"The One With Rachel's Other Sister" is the eighth episode of Friends' ninth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 21, 2002. The episode received renewed attention in October 2023 after the death of Matthew Perry, particularly in the scene where his character Chandler jokes "I guess I'll be the one who dies first" as he became the first of the main cast to die.[1][2]
| "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" | |
|---|---|
| Friends episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Kevin S. Bright |
| Written by | Shana Goldberg-Meehan |
| Production code | 175258 |
| Original air date | November 21, 2002 |
| Guest appearance | |
| Christina Applegate as Amy | |
Plot
editRachel's other sister Amy unexpectedly turns up at Ross and Rachel's apartment for Thanksgiving. Initially, Amy turned up to borrow a hair straightener but ends up spending Thanksgiving with the gang after her married boyfriend cancels dinner on her.
Things do not get off to a good start with Amy and the gang following numerous misunderstandings, for instance referring to Emma as "Emmet", mistaking Phoebe's name as a "funny noise" and her comments that the makers of Days of Our Lives must "put a lot of make-up" on Joey.
Once things have seemingly calmed down, Amy brings up the issue of who gets custody of Emma in the event of Ross and Rachel's death. Amy thinks that she should get custody, however she is surprised to find out that custody would go to Chandler and Monica. This conversation escalates further at the dinner table when Chandler finds out that he would have to give Emma up in the event of Monica's death but Monica would not have to give up Emma in the event of Chandler's death. This leads Chandler to believe that he would be an unfit single parent.
After dinner, Amy is still angry at Ross and Rachel's decision and a fight breaks out between Amy and Rachel. Surprisingly, Chandler swoops in to calm things down between the two sisters. Ross becomes impressed with Chandler's abilities and he decides that Chandler would indeed be fit enough to raise Emma alone if Monica died.
Reception
editIn its original broadcast, the episode was viewed by 25.43 million people[3] and had a rating of 12.1/30.[4] For her performance in this episode, Christina Applegate won an Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" in 2003.[5] In 2019, Collider picked this episode as the best of its season.[6]
References
edit- ^ Coffey-Behrens, Kelly (October 29, 2023). "Matthew Perry May Have Predicted His Death In A 'Friends' Episode". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "Fans are convinced Matthew Perry predicted his death in 'Friends' episode: I'll be the one who dies first". The Times of India. October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Toni (December 11, 2002). "The fading of 'Without a Trace'". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on June 22, 2004. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ "TV Rate Race (Dec. 2-8)". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2002.
- ^ Susman, Gary (September 15, 2003). "Christina Applegate, Gene Wilder win early Emmys". EW.com. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (December 26, 2019). "'Friends' Seasons Ranked from Worst to Best". Collider.