    8.0/10(4995 votes)

    #14 - The One with the Secret Closet

    S8:E14

    Chandler's very curious about a locked closet by the bathroom in their apartment, but Monica won't tell him what is inside. After Phoebe convinces Monica to get a massage from her, she soon finds out that Monica makes sexual noises during the process, which makes Phoebe very uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Rachel feels her baby kick for the first time and Ross is upset when he can't be more involved in Rachel's pregnancy issues.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writers:Brian Buckner, Sebastian Jones

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  15. Friends Season 8 Episode 15 - The One with the Birthing Video
    8.2/10(4984 votes)

    #15 - The One with the Birthing Video

    S8:E15

    During Valentine's Day, Chandler and Monica discover the miracle of birth by watching an extremely graphic video. Ross hides the fact that Rachel is now living with him from Mona, which only gets him into more trouble. Meanwhile, Phoebe tries to help with Joey's depression caused by his feelings for Rachel by lending him the world's happiest dog.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writer:Dana Klein

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  16. Friends Season 8 Episode 16 - The One Where Joey Tells Rachel
    8.1/10(5078 votes)

    #16 - The One Where Joey Tells Rachel

    S8:E16

    After Joey reveals to Ross that he's in love with Rachel, Ross has a hard time accepting this revelation. However, after giving it some thought, he convinces Joey to tell Rachel how he feels. So he does exactly that by taking Rachel out to dinner, however, her reaction to the news isn't quite what he expected. Meanwhile, Phoebe claims that she has met Monica's soulmate which makes Chandler really anxious.

    Director:Ben Weiss
    Writers:Ted Cohen, Andrew Reich

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  17. Friends Season 8 Episode 17 - The One with the Tea Leaves
    7.9/10(4978 votes)

    #17 - The One with the Tea Leaves

    S8:E17

    At Central Perk Phoebe does a reading of tea leaves which tell her that she's soon going to meet a man of her dreams. In fact, she does meet a man she keeps constantly bumping into, however, he turns out to be a bit creepy to say the least. Meanwhile, after their conversation, things between Joey and Rachel are still weird and Joey keeps finding excuses to avoid her. As a result Rachel comes up with a rather crazy problem at work to draw him into a conversation. She doesn't realize though, how far he's willing to go to help with her fake problem after their conversation is over. Also, Ross tries to retrieve his favorite shirt from Mona's, interrupted when she returns home with a date.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Friends Season 8 Episode 18 - The One in Massapequa
    8.0/10(5049 votes)

    #18 - The One in Massapequa

    S8:E18

    Everybody prepares to go out to Long Island for the elder Gellers' 35th wedding anniversary party. Monica struggles to prepare the perfect toast that would make everybody cry. Meanwhile, Ross and Rachel discover that his parents have told people they're married and they decide to just go along with it for the night. However, Rachel gets carried away a little telling stories about their "wedding" that didn't happen. Also, Phoebe invites her new boyfriend, Parker, who is extremely enthusiastic.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Friends Season 8 Episode 19 - The One with Joey's Interview
    7.1/10(5170 votes)

    #19 - The One with Joey's Interview

    S8:E19

    Joey prepares for an interview with Soap Opera Digest, although he's afraid of saying something stupid and getting himself into trouble, so he enlists his friends to make sure things go well. During the interview, he reminisces about his past acting experiences, his friends and his romantic life.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Doty Abrams

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  20. Friends Season 8 Episode 20 - The One with the Baby Shower
    8.1/10(5057 votes)

    #20 - The One with the Baby Shower

    S8:E20

    Monica and Phoebe throw Rachel a baby shower but forget to invite Rachel's mom. During the baby shower Rachel panics when she realizes she has no idea how to look after the baby after the birth. Meanwhile, Joey auditions for a job as a host for a new game show called "Bamboozled", and Chandler and Ross help him practice.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writers:Sherry Bilsing, Ellen Kreamer

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  21. Friends Season 8 Episode 21 - The One with the Cooking Class
    8.0/10(5014 votes)

    #21 - The One with the Cooking Class

    S8:E21

    Monica's restaurant gets a bad review in the Post. After confronting the critic who wrote it, she decides to join a cooking class, with Joey in tow. Meanwhile, Rachel gets jealous when Ross hits it off with a woman at the baby department store. And Chandler prepares for a job interview after Phoebe tells him that he makes a bad first impression.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Friends Season 8 Episode 22 - The One Where Rachel Is Late
    8.2/10(4965 votes)

    #22 - The One Where Rachel Is Late

    S8:E22

    Monica and Phoebe bet on when Rachel's baby will be born as the due date comes and goes as Rachel becomes extremely irritable. Meanwhile, Joey invites Chandler to his big movie premiere and he manages to fall asleep during it. Also, Ross attempts to help Rachel speed things along by trying every possible method suggested by the doctor, except one.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Shana Goldberg-Meehan

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  23. Friends Season 8 Episode 23 - The One Where Rachel Has a Baby
    8.7/10(5388 votes)

    #23 - The One Where Rachel Has a Baby

    S8:E23

    Ross and Rachel go to the hospital to have their baby, but it's a long labor. They get stuck in a semi-private room, and many other couples come and go before Rachel is ready to deliver - the last couple being Janice and her new husband. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica decide to start trying to have a baby, but can't find an empty hospital room where they wouldn't be disturbed. Also, Phoebe meets a handsome stranger and "recruits" Dr. Drake Ramoray to gather some personal information about him. After Rachel gives birth to her little baby girl, she must confront relationship issues around her. So does Ross, who gets an engagement ring from his mother, while she urges him to propose to Rachel. The things, however, take an interesting turn.

    Director:Kevin S. Bright
    Writers:Marta Kauffman, David Crane, Scott Silveri

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Season 8 Ratings Summary

"The One After "I Do"" is the best rated episode of "Friends" season 8. It scored 8.6/10 based on 5677 votes. Directed by Kevin S. Bright and written by Marta Kauffman, David Crane, it aired on 9/27/2001. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "The One with the Red Sweater".