The One with the Morning After

Last updated
"The One with the Morning After"
Friends episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 16
Directed by James Burrows
Written by David Crane & Marta Kauffman
Production code465264
Original air dateFebruary 20, 1997 (1997-02-20)
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break"		Next →
"The One Without the Ski Trip"
List of episodes

"The One with the Morning After" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American television situation comedy Friends and 64th overall, which aired on NBC on February 20, 1997. [1] The plot, which is darker than most Friends episodes, centers on Ross (David Schwimmer) dealing with the repercussions of sleeping with another woman hours after he and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) took a break.

Contents

The episode was written by the show's creators, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, directed by James Burrows, and guest-stars James Michael Tyler as Gunther, and Angela Featherstone as Chloe, the girl from the Xerox shop whom Ross ends up sleeping with after looking for comfort when he and Rachel made the decision to take a break from their relationship in the previous episode. [1]

Plot

The morning after Ross and Rachel take a break from their relationship, Ross wakes up in his apartment to Chloe (Angela Featherstone) walking out of his bathroom, having spent the night together. Hurriedly checking his answering machine for messages, Ross realizes that Rachel had left a message apologizing, saying that she loves him, and that she will stop by his apartment. Unable to get rid of Chloe in time, he hides her behind the door as Rachel comes by to try things again. Ross quickly agrees and becomes her boyfriend again.

Not wasting any time, Ross goes over to Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler's (Matthew Perry) apartment to confess what he did. While Ross believes that he should tell Rachel everything, Joey and Chandler urge him not to. After reluctantly agreeing, the guys then try to figure out a way to prevent Rachel from finding out about Ross and Chloe’s one-night stand. Joey tells Ross that he needs to think about "the trail": the list of people from the girl he slept with to the girl he does not want to find out what happened. Chandler traces the trail from Chloe to her coworker Isaac, who has a sister Jasmine, who works with Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), who is best friends with Rachel.

As Ross goes down "the trail" to prevent the news from getting to Rachel, he finds out that Chloe had already told Isaac, who had already told Jasmine. Though he manages to get Jasmine to promise to not say anything to Phoebe, she mentions that he should talk to her roommate that she told, because her roommate knows Rachel, too. Discovering that Jasmine's roommate is none other than Gunther (James Michael Tyler), Ross rushes to Central Perk to try to keep Gunther quiet, only to find out that he had already told Rachel everything.

Meanwhile, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Phoebe are in Monica's bedroom trying a new waxing product they purchased called Waxine, but the pain is too great. Hearing the screams from across the hall, Joey and Chandler rush over. Monica and Phoebe ensure Chandler and Joey they are fine. Before Chandler and Joey can leave the room, an angry Rachel storms into the apartment, followed by Ross. Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey stay in the bedroom, unbeknownst to Ross and Rachel.

The fight between Ross and Rachel is even worse than the one they had the night before when they took a break from their relationship. A furious Rachel demands that Ross leave, but he insists that they talk. Rachel, who is upset that she had to hear everything that happened between Ross and Chloe from Gunther, gets even more furious when Ross accidentally lets slip out that Chloe was still in his apartment when Rachel visited him earlier that morning. Rachel then tries to make Ross see her perspective creating a mock scenario of her sleeping with Mark. Chandler and Joey want to leave, but Ross tells Rachel he wanted to tell her everything but Chandler and Joey told him not to. Humiliated, Chandler and Joey decide not to leave the bedroom, but they, along with Monica and Phoebe, get so hungry that they eat the Waxine, which happens to be organic, but not edible.

At 3:00 a.m., Ross is still trying to get Rachel to forgive him and starts touching her and kissing her, but she stands up and slaps his hands away, telling him to go home. Ross walks over to her and tries again to tell her that they can work things out and that he cannot imagine his life without her. Both start to cry (as do the others in the bedroom) as Ross gets down on his knees and begs for forgiveness. Rachel tells Ross that she cannot forgive him because she cannot stop picturing him with Chloe and that there is nothing he can say or do, because it has changed everything between them forever. The two sadly part, leaving Ross devastated and saying, "This can't be it." Rachel replies, "Then how come it is?"

The episode ends as the other four finally leave the bedroom and find Rachel on the couch, and Ross nowhere to be seen. Monica wraps a blanket over Rachel as the other three quietly cross the room to go to their respective homes. [2]

Cast and crew

Main cast

Guest stars

Crew

Reception

In an interview, Aniston mentions the infamous breakup stating, "The breakup. Well, that was sort of the beginning of the end for them. Or, the beginning of the beginnings of endings and beginnings." [3] It was the episode in which the show's dynamic had completely changed, and had left audiences more anxious for the next episode because more was at stake in terms of character and plot development. In the show's Blu-ray and DVD commentary track, the show's co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with producing partner Kevin S. Bright, discussed the difficulties of trying to make this episode both dramatic and comedic. Part of this was due to Aniston's performance as Rachel being a little too realistic, and the situation of the breakup being too excruciatingly familiar. According to Kauffman, "Nearly every adult watching this episode would've had some kind of personal memory of a similarly awful split". [4] This is also the episode where someone utters for the first time the classic saying, "we were on a break", which is later said as an ongoing gag throughout the rest of the series. [5]

Related Research Articles

Friends is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, the show revolves around six friends in their 20s and early 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City. The original executive producers were Kevin S. Bright, Kauffman, and Crane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Tribbiani</span> Fictional character from the American sitcoms Friends and Joey

Joseph Francis Tribbiani Jr. is a fictional character, serving as one of the primary characters of the NBC sitcom Friends and the protagonist of its spin-off Joey. He is portrayed by Matt LeBlanc in both series.

"The Pilot"—also known as "The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate", "The First One", and "The One Where It All Began"—is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American television sitcom Friends. The episode premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. It was written by the show's creators, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and directed by James Burrows. The pilot introduces six twenty-something friends who live and work in New York City: Monica Geller, a single sous chef in her mid 20s who is illegally subletting her grandmother's apartment; Ross Geller, Monica's older brother, a paleontologist whose marriage recently ended after he learned his wife, Carol, is a lesbian; Rachel Green, Monica's spoiled, self-centered, high-school best friend who has just left her fiancé at the altar and is financially cut off by her father; Chandler Bing, Ross' college roommate and best friend who lives across the hall from Monica; Joey Tribbiani, a struggling Italian-American actor and Chandler's roommate; and Phoebe Buffay, a laid-back, hippie-ish masseuse, singer and guitar player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Bing</span> Fictional character from the American sitcom Friends

Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom Friends, portrayed by the late Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas drag show called "Viva Las Gay-gas" as Helena Handbasket. Chandler is of Scottish and Swedish descent. He is an only child and is apparently from an affluent family. His parents announced their divorce to him over Thanksgiving dinner when Chandler was nine years old, an event which traumatized him, and he refuses to celebrate the holiday as an adult. It is revealed in season 2 that he went to an all-boys high school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Buffay</span> Fictional character from the American sitcom Friends

Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American television sitcom, Friends. She was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Geller</span> Fictional character from the American sitcom Friends

Ross Geller, portrayed by David Schwimmer, is one of the six main characters of the NBC sitcom Friends. Ross is considered by many to be the most intelligent member of the group and is noted for his goofy but lovable demeanor. His relationship with Rachel Green was included in TV Guide's list of the best TV couples of all time, as well as Entertainment Weekly's "30 Best 'Will They/Won't They?' TV Couples". Kevin Bright, who was one of the executive producers of the show, had worked with Schwimmer before, so the writers were already developing Ross's character in Schwimmer's voice. Hence, Schwimmer was the first person to be cast on the show.

"The One with the Prom Video" is the fourteenth episode of the second season, and the 38th episode overall, of the American television situation comedy Friends, which first aired on NBC on February 1, 1996. The episode focuses on the main characters watching Monica and Rachel getting ready for their high-school prom in the titular video. A subplot sees Joey having increased income, buying roommate Chandler an unusual gift.

"The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the television situation comedy Friends and the 42nd episode overall.

"The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" is the season premiere of the third season and the 49th episode overall of the American television situation comedy Friends, which was broadcast on NBC on September 19, 1996. The plot has Ross tell girlfriend Rachel the titular fantasy. In subplots, Monica tries to get over her break-up with Richard with the help of Phoebe, while Joey has to cope with Chandler's annoying girlfriend Janice being around.

"The One with the Jellyfish" is the first episode of Friends' fourth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 25, 1997.

"The One Where Ross Got High" is the ninth episode of Friends' sixth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 25, 1999.

"The One Where Everybody Finds Out" is the fourteenth episode of Friends' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on February 11, 1999. In the episode, Phoebe Buffay discovers that Monica Geller and Chandler Bing are secretly dating, and decides to "mess" with them by pretending to flirt with Chandler. Meanwhile, Ross Geller learns that "Ugly Naked Guy" is subletting his apartment and applies for it. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Ross witnessing Monica and Chandler having sex through a window, which would be resolved in the next episode.

"The Last One", also known as "The One Where They Say Goodbye", is the series finale of the television sitcom Friends. The episode serves as the seventeenth and eighteenth episode of the tenth season and the 235th and the 236th episode overall; the episode's two parts were classified as two separate episodes. It was written by series creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and directed by executive producer Kevin S. Bright. The series finale first aired on NBC in the United States on May 6, 2004, when it was watched by 52.5 million viewers, making it the most watched entertainment telecast in six years and the fifth most watched overall television series finale in U.S. history as well as the most watched episode from any television series throughout the decade 2000s on U.S. television. In Canada, the finale aired simultaneously on May 6, 2004, on Global, and was viewed by 5.16 million viewers, becoming the second-highest viewed episode of the series.

"The One with All the Thanksgivings" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of Friends. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 19, 1998. In the episode, the main characters spend Thanksgiving at Monica's apartment and begin telling stories about their worst Thanksgivings: Chandler learning of his parents' divorce, Phoebe losing arms in past lives and Joey having his head stuck in a turkey. Rachel reveals Monica's worst Thanksgiving—accidentally cutting off Chandler's toe after he called her "fat" in their first encounter. When Monica begs Chandler to forgive her, he accidentally reveals that he loves her.

"The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" is the first episode of Friends' tenth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on September 25, 2003.

"The One After Vegas" is the sixth-season premiere of the American television situation comedy Friends, which was broadcast on NBC on September 23, 1999. The plot continues from the previous episode; after their drunken wedding in Las Vegas, Ross and Rachel plan a quick annulment, and Monica and Chandler discuss moving in together. A subplot has Joey and Phoebe driving back to New York from Vegas, picking up a hitchhiker on the way. The episode was directed by Kevin S. Bright, written by Adam Chase and its production was documented for a Discovery Channel program.

"The One with Monica's Thunder" is the first episode of Friends' seventh season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 12, 2000.

"The One with the Apothecary Table" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the American television situation comedy Friends, which was broadcast on NBC on January 6, 2000. The plot concerns Rachel buying an apothecary table from Pottery Barn and trying to keep roommate Phoebe from finding out that she bought it from a chain store.

"The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" is the double-length finale of the eighth season of Friends. It first aired on NBC on May 16, 2002. In the episode, Rachel spends 21 hours in labor, and watches many of her roommates, including Janice giving birth before her. Monica and Chandler decided to have a baby, Judy wants Ross to propose to Rachel, Phoebe flirts with a patient at the hospital, and Rachel accidentally thinks Joey proposed to her.

References

  1. 1 2 Sangster, Jim; Bailey, David (2000). Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends (2nd ed.). London: Virgin Publishing Ltd. ISBN   0-7535-0439-1.
  2. ↑ "Transcript of The One with the Morning After" . Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "FRIENDS - Final Thoughts (2004) FULL VIDEO". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Friends: Season 3". Amazon. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Friends - We Were on a Break!". YouTube . Retrieved 4 April 2018.[ dead YouTube link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.