Decades after the first episode of Friends premiered in 1994, the iconic NBC sitcom is still engrained in popular culture and remains among the most celebrated TV shows. And since Friends started streaming on Netflix in 2015, younger generations are now discovering what fans fell in love with years ago. We’re counting down to the 15th anniversary of the series finale, which aired on May 6, 2004, by celebrating the show’s characters, influence and best sports moments.

We kicked off Friends Week on Monday with a Q&A with the show’s co-creator, Marta Kauffman, and now we’re taking a deep dive into the six Friends.

Over the course of 10 years, they all had spectacular and standout moments, but we looked through each season for every character’s best individual episode. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the characters’ best or funniest scenes — although that’s certainly part of it. But we selected these episodes based on a number of factors, including each character’s story arc from beginning to end — and the actor’s performance, of course — the character development and how this episode impacted the overall plot of the season.

Chandler

Season 4, Episode 8: The One with Chandler in a Box

So much of what we love about Chandler was his sarcasm and one-liners that diffused even the most awkward of situations. But could this episode be any more poignant? And that’s why it’s Chandler’s best. In case you forgot: Joey is dating Kathy earlier in the season, but Chandler ends up developing feelings for her and kisses her. He tells Joey, and in this episode, Joey tells his best friend and roommate he’ll forgive him if he sits in a box for six hours.

There’s some of the usual Chandler comedy while he’s locked up. But then Kathy comes in and tells the perpetually single Chandler — still in the box — that she doesn’t want to come between the friends… and there’s his little finger wave goodbye to her. Joey ends up opening the box and tells Chandler to go after her (although they didn’t end up together in the end, as you probably know). It’s a beautiful moment and shows Matthew Perry’s range.

Also, it’s the Season 4 Thanksgiving episode, and we all know those episodes are classics.
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Rachel

Season 8, episode 22: The One Where Rachel Is Late

I love this episode because Rachel is hysterically, cry-from-laughing funny. There are so many episodes that tackle the complexity of Ross and Rachel’s relationship. But so many of them hinge on their interactions together, and while this one largely does as well, it’s in an entirely different way because Rachel is the primary focus. And Jennifer Aniston plays it perfectly.

“Ross, can I ask you something? When Carol was pregnant with Ben, were you this irritating?” she says after already snapping at him and everyone else multiple times.

She’s painfully (yet hilariously) waiting to give birth with her due date in the rearview mirror. And because of that, she’s sharp, she’s rude, she’s uncomfortable, and she’s taking it out on everyone around her, especially Ross. No matter how often I watch it, I laugh out loud multiple times. As she tries to convince Ross to have sex with her and induce labor, she compares herself to a ketchup bottle saying, “Sometimes you have to bang on the end of it just to get something to come out.”
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Phoebe

Season 5, episode 14: The One Where Everybody Finds Out

As you’ll see, a lot of my choices throughout this list are episodes that show us the versatility of each of the actors and their characters. And how could I not pick this one, when Phoebe — while looking at Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment — sees Chandler and Monica canoodling? “Pheebs” and Rachel hatch a plan: They’ll mess with the couple who are keeping the relationship a secret. But that goes off the rails when Phoebe tries to get the info from Chandler himself… by seducing him.

That leads to one of Friends’ all-time greatest scenes, in which Phoebe and Chandler both play a game of sexual chicken — who will finally admit he or she knows Chandler and Monica are dating in secret? Thanks to some fall-off-your-couch “flirtation” that leads to an awkward kiss, Chandler breaks first and tells the group (sans Ross) that he’s in love with Monica. All because Lisa Kudrow plays this one to perfection.
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Monica

Season 4, episode 15: The One with All the Rugby

In the episodes since Monica and Rachel switched apartments with the guys, Monica’s obsessive tendencies are seriously highlighted as she struggles to make her new apartment as nice as possible. She discovers a light switch that appears to do nothing, and it’s the latest aspect of her undesirable living situation to drive her nuts. But she refuses to accept that it does nothing. In her relentless search, she ends up tearing the apartment apart — literally pulling out the floor and pieces of the wall.

This episode stands out because it emphasizes quintessential Monica beyond her competitive streak, which often involves other characters. This subplot is all about the character’s strengths and flaws, which are best portrayed by Courteney Cox in the first half of the show, give or take. Monica is smart, resourceful and determined, but to a hilarious fault. Yet we see a rare side of her acknowledging defeat and letting go of her obsessiveness when she eventually admits that it does nothing, which feels like a small sign of growth.
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Joey

Season 7, episode 15: The One with Joey’s New Brain

Anytime Joey gets to do something in Days of Our Lives, it’s a great episode. But this one stands out in particular because we get a full range from him: There’s comedy of Joey’s character coming out of a coma with the help of a brain transfusion from guest star Susan Sarandon, who plays an actress being written off the soap opera. There’s the sweetness that comes in when she and Joey have a romantic moment or two. And then there’s the sheer absurdity of the whole situation played up by Matt LeBlanc.
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Ross

Season 2, episode 14: The One with the Prom Video

Ross was at his best when he was at his most vulnerable with Rachel, and that brings us to how he and his “lobster” finally get together. Monica and Ross’s parents bring over a box of stuff from their house, and it includes the vide of Monica and Rachel getting ready for their senior prom. Ross wants to stop everyone from watching it, and we find out why: When Rachel almost gets stood up by her date, Ross and his amazing Mr. Kotter haircut puts on his dad’s tuxedo to take the girl he has a crush on to the prom. But then Rachel’s date shows up after all, leaving Ross crushed.

Back in present day, Rachel is so floored by Ross’s sweet gesture in the past that she kisses him. It’s a reminder that David Schwimmer gives Ross a lot of heart and, at the same time, he can get laughs by playing up Ross’s nebbishy nerdiness.
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Ensemble

Season 2, episode 2: The One Where No One’s Ready

As a bottle episode, the vast majority of it takes place in Monica and Rachel’s apartment and occurs in real time, and there are only a couple lines not from the core six. Ross is giving a speech at the museum and shows up to the apartment dressed and ready to go, but he’s the only one and repeatedly counts down how much time they have left from half an hour. While Rachel can’t decide on an outfit, Joey and Chandler, not yet in their tuxes, feud over a chair. Phoebe’s shows up ready to go, but her dress is ruined when Joey and Chandler accidentally throw hummus on it. And Monica, fresh off her breakup with Richard, obsesses over returning a voicemail from him.

This episode could be considered one of Monica’s bests because her neuroticism takes control and leads to a series of priceless embarrassing phone calls. Joey and Chandler’s argument hits another level and amplifies the goofiness of their friendship when Joey responds to Chandler hiding his underwear by putting on everything in Chandler’s closet. And after Ross insultingly yells at Rachel, he proves his love for her, offering to drink a glass of chicken fat as a way of apologizing, which is simultaneously weird and sweet.

All of them together brilliantly showcases their chemistry, and each subplot gets practically equal time — a rarity for the sitcom. It’s the perfect example for why these actors and their characters complement each other so seamlessly. It’s one of the show’s best episodes of all time, but it’s uniquely the greatest for the cast as an ensemble.
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