Friends became an icon of a generation. The characters of the sit-com will forever be remembered, and the actors have made real friendships for a lifetime. Obviously, the whole show was incredibly successful, but the second season was one of the best. It received only positive reviews, and some of the most important episodes for the series happened during this season.
It was also very emotional, as there were lots of love confessions and heartbreak, but the writers managed to do that while keeping the fun, light-hearted tone of the show. Although everyone will have their own appreciation of which are the best episodes, here is IMDb's ranking.
10 The One With Ross's New Girlfriend - 8.5/10
This is the first episode of the second season, and it's heartbreaking. At the end of the first season, Rachel went to pick up Ross at the airport to tell him she had feelings for him, but to everyone's surprise, he came back having met another girl named Julie. Oblivious of how hurt Rachel is by that, Ross is happy to have finally met someone he has so much in common with. On top of that, Julie is very nice, so Rachel can't really be mad at her.
9 The One With The List - 8.5/10
Ross is indecisive about his feelings. On the one hand, things are going great with his new girlfriend Julie and he doesn't want to risk that. On the other hand, he's been in love with Rachel since he was a kid and it could be his chance at true love. Chandler suggests he makes a pros and cons list to make a choice, and he decides to break up with Julie. He tells Rachel the good news, and at first, she's thrilled, but then she accidentally sees the list and gets furious at Ross when she sees what he wrote about her.
8 The One Where Joey Moves Out - 8.6/10
When a friend of Joey's from work suggests he moves into the apartment he's leaving, it creates problems in his friendship with Chandler. Although he doesn't want to admit it, Chandler knows he will miss Joey, and they get into a big fight about it.
In the meantime, Monica is worried about her parents finding out about her new relationship with Richard, one of her father's best friends. They go together to her father's birthday party, and they have a hard time hiding it, but it's hilarious to watch.
7 The One After The Superbowl: Part 1 - 8.6/10
Joey receives fan mail for the first time, and he is thrilled, but the woman writing to him turns out to be a stalker who is obsessed with him. At first, he doesn't want anything to do with her, but once he sees her, he decides to give her a chance since she's incredibly beautiful. As expected, it goes badly, but with the help of his friends, he manages to get rid of her.
Ross, meanwhile, travels to California to see his old pet, Marcel the monkey and discovers that he's been acting on commercials and will be part of a movie in New York.
6 The One With The Baby On The Bus - 8.6/10
Monica accidentally makes a pie with an ingredient Ross is allergic to and has to take him to the hospital. Despite himself, Ross allows Joey and Chandler to babysit his son Ben. Joey thinks that going out with the baby will help them attract women, but it turns out they think they are a gay couple. Finally, when they manage to talk to a couple of girls, they become so distracted they forget the baby on a bus. They go through a lot of trouble to find him, but they finally bring him home safe.
5 The One After the Superbowl: Part 2 - 8.8/10
On the set of a movie Marcel the monkey is acting in, Chandler runs into a gorgeous former classmate, who asks him out, and he can't believe his luck. Rachel, for his part, also gets a date. With Jean-Claude Van Damme. Monica gets jealous because she wanted to ask him out but was too shy to do so, and the two friends get into a fight.
Ross is bummed because he can't spend time with Marcel, so he tags along in Chandler and Joey's double date. During dinner, Chandler's classmate reveals that the date had been a ruse to take revenge on a prank he'd pulled on her all those years ago.
4 The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know - 8.9/10
Ross and Rachel go on their first date, but things don't go as planned because it's too weird for Rachel to be dating her best friend. The next day, they redo the date, but Ross gets called into work unexpectedly and it seems their night is ruined once again. However, Ross is determined to make it work, and they end up having a magic night together at the planetarium.
Monica herself also finds love with Richard, an old friend of her dad, and although it's strange at first to go out with someone so much older than her, she ends up having the time of her life.
3 The One Where Ross Finds Out - 9/10
Ross is happy in his relationship with Julie, totally unaware of how much Rachel is suffering. To help her get over him, Monica sets her up with a date, but she is constantly thinking about Ross. She gets drunk at dinner and calls him to tell him how "over him" she is, but ends up confessing her feelings in the process. When Ross hears the message the next day he is stunned and gets angry at Rachel for confessing her feelings when he had finally moved on, but he's clearly still in love with her, and the chapter ends with one of the most iconic kisses of the series.
2 The One With The Two Parties - 9/10
It's Rachel's birthday, and she's upset at how badly her parents are getting along after the divorce, so while planning the party, Monica decides to only invite her mother. The problem is that her dad drops by out of the blue, so they improvise a second party and Rachel tries to spend time with the two of them while keeping them from finding out that the other is there. At the end of the day, she's sad because she realizes there is no way her parents are ever going to get along and she'll have to see them separately forever.
1 The One With The Prom Video - 9.4/10
At the beginning of this episode, Rachel tells Ross there is no way they will ever get together after the big fight they had. She says that although she is not mad at him anymore, it's too complicated to start dating after being close friends for so long. Things change, however, when the friends find an old homemade video from Monica and Rachel's senior prom. While watching, Rachel finds out about a big gesture Ross made for her, and she falls in love with him all over again.
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