The Definitive Ranking of Every Friends Thanksgiving Episode
By Emily Scott
Friends, “The One With Chandler In A Box,” Screencap via Warner Bros.
2. The One With Chandler In A Box
This Thanksgiving episode comes in the middle of a pretty long storyline around Chandler and Joey. In previous episodes, Chandler had been slowly falling in love with Kathy, who was seeing Joey. When the two of them kiss, they realize that they can’t ignore their feelings for each other. Kathy breaks up with Joey, but Chandler wants to be honest and tells Joey that they kissed. Joey is angry and shuts Chandler out, but in this episode, after Chandler’s pleas that he will do anything to repair their friendship, Joey asks Chandler to spend Thanksgiving in a box to think about what he did. Meanwhile, Ross learns that Rachel exchanges almost every gift she is given, which causes tension between them. And Monica begins to be attracted to her ex-boyfriend Richard’s son, despite how weird and uncomfortable that is.
Sneakily Feminist Quote:
Chandler: Hey, what time is it? The big game is about to start!
Phoebe: You don’t have to do that. Ross and Joey aren’t here, you can watch the parade if you want to!
Chandler: Thanks.
Political Correction: The friends were surprisingly not that ignorant in this episode. This time they were focused more on interpersonal relationships rather than casual homophobia or sexism for a laugh. However, I will say that being mad at someone for exchanging a gift, rather than never using it and wasting your money, is dumb. But, you know, so is Ross.
Best Moment: When Joey acknowledges how much Kathy and Chandler care about each other and gives them his blessing. Love triangles are one of the toughest situations you can encounter with best friends. But in this instance, though Joey was rightfully angry, he was able to acknowledge that Chandler did what he did because he really loved Kathy. And he was able to overcome his own hurt because he wanted his friend to be happy.
Ranking: 2/10. While the B and C plots are pretty boring, the A plot does a lot to develop Chandler and Joey’s relationship. Plus, Chandler’s box jokes are excellent.