The Definitive Ranking of Every Friends Thanksgiving Episode
By Emily Scott
Friends, “The One With Rachel’s Other Sister,” Screencap via Warner Bros.
8. The One With Rachel’s Other Sister
Rachel’s sister Amy (Christina Applegate, not Reese Witherspoon) shows up just before the gang’s Thanksgiving celebrations with no warning. Despite the fact that she’s terrible, Rachel invites her to Thanksgiving after Amy’s married boyfriend ditches her for his wife on the holiday. Her presence incites a real conversation about who would get Emma if something happened to Ross and Rachel (spoiler: it’s not Amy. She’s awful). Monica spends the episode trying to protect her wedding china, while Phoebe tries to teach Joey how to lie when he forgets to show up for a work event.
Sneakily Feminist Quote:
Rachel: I had a baby.
Amy: I decorated dad’s office.
Rachel: Ah, yeah, well, unless you pushed a desk out of your vagina, not the same thing.
Political Correction: Rachel and Ross claim that if something happened to them, they would want Monica and Chandler to raise Emma. But then, if something happened to Monica, she would go to the Ross’s parents instead of just Chandler. Both Ross and Rachel make the assumption that Chandler wouldn’t be a good enough parent on his own. The idea that Chandler couldn’t hack it as a single parent is definitely gendered – they even reveal that in the event that something happened to Chandler, they would give Emma to just Monica. This is subverted by the end, when Chandler shows he would be a good father by managing the childish argument between Rachel and her sister. But he has to prove himself, and that’s messed up.
Best Moment: The dynamic between Jennifer Aniston and Christina Applegate. Their interactions are so on point and in character. It’s so apparent that they come from the same privileged, overconfident family.
Ranking: 8/10. I always find it fun to throw someone different into the Friends dynamic, and Christina Applegate does a good job. That being said, there’s not a whole lot going on in this episode.